1
|
Medford A, Skirbekk V, Strand BH. Trends in ages at death of Norwegian centenarians: the 1870-1904 birth cohorts. Scand J Public Health 2023:14034948231206529. [PMID: 37899540 DOI: 10.1177/14034948231206529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND With rapidly rising life expectancy and ageing populations, interest has grown in the survival patterns and ages at death at the highest ages. In Scandinavia, the accumulation of very old population segments coupled with long-established, high-quality population registers permit meaningful analysis. METHODS This study is based on individual level data from extinct Norwegian birth cohorts using data obtained from the Norwegian Civil Register System. We assess trends in the ages at death of centenarians in Norway for cohorts born between 1870 and 1904 for evidence of any secular increase using quantile regression. RESULTS We observed that there is no upward trend in centenarian lifespans, in line with recent observations in Sweden, but contrary to the upward trend at the very highest percentiles as observed in Denmark. CONCLUSIONS The available evidence suggests that the stagnation in centenarian lifespans may be partly due to the failure to find ways of dealing with neurodegenerative diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anthony Medford
- Center on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Alvarez JA, Medford A, Strozza C, Thinggaard M, Christensen K. Stratification in health and survival after age 100: evidence from Danish centenarians. BMC Geriatr 2021; 21:406. [PMID: 34210289 PMCID: PMC8252309 DOI: 10.1186/s12877-021-02326-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The existence of a super-select group of centenarians that demonstrates increased survivorship has been hypothesized. However, it is unknown if this super-select group possesses similar characteristics apart from extreme longevity. METHODS In this study, we analyse high-quality health and survival data of Danish centenarians born in 1895, 1905 and 1910. We use Latent Class Analysis to identify unobserved health classes and to test whether these super-select lives share similar health characteristics. RESULTS We find that, even after age 100, a clear and distinct gradient in health exists and that this gradient is remarkably similar across different birth cohorts of centenarians. Based on the level of health, we identify three clusters of centenarians - robust, frail and intermediate - and show that these groups have different survival prospects. The most distinctive characteristic of the robust centenarians is the outperformance in different health dimensions (physical, functional and cognitive). Finally, we show that our health class categorizations are good predictors of the survival prospects of centenarians. CONCLUSIONS There is a clear stratification in health and functioning among those over 100 years of age and these differences are associated with survival beyond age 100.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jesús-Adrián Alvarez
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, 5000, Odense, Denmark.
| | - Anthony Medford
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, 5000, Odense, Denmark
| | - Cosmo Strozza
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, 5000, Odense, Denmark
| | - Mikael Thinggaard
- Danish Aging Research Center, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense C, Denmark
| | - Kaare Christensen
- Danish Aging Research Center, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense C, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Genetics and Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Medford A, Vaupel JW. Extremes are not normal: a reminder to demographers. J Pop Research 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s12546-019-09231-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
|
4
|
Abstract
Although Denmark and Sweden have close cultural and historical ties, lifespans for Danes have generally been lower than those of Swedes. Recent improvements in Danish mortality after a period of stagnation have led to the suspicion that there may be positive trends at the very high ages at death within that population and that these trends could be quite different from those observed in Sweden. Although the mean ages at death for Danish and Swedish centenarians have been relatively constant at about 102 years for the cohorts born 1870-1904, the oldest-old in Denmark have been getting older, but no evidence has suggested any increase in lifespan for Swedes. Using quantile regression, we show that Danish centenarian lifespans in the 90th percentile have been lengthening, with those in 94th percentile (6 % longest-lived individuals) having a trend that is statistically significant at the 5 % level. We demonstrate that the increase observed is not due to the increasing sizes of birth cohorts and thus must be due to improving survival among this select top tier. We postulate that this super-select group in Denmark is best able to take advantage of the factors driving mortality reduction, whereas the majority of centenarians are not.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anthony Medford
- Interdisciplinary Center on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
| | - Kaare Christensen
- Danish Aging Research Center, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Axel Skytthe
- Danish Aging Research Center, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - James W Vaupel
- Interdisciplinary Center on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
Has the maximum human lifespan been reached? The current record stands at 122 years, 164 days and has held for over 20 years and is more than four and three quarter years higher than the previous record. The value and persistence of this record have surprised some researchers, with some even questioning its veracity. There have been previous attempts in the literature to answer questions about how long this record might stand and whether it is truly exceptional but the focus has been mainly on the record ages, using ad hoc tools. This article contributes in two new ways. First we study lifespan records via the (inter-) record times and second we make use of specific tools from statistical Records Theory. We find that the occurrence of the present record was not surprising. We estimate around a 25% chance that the record would have survived until now and around a one in five chance that it will survive until 2050, demonstrating remarkable persistence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anthony Medford
- Interdiscliplinary Center on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- * E-mail:
| | - James W. Vaupel
- Interdiscliplinary Center on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Medford A. Biodemography of Aging Determinants of Healthy Life Span and Longevity. Can Stud Popul 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s42650-019-00001-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
|
7
|
Medford A, Juric D, Niemierko A, Malvarosa G, Park H, Shellock M, Spring L, Moy B, Isakoff S, Ellisen L, Bardia A. Abstract P5-20-02: HER2 mutations detected by ctDNA in ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer patients: Incidence and impact on clinical outcomes. Cancer Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.sabcs17-p5-20-02] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background: While the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) gene has long been linked with the pathogenesis and prognosis of breast cancer, its significance has been recognized only when the receptor has been amplified. However, rare, but actionable, somatic mutations in HER2, without HER2 gene amplification, have been described in breast cancer based on molecular analysis of metastatic specimens (frequency ˜ 1%). Little is known about the incidence based on blood-based genotyping assays, as well as impact of HER2 mutations on clinical outcomes in patients with ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer (MBC).
Methods: We evaluated the presence of HER2 mutations based on routine tissue and blood-based genotyping assays, ordered by treating oncologists at our institution, for patients with estrogen receptor positive (ER+)/HER2 negative MBC. The tissue analysis was based on SNAPSHOT-NGS, an anchored multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay that detects single nucleotide variants (SNV) and insertions/deletions (indel), and the blood-based genotyping analysis was based on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) detection using the Guardant 360 panel, a next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay capable of detecting mutations with comparable sensitivity to SNAPSHOT. Patients with acquired HER2 mutations were identified, and multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the hazard ratio (HR) for the association between HER2 mutations and progression free survival (PFS), adjusting for age and number of prior therapies.
Results: Among the ER+/HER2- MBC patients (N=118), 11% (N= 13) were found to have acquired HER2 mutation by ctDNA analysis, but no HER2 mutations were identified in any of patients based on tissue-based molecular analysis of archival specimens. Among patients with HER2 mutant, ER+/HER2- MBC, the median age at metastatic diagnosis was 57.34 (range 51.5-67.1) years, 7.7% had de-novo metastatic disease, and 30.8% had prior CDK 4/6 inhibitor therapy. In terms of outcomes, in the multivariate model, patients with HER2 mutant breast cancer had similar PFS when treated with endocrine and targeted therapy combination (HR = 0.24; p = 0.21), and trended towards worse PFS with chemotherapy (HR = 2.69; p = 0.06), as compared to non-HER2 mutant group, albeit duration of follow up was limited (median duration = 6.7 months). Of note, most of the detected HER2 mutations were activating or deleterious, but not all were clonal. Updated outcome data, including overall survival, will be presented at the meeting.
Conclusions: A much larger subset of patients with ER+/HER2- MBC have HER2 mutations detectable by ctDNA, but not by tissue, which highlights the need for blood-based biomarker monitoring for identification of actionable mutations, as well as the potential clinical utility in development of genotype driven trials for patients with HER2 mutant, ER+/HER2- MBC.
Citation Format: Medford A, Juric D, Niemierko A, Malvarosa G, Park H, Shellock M, Spring L, Moy B, Isakoff S, Ellisen L, Bardia A. HER2 mutations detected by ctDNA in ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer patients: Incidence and impact on clinical outcomes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-20-02.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A Medford
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - D Juric
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | | | | | - H Park
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - M Shellock
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - L Spring
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - B Moy
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - S Isakoff
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - L Ellisen
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - A Bardia
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Walker S, Morley A, Stadon L, Fonseka DD, Medford A, Maskell N. S92 Non-malignant pleural effusions (NMPE): aprospective study into 355 consecutive unselected patients. Thorax 2016. [DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2016-209333.98] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
|
9
|
Marchand C, Medford A. P219 A Retrospective Analysis Of The Relationship Between Ebus-tbna Diagnostic Utility And Lung Cancer Stage. Thorax 2014. [DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2014-206260.348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
|
10
|
Arnold D, Bhatnagar R, Fairbanks L, Zahan-Evans N, Clive A, Medford A, Maskell N. S115 Pleural Fluid Adenosine Deaminase (ada) In The Diagnosis Of Tuberculous Pleural Effusions In A Low Incidence Population. Thorax 2014. [DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2014-206260.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
|
11
|
Free C, Haldar P, Medford A, Agrawal S, Bennett J. Histological evaluation of mediastinal pathology with EBUS-TBNA: The Leicester series. Lung Cancer 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/s0169-5002(10)70046-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
12
|
Abstract
Pleural disease remains a commonly encountered clinical problem for both general physicians and chest specialists. This review focuses on the investigation of undiagnosed pleural effusions and the management of malignant and parapneumonic effusions. New developments in this area are also discussed at the end of the review. It aims to be evidence based together with some practical suggestions for practising clinicians.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A R Medford
- Southmead Hospital, Acute Lung Unit, Southmead Hospital, Bristol, UK
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
13
|
Abstract
A line abutting two tilted flanks is apparently shifted towards the orientation orthogonal to the flanks and at the same time is reduced in its apparent length. It has been suggested that both effects are caused by band-pass spatial filtering, followed by location of the end points of the line at the peaks in the filtered image. Here implications of the filtering explanation of these effects are explored further. In the first experiment, it was predicted that orientation thresholds (as opposed to biases) would be increased for short line lengths, and would be further increased by abutting bars. The predictions were confirmed. It was shown in experiment 2 that the orientation shift was reduced by a small (4 min arc) gap between target lines and orthogonal flanks. In experiment 3 the threshold elevations and the orientation shift produced by orthogonal and tilted flanks were compared. Last, in experiment 4, the threshold elevations and orientation shift produced by orthogonal and tilted flanks, at different retinal eccentricities varying from 0 to 3.2 deg were compared, and the prediction that the magnitude of the orientation shift would decrease with line length and increase with eccentricity was confirmed. The connection is explored between the orientation shift and the Zöllner illusion, and demonstrations are presented of the Zöllner effect in which target and inducing lines are of opposite contrast on a gray background. It is concluded that the Judd and Zöllner illusions do not depend upon a single mechanism.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M J Morgan
- Department of Visual Science, Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
Salvador RA, Czyzewski LB, Baruth H, Hooper A, Medford A, Miller D, van Trabert T, Yaremko B, Welton AF. Ro 21-7634, a new antiallergic agent with potent oral activity. Agents Actions 1981; 11:339-44. [PMID: 7025596 DOI: 10.1007/bf01982469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Ro 21-7634 was examined for oral antiallergic activity in two in vivo models commonly used to evaluate antiallergics. In the rat PCA test, this drug had an oral ID50 of 1.14 mg/kg and was found to be more potent than several other antiallergics including Disodium Cromoglycate (cromoglycate), Oxatomide, Doxanthrazole, Xanoxate, 2,6-bis (ethyoxyoxalylamino) pyridine, PRD-92-EA and M + B 22,948. In contrast to cromoglycate, Ro 21-7634 was found to be an orally active inhibitor of antigen-induced broncho-constriction in passively sensitized rats (ID50 = 0.2 mg/kg). In addition, Ro 21-7634 inhibited antigen-induced histamine release in an in vivo passive peritoneal anaphylaxis test system, following intraperitoneal administration. Ro 21-7634 demonstrated no end organ antagonism toward histamine, metacholine or serotonin in the guinea pig.
Collapse
|
15
|
Welton AF, O'Donnell M, Anderson W, Crowley H, Medford A, Simko B, Yaremko B. Role of cyclooxygenase products in some of the biological effects of chemically synthesized leukotrienes (B4, C4, D4, and E4). Adv Prostaglandin Thromboxane Leukot Res 1983; 12:145-51. [PMID: 6303082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
|