Educational Strategies to Reduce Physician Shortages in Underserved Areas: A Systematic Review

The shortage of physicians in rural and underserved areas is an obstacle to the implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). We carried out a systematic review to analyze the effectiveness of initiatives in medical education aimed to increase the supply of physicians in rural or underserved areas. We searched for studies published between 1999 and…

Reproductive and hormonal factors and risk of renal cell carcinoma among women in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

Background Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is twice as common among men compared with women, and hormonal factors have been suggested to partially explain this difference. There is currently little evidence on the roles of reproductive and hormonal risk factors in RCC aetiology. Materials & Methods We investigated associations of age at menarche and age at…

Lung cancer risk discrimination of prediagnostic proteomics measurements compared with existing prediction tools

Background We sought to develop a proteomics-based risk model for lung cancer and evaluate its risk-discriminatory performance in comparison with a smoking-based risk model (PLCOm2012) and a commercially available autoantibody biomarker test. Methods We designed a case-control study nested in 6 prospective cohorts, including 624 lung cancer participants who donated blood samples at most 3 years…

How are health technology assessment bodies responding to the assessment challenges posed by cell and gene therapy?

Background The aims of this research were to provide a better understanding of the specific evidence needs for assessment of clinical and cost-effectiveness of cell and gene therapies, and to explore the extent that the relevant categories of evidence are considered in health technology assessment (HTA) processes. Methods A targeted literature review was conducted to…

“You knew you had to be there, it had to be done”: Experiences of health professionals who faced the COVID-19 pandemic in one public hospital in Spain

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the lack of a government contingency plan for an effective response to an unexpected health crisis. This study uses a phenomenological approach to explore the experience of healthcare professionals during the first three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in a public health hospital in the Valencia region, Spain. It assesses…

DECIDE: Delphi Expert Consensus Statement on Inflammatory Bowel Disease Dysplasia Shared Management Decision-Making

Background and Aims Inflammatory bowel disease colitis-associated dysplasia is managed with either enhanced surveillance and endoscopic resection or prophylactic surgery. The rate of progression to cancer after a dysplasia diagnosis remains uncertain in many cases and patients have high thresholds for accepting proctocolectomy. Individualised discussion of management options is encouraged to take place between patients…

Influence of Genetics on the Response to Omalizumab in Patients with Severe Uncontrolled Asthma with an Allergic Phenotype

Omalizumab is a monoclonal antibody indicated for the treatment of severe uncontrolled asthma with an allergic phenotype. Its effectiveness could be influenced by clinical variables and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in one or more of the genes involved in the mechanism of action and process of response to omalizumab, and these could be used as…

Ejaculation Frequency and Prostate Cancer: CAPLIFE Study

Purpose To evaluate the association between ejaculation frequency (EF) during four stages of life and prostate cancer (PCa) according to tumor aggressiveness, PCa stage, and urinary symptomatology. Materials and Methods A total of 456 incident PCa cases histologically confirmed, and 427 controls aged 40–80 years from the CAPLIFE study were analyzed. This study is a…

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Vitamin D Metabolic Pathway and Their Relationship with High Blood Pressure Risk

High blood pressure (HBP) is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality worldwide. The progression of the disease leads to structural and/or functional alterations in various organs and increases cardiovascular risk. Currently, there are significant deficiencies in its diagnosis, treatment, and control. Vitamin D is characterized by its functional versatility and…

Polymorphisms in VDR, CYP27B1, CYP2R1, GC and CYP24A1 Genes as Biomarkers of Survival in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review

The objective of this systematic review was to provide a compilation of all the literature available on the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes involved in the metabolic pathway of vitamin D and overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This systematic review was conducted…