The Liverpool Statement 2005: Priorities for the European Union/United States Spiral Computed Tomography Collaborative Group

The Liverpool Statement 2005 was developed at the Fourth International Lung Cancer Molecular Biomarkers Workshop in Liverpool (October 27-29, 2005) and focused on the priorities for the European Union/United States (EU-US) Spiral Computed Tomography (CT) Collaborative Group. The application of spiral CT technology for early lung cancer screening has gained enormous momentum in the past 5 years. The EU-US Spiral CT Collaboration was initiated in 2001 in Liverpool, and subsequent meetings throughout Europe have resulted in the development of collaborative protocols and minimal data sets that provide a mechanism for the different trial groups to work together, with the ultimate aim to pool results. Considerable progress has been made with major national screening trials in the U.S. and Europe, which include IELCAP, NLST, and NELSON. The major objective of this international collaboration is the planned cross-analysis of the individual studies after they are reported. The EU-US researchers have agreed to a number of long-term objectives and to explore strategic areas for harmonization of complementary investigations

Mediterranean style diet is associated with low risk of new-onset diabetes after renal transplantation

Objective: The incidence of new-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT) and premature mortality is high in renal transplant recipients (RTR). We hypothesized that a Mediterranean Style diet protects against NODAT and premature mortality in RTR. Research design and methods: A prospective cohort study of adult RTR with a functioning graft for >1 year. Dietary intake was assessed with a 177- item validated food frequency questionnaire. Patients were divided based on a 9-point Mediterranean Style Diet Score (MDS): low MDS (0-4 points) versus high MDS (5-9 points). A total of 468 RTR were eligible for analyses. Logistic multivariable regression analyses were used to study the association of MDS with NODAT and Cox multivariable regression models for the association with all-cause mortality. Results: Mean±SD age was 51.3±13.2 years and 56.6% were men. About 50% of the patients had a high MDS. During median follow-up of 4.0 (IQR, 0.4-5.4) years, 22 (5%) RTR developed NODAT and 50 (11%) died. High MDS was significantly associated with both a lower risk of NODAT (HR=0.23; 95% CI 0.09 to 0.64; p=0.004) and allcause mortality (HR=0.51; 95% CI 0.29 to 0.89, p=0.02) compared to low MDS, independent of age and sex. Adjustment for other potential confounders, including total energy intake, physical activity and smoking status, did not materially change the results of the analyses. Conclusions: Dietary habits leading to high MDS were associated with lower risk of NODAT. These results suggest that healthy dietary habits are of paramount importance for RTR