Prevalence of human papillomavirus in head and neck cancers in European populations: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is necessary for the development of cervical carcinoma. By contrast, the role of HPV in the pathogenesis of other malignancies, such as head and neck cancers, is less well characterised. This study aimed to address key information gaps by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of HPV infection in head and neck cancers, focusing on data for European populations. METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase and grey literature sources were systematically searched for primary studies that were published in English between July 2002 and July 2012, and which reported on the prevalence of HPV infection in head and neck cancers in European populations. Studies on non-European populations, those not published in English, and those assessing patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus were excluded. Eligible studies were combined in a meta-analysis. In addition, the potential statistical association between the head and neck cancers and certain HPV types was investigated. RESULTS: Thirty-nine publications met the inclusion criteria. The prevalence of HPV of any type in 3,649 patients with head and neck cancers was 40.0% (95% confidence interval, 34.6% to 45.5%), and was highest in tonsillar cancer (66.4%) and lowest in pharyngeal (15.3%) and tongue (25.7%) cancers. There were no statistically significant associations between the HPV types analysed and the geographical setting, type of sample analysed or type of primer used to analyse samples in head and neck cancers. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of HPV infection in European patients with head and neck cancers is high but varies between the different anatomical sites of these malignancies. There appears to be no association between HPV type and geographical setting, type of samples analysed or type of primer used to analyse samples in such cancers

Systematic literature review and assessment of patient-reported outcome instruments in sickle cell disease

Abstract Background Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a chronic condition associated with high mortality and morbidity. It is characterized by acute clinical symptoms such as painful vaso-occlusive crises, which can impair health-related quality of life (HRQL). This study was conducted to identify validated patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments for use in future trials of potential treatments for SCD. Methods A systematic literature review (SLR) was performed using MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify United States (US)-based studies published in English between 1997 and 2017 that reported on validated PRO instruments used in randomized controlled trials and real-world settings. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist was used to assess the quality of PRO instruments. Results The SLR included 21 studies assessing the psychometric properties of 24 PRO instruments. Fifteen of those instruments were developed and validated for adults and 10 for children (one instrument was used in both children and young adults aged up to 21 years). Only five of the 15 adult instruments and three of the 10 pediatric instruments were developed specifically for SCD. For most instruments, there were few or no data on validation conducted in SCD development cohorts. Of the 24 PRO instruments identified, 16 had strong internal reliability (Cronbach’s α ≥0.80). There was often insufficient information to assess the content validity, construct validity, responsiveness, or test-retest reliability of the instruments identified for both child and adult populations. No validated PRO instruments measuring caregiver burden in SCD were identified. Conclusions The evidence on the psychometric properties of PRO instruments was limited. However, the results of this SLR provide key information on such tools to help inform the design of future clinical trials for patients with SCD in the US

Cost-effectiveness and public health benefit of secondary cardiovascular disease prevention from improved adherence using a polypill in the UK

Objective: To evaluate the public health and economic benefits of adherence to a fixed-dose combination polypill for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular (CV) events in adults with a history of myocardial infarction (MI) in the UK. Design: Markov-model-based cost-effectiveness analysis, informed by systematic reviews, which identified efficacy, utilities and adherence data inputs. Setting: General practice in the UK. Participants: Patients with a mean age of 64.7 years, most of whom are men with a recent or non-recent diagnosis of MI and for whom secondary preventive medication is indicated and well tolerated. Intervention: Fixed-dose combination polypill (100 mg aspirin, 20 mg atorvastatin and 2.5, 5, or 10 mg ramipril) compared with multiple monotherapy. Primary and secondary outcome measures: CV events prevented per 1000 patients; cost per life-year gained; and cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. Results: The model estimates that for each 10\% increase in adherence, an additional 6.7\% fatal and non-fatal CV events can be prevented. In the base case, over 10 years, the polypill would improve adherence by similar to 20\% and thereby prevent 47 of 323 (15\%) fatal and non-fatal CV events per 1000 patients compared with multiple monotherapy, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of 8200 pound per QALY gained. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses for the base-case assumptions showed an 81.5\% chance of the polypill being cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of 20 pound 000 per QALY gained compared with multiple monotherapy. In scenario analyses that varied structural assumptions, ICERs ranged between cost saving and 21 pound 430 per QALY gained. Conclusions: Assuming that some 450 000 adults are at risk of MI, a 10 percentage point uptake of the polypill could prevent 3260 CV events and 590 CV deaths over a decade. The polypill appears to be a cost-effective strategy to prevent fatal and non-fatal CV events in the UK.This work was supported by a full grant from Ferrer Internacional.S