Biomedical subjects

J Cuzick

Publications and source records attributed to J Cuzick.

183 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Results of the ATAC (Arimidex, Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination) trial after completion of 5 years' adjuvant treatment for breast cancer.

The standard adjuvant endocrine treatment for postmenopausal women with hormone-receptor-positive localised breast cancer is 5 years of tamoxifen, but recurrences and side-effects restrict its usefulness. The aromatase inhibitor anastrozole was compared with tamoxifen for 5 years in 9366 postmenopausal women with localised breast cancer. After a median follow-up of 68 months, anastrozole significantly prolonged disease-free survival (575 events with anastrozole vs 651 with tamoxifen, hazard ratio 0.87, 95% CI 0.78-0.97, p=0.01) and time-to-recurrence (402 vs 498, 0.79, 0.70-0.90, p=0.0005), and significantly reduced distant metastases (324 vs 375, 0.86, 0.74-0.99, p=0.04) and contralateral breast cancers (35 vs 59, 42% reduction, 12-62, p=0.01). Almost all patients have completed their scheduled treatment, and fewer withdrawals occurred with anastrozole than with tamoxifen. Anastrozole was also associated with fewer side-effects than tamoxifen, especially gynaecological problems and vascular events, but arthralgia and fractures were increased. Anastrozole should be the preferred initial treatment for postmenopausal women with localised hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer.

Anastrozole↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cervical smears following laser treatment. Comparison of Cervex brush versus Cytobrush-Ayre spatula sampling.

For 802 women at initial follow-up after laser treatment of cervical lesions, 421 smears prepared using the Cervex brush were compared with 381 smears prepared using the combination of a Cytobrush plus an Ayre spatula. The smears were graded for adequacy, the presence of endocervical or metaplastic cells and the presence and degree of epithelial abnormalities. Endocervical or metaplastic cells were seen more often in Cytobrush-Ayre spatula smears (94.5%) as compared with Cervex brush smears (88.8%; P = .004). Also, the number of samples classed as inadequate was significantly greater with Cervex brush smears (4.0%) than with Cytobrush-Ayre spatula smears (0.3%; P = .0003). The number of smears showing dysplasia was too small to detect realistic differences between the two sampling methods. These findings suggest that, in women who have had laser treatment of the cervix, Cytobrush plus Ayre spatula sampling produces better-quality smears than does Cervex brush sampling, with regard to both adequacy and the presence of endocervical cells.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of four cytologic sampling techniques in a large family planning center.

In recent years, several new cervical sampling techniques have been introduced to try to improve the accuracy of the cervical smear. In the present study four such techniques were compared: the Aylesbury spatula, Rolon spatula, Cervex device and Aylesbury spatula used in conjunction with a Cytobrush. The total number of smears collected was 14,172, 80% of which were from women under age 35. Despite large differences between the techniques with regard to the presence of endocervical cells in smears, no differences were found in the detection of dysplasia. Endocervical cells were seen significantly more often in dysplastic smears than in negative smears. There was little difference in the rate of unsatisfactory samples. It appears that in a young population, the instruments used for cervical sampling are not likely to significantly influence the detection of dysplasia if skilled personnel take the smears.

Adult↗