Validation of HPV triage in cytology-based cervical cancer screening for ASC-US cases using Japanese data

OBJECTIVE

In Japan, cervical cancer screening consists of a cytology examination performed once every 2 years. We verified whether the risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 3 disease or higher (CIN3+) was equivalent to that of cytology negative cases (negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy [NILM]) for patients with a cytological diagnosis of "atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US)" who tested negative for human papillomavirus (HPV).

METHODS

Data from a total of 22,925 cases who had undergone cervical cancer screening at least twice or who had completed follow-up examinations after cervical screening at a single facility between April 2013 and April 2018 were analyzed. The cumulative incidence of CIN3+ was calculated for each category of initial cytology finding and HPV result (NILM, > ASC-US, ASC-US/HPV (unknown), ASC-US/HPV⁺, and ASC-US/HPV^-). The statistical analysis was conducted using the Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

The hazard ratio for the cumulative incidence of CIN3+ in 2 years relative to that for NILM cases was 2.7 (95% confidence interval=1.0-7.8) for > ASC-US cases, 0.5 (0.1-1.7) for ASC-US/HPV (unknown), 0.8 (0.3-2.4) for ASC-US/HPV⁺ cases, and 0.3 (0.1-1.0) for ASC-US/HPV^- cases.

CONCLUSION

Because the cumulative incidence of CIN3+ at 2 years for the ASC-US/HPV^- cases was sufficiently low, compared with that of the NILM cases, we considered it reasonable and safe to perform HPV triage for ASC-US cases and to allow HPV-negative cases to return for their next screening in 2 years, which is the same follow-up schedule as that for NILM cases.

Impact of HBeAg on Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk During Oral Antiviral Treatment in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Antiviral treatment from hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg)-positive status may attenuate the integration of hepatitis B virus DNA into the host genome causing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the impact of HBeAg status at the onset of antiviral treatment on the risk of HCC.

METHODS

The incidence of HCC was evaluated in Korean patients with chronic hepatitis B who started entecavir or tenofovir in either HBeAg-positive or HBeAg-negative phase. The results in the Korean cohort were validated in a Caucasian PAGE-B cohort.

RESULTS

A total of 9143 Korean patients (mean age, 49.2 years) were included: 49.1% were HBeAg-positive and 49.2% had cirrhosis. During follow-up (median, 5.1 years), 916 patients (10.0%) developed HCC. Baseline HBeAg positivity was not associated with the risk of HCC in the entire cohort or cirrhotic subcohort. However, in the non-cirrhotic subcohort, HBeAg positivity was independently associated with a lower risk of HCC in multivariable (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.26-0.66), propensity score-matching (aHR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.28-0.76), and inverse probability weighting analyses (aHR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.28-0.70). In the Caucasian cohort (n = 719; mean age, 51.8 years; HBeAg-positive, 20.3%; cirrhosis, 34.8%), HBeAg-positivity was not associated with the risk of HCC either in the entire cohort or cirrhotic subcohort. In the non-cirrhotic subcohort, none of the HBeAg-positive group developed HCC, although the difference failed to reach statistical significance (aHR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.00-1.67).

CONCLUSIONS

This multinational cohort study implies that HBeAg positivity at the onset of antiviral treatment seems to be an independent factor associated with a lower risk of HCC in patients with chronic hepatitis B without cirrhosis, but not in those with cirrhosis.

Evaluating center performance in the competing risks setting: Application to outcomes of wait-listed end-stage renal disease patients

It is often of interest to compare centers or healthcare providers on quality of care delivered. We consider the setting where evaluation of center performance on multiple competing events is of interest. We propose estimating center effects through cause-specific proportional hazards frailty models that allow correlation among a center's cause-specific effects. Estimation of our model proceeds via penalized partial likelihood and is implemented in R. To evaluate center performance, we also propose a directly standardized excess cumulative incidence (ECI) measure. Therefore, based on our proposed methods, practitioners can evaluate centers either through the cause-specific hazards or the cumulative incidence functions. We demonstrate, through simulations, the advantages of the proposed methods to detect outlying centers, by comparing the proposed methods and existing methods which assume uncorrelated random center effects. In addition, we develop a Correlation Score Test to test the null hypothesis that the competing event processes within a center are correlated. Using data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, we apply our method to evaluate the performance of Organ Procurement Organizations on two competing risks: (i) receipt of a kidney transplant and (ii) death on the wait-list.

Prospective comparison of hybrid capture 2 and SPF₁₀-LiPA for carcinogenic human papillomavirus detection and risk prediction of cervical cancer: a population-based cohort study in China

Objective

To investigate the extent of the cross-reactivity of hybrid capture 2 (HC2) assay and evaluate the potential effect of cross-reactivity on the long-term risk for cervical cancer and precancers.

Methods

Based on the Shanxi Province Cervical Cancer Screening Study-I (SPOCCS-I) cohort from 2005 to 2014 in Shanxi, China, SPF₁₀-line probe assay (LiPA) was performed in all 598 HC2 positive and 300 random-selected HC2 negative cervical specimens. Ten-year cumulative incidence rate (CIR) of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) of these two tests was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier methods. Possible human papillomavirus (HPV) types to be cross-reacted by HC2 were also analyzed.

Results

The overall agreement between HC2 and SPF₁₀-LiPA for detecting carcinogenic HPV was 73.27%. The highest 10-year cumulative risk of CIN2+ was observed in both HC2 positive and LiPA-carcinogenic HPV positive women (25.70%; 95% confidence interval [CI]=23.55%–27.91%), followed by HC2 positive but LiPA-non-carcinogenic HPV positive women (9.97%; 95% CI=8.57%–11.50%), HC2 negative but LiPA-carcinogenic HPV positive (2.56%; 95% CI=2.44%–2.70%) and HC2 positive but LiPA-HPV negative (1.85%; 95% CI=1.78%–1.92%) women. The proportion of cross-reactivity of HC2 with untargeted carcinogenic types was 8.9%, most of which were attributable to HPV26, 73, 82, 69, 71, 53, 11, 43, and 54.

Conclusion

The noticeable high risk of CIN2+ in women infected with cross-reacted non-carcinogenic HPV and low risk in those with miss-to-detective carcinogenic HPV supported an overall good clinical performance of HC2 for a general cervical cancer screening.

World Trade Center-related physical and mental health burden among New York City Fire Department emergency medical service workers

OBJECTIVES

To describe the health burden among Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) emergency medical service (EMS) workers and examine its association with work at the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster site.

METHODS

In this observational cohort study, we used FDNY physician diagnoses to estimate the cumulative incidence of physical health conditions including rhinosinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), obstructive airways disease (OAD) and cancer among EMS workers and demographically similar firefighters who were active on 11 September 2001 (9/11). Validated screening instruments were used to estimate the prevalence of probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), probable depression and probable harmful alcohol use. We also analysed the association between health conditions and WTC-exposure.

RESULTS

Among 2281 EMS workers, the 12-year post-9/11 cumulative incidence (11 September 2001 to 31 December 2013) of rhinosinusitis was 10.6%; GERD 12.1%; OAD 11.8%; cancer 3.1%. The prevalence of probable PTSD up to 12 years after exposure was 7%; probable depression 16.7%; and probable harmful alcohol use 3%. Compared with unexposed, EMS workers who arrived earliest at the site had higher adjusted relative risks (aRR) for most conditions, including rhinosinusitis (aRR=3.7; 95% CI 2.2 to 6.0); GERD (aRR=3.8; 95% CI 2.4 to 6.1); OAD (aRR=2.4: 95% CI 1.7 to 3.6); probable PTSD (aRR=7.0; 95% CI 3.6 to 13.5); and, probable depression (aRR=2.3; 95% CI 1.6 to 3.1).

CONCLUSIONS

In this 12-year study, we documented a high burden of health conditions associated with WTC-exposure among FDNY EMS workers. These findings underscore the importance of continued monitoring and treatment of this workforce.