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There is a lack of agreement about which routine invitation strategy should be adopted in colorectal cancer screening. We conducted an observational study to assess the impact of three invitation strategies on participation. Invitation records for the years 2005–2009 were evaluated. There were 2,234,276 invitations from 1,230,683 individuals. Among first invitations, participation associated with direct mailing of the faecal occult blood test kits was slightly lower (relative risk, RR 0.985; 95% confidence interval 0.979–0.990) than that of the reference invitation strategy, that is, the distribution of the test kits by pharmacies. In repeated invitations/previous non‐responders, the participation associated with the direct mailing of the test kits was even lower (RR 0.914; 95% confidence interval 0.895–0.933) and this was also the case for the distribution of the test kits by primary care centres (RR 0.983; 95% confidence interval 0.971–0.995). In contrast, in repeated invitations/previous responders, the impact of primary care centres and direct mailing of the test kits was greater than the use of pharmacies, showing only modest RRs: 1.021 (95% confidence interval 1.019‐1.023) and 1.029 (95% confidence interval 1.025–1.033) respectively. The faecal occult blood test mailing strategy modestly increased participation in previous responders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To assess the impact of ambient temperature on faecal immunochemical test (FIT) performance in the colorectal cancer screening programme of Emilia-Romagna (Italy). Methods A population-based retrospective cohort study on data from 2005 to 2011. Positive rate, detection rate, and positive predictive value rate for cancers and adenomas, and incidence rate of interval cancers after negative tests were analysed using Poisson regression models. In addition to ambient temperature, gender, age, screening history, and Local Health Unit were also considered. Results In 1,521,819 tests analysed, the probability of a positive result decreased linearly with increasing temperature. Point estimates and 95% Confidence Intervals were estimated for six temperature classes (<5, 5 |−10, 10 |−15, 15 |−20, 20|−25 and ≥25℃), and referred to the 5|-10℃ class. The positive rate ratio was significantly related to temperature increase: 0.99 (0.97–1.02), 1, 0.98 (0.96–1.00), 0.96 (0.94–0.99), 0.93 (0.91–0.96), 0.92 (0.89–0.95). A linear trend was also evident for advanced adenoma detection rate ratio: 1.00 (0.96–1.04), 1, 0.98 (0.93–1.02), 0.96 (0.92–1.00), 0.92 (0.88–0.96), 0.94 (0.88–1.01). The effect was less linear, but still important, for cancer detection rates: 0.95 (0.85–1.06), 1, 1.00 (0.90–1.10), 0.94 (0.85–1.05), 0.81 (0.72–0.92), 0.93 (0.80–1.09). No association or linear trend was found for positive predictive values or risk of interval cancer, despite an excess of +16% in the highest temperature class for interval cancer. Conclusions Ambient temperatures can affect screening performance. Continued monitoring is needed to verify the effect of introducing FIT tubes with a new buffer, which should guarantee a higher stability of haemoglobin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To report the accuracy of colposcopically directed biopsy in an internet-based colposcopy quality assurance programme in northern Italy. Methods. A web application was made accessible on the website of the regional Administration. Fifty-nine colposcopists out of the registered 65 logged in, viewed a posted set of 50 digital colpophotographs, classified them for colposcopic impression and need for biopsy, and indicated the most appropriate site for biopsy with a left-button mouse click on the image. Results. Total biopsy failure rate, comprising both nonbiopsy and incorrect selection of biopsy site, was 0.20 in CIN1, 0.11 in CIN2, 0.09 in CIN3, and 0.02 in carcinoma. Errors in the selection of biopsy site were stable between 0.08 and 0.09 in the three grades of CIN while decreasing to 0.01 in carcinoma. In multivariate analysis, the risk of incorrect selection of biopsy site was 1.97 for CIN2, 2.52 for CIN3, and 0.29 for carcinoma versus CIN1. Conclusions. Although total biopsy failure rate decreased regularly with increasing severity of histological diagnosis, the rate of incorrect selection of biopsy site was stable up to CIN3. In multivariate analysis, CIN2 and CIN3 had an independently increased risk of incorrect selection of biopsy site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the relation between the exposure to specific pesticides in agricultural work and the risk of multiple myeloma (MM).Methods: A case-control study was conducted in the province of Forlì, Italy. Forty-six cases of MM (20 females, 26 males; mean age 64 years, range 40 to 74) identified through the Romagna Cancer Registry in the years 1987-90, and 230 age- and gender-matched controls from the general population were interviewed in-person using a structured questionnaire focused on exposure to pesticides and other occupational and nonoccupational variables.Results: Among nonoccupational factors, the education level and the altitude of the place of residence were related inversely to MM risk. First-degree familiarity for hematolymphopoietic neoplasias and previous herpes zoster diagnosis were associated positively with the disease. A nonsignificant increase in MM risk was observed among workers in agriculture as a whole (odds ratio [OR] = 1.31, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 0.62-2.74). An increased risk was associated specifically with the cultivation of apples and pears (OR = 1.75, CI = 1.05-2.91). As regards pesticide exposure, only the chlorinated insecticides were related to an increase in the risk of MM.Conclusions: This study suggests that agricultural work and exposure to pesticides have a role in the etiology of MM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a national survey of post-treatment follow-up (FU) practices of screen-detected breast cancer patients in Italy, conducted by the Italian Group for Mammography Screening. Key emphasis of the study include the secondary role of screening radiologists in multidisciplinary teams, the use of intensive protocols in FU services, and exclusion of screen-detected breast cancer patients from Italian screening programs.

Background: Although among women a decreasing prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection with increasing age has been consistently observed in high-resource countries, different age profiles have been reported elsewhere. Methods: We compared the age profile of high-risk (HR)-HPV prevalence in nine different areas of Northern and Central Italy by studying the women recruited in the intervention arm of the New Technologies in Cervical Cancer study and tested by Hybrid Capture 2. Differences in the age-distribution of HPV infection were investigated in each centre by the joinpoint approach in a logistic model. 46,900 women aged 25 to 60 years were included in the analysis. Results: The HR-HPV age-standardised (on Italian population) prevalence ranged from 5.7% (Trento) to 10.3% (Ravenna). HR-HPV prevalence decreased as a logistic function of increasing age in 6 of 9 centres (Trento, Verona, Florence, Bologna, Imola, and Viterbo). The effect of age on HR-HPV prevalence slopes did not differ significantly among these 6 centres, whereas significant heterogeneity in intercepts (p < 0.001) was found, reflecting different overall HR-HPV prevalence between centres. One significant joinpoint was observed in 2 centres (Padua and Ravenna), indicating that the decrease in HR-HPV prevalence by age was better described using a function composed with two logistic segments. In Padua HR-HPV prevalence decreased only slightly up to 39 years but showed a steep downturn thereafter. In Ravenna HR-HPV prevalence decreased steeply down to 45 years of age and then showed a plateau. Finally, in Turin two significant joinpoints were observed: prevalence decreased only after age 29 and showed a plateau after age 39. Conclusions: Our results showed substantial differences in overall and age-specific HR-HPV prevalence across Italian areas. These findings may be related to different timing of changes in sexual behaviours across regions. Age-specific HR-HPV prevalence in Italy does not support an influence of age per se. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND After the introduction of a mammography screening program, the incidence of late-stage breast cancer is expected to decrease. The objective of the current study was to evaluate variations in the total incidence of breast cancer and in the incidence of breast cancers with a pathologic tumor (pT) classification of pT2 through pT4 after the introduction of mammography screening in 6 Italian administrative regions. METHODS The study area included 700 municipalities, with a total population of 692,824 women ages 55 to 74 years, that were targeted by organized mammography screening between 1991 and 2005. The year screening started at the municipal level (year 1) was identified. The years of screening were numbered from 1 to 8. The ratio of the observed 2-year, age-standardized (Europe) incidence rate to the expected rate (the incidence rate ratio [IRR]) was calculated. Expected rates were estimated assuming that the incidence of breast cancer was stable and was equivalent to that in the last 3 years before year 1. RESULTS The study was based on a total of 14,447 incident breast cancers, including 4036 pT2 through pT4 breast cancers. The total IRR was 1.35 (95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.41) in years 1 and 2, 1.16 (95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.21) in years 3 and 4, 1.14 (95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.20) in years 5 and 6, and 1.14 (95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.21) in years 7 and 8. The IRR for pT2 through pT4 breast cancers was 0.97 (95% confidence interval, 0.90-1.04) in years 1 and 2, 0.81 (95% confidence interval, 0.75-0.88) in years 3 and 4, 0.79 (95% confidence interval, 0.73-0.87) in years 5 and 6, and 0.71 (95% confidence interval, 0.64-0.79) in years 7 and 8. CONCLUSIONS A significant and stable decrease in the incidence of late-stage breast cancer was observed from the third year of screening onward, when the IRR varied between 0.81 and 0.71. Cancer 2013;119:2022-2028. © 2013 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Acute myocardial infarction (AMI; ICD9-CM 410*) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world, and its community surveillance is essential to monitor variation in the occurrence of the disease. Between the late 1990s and the early 2000s more sensitive and specific biomarkers of myocardial necrosis (ie, troponins) were introduced and new diagnostic criteria, emphasising the role of biomarkers, have been developed for clinical and epidemiological purposes. Methods Tosc-AMI is a population-based registry based on the record linkage between hospital and mortality databases; it provides trends of coronary events in Tuscany, Italy. Two random samples of patients admitted to hospital in 2003 were validated according to the American Heart Association (AHA; 2003) and the Multinational MONItoring of trends and determinants in CArdiovascular disease (MONICA) (1983) criteria. Sample 1 (380 cases) was represented by patients admitted to hospital for AMI and sample 2 (380 cases) for other coronary diagnosis Results Tosc-AMI attack rates increased from the period 1997 to 2005 (men: +17%; women: +30%) and then they decreased in the following 2 years (men: -8%; women: -13%). The rise of AMI hospital admissions was due to cases with ICD9-CM code 410.7 (largely representing non-ST elevation MI). According to the AHA criteria, 94.6% events of sample 1 and 29.8% events of sample 2 fulfilled the most extensive criteria for definite, probable or possible AMI. As expected, the more updated AHA definition identified as definite AMI an additional 33.3% when compared to the MONICA criteria (86.0% vs 52.7%). Conclusions The study suggests an influence of the new diagnostic criteria on the rising AMI trend observed in the early 2000s, an increase of less severe cases and a decreasing trend of forms with a more extended myocardial damage INSETS: What is already known on this subject?;What does this study add?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although poorly described in the literature, the practice of early (short-interval) rescreen after a negative screening mammogram is controversial due to its financial and psychological burden and because it is of no proven benefit. Methods: The present study targeted an Italian 2-yearly screening programme (Emilia-Romagna Region, 1997- 2002). An electronic dataset of 647,876 eligible negative mammography records from 376,257 women aged 50-69 years was record-linked with the regional breast cancer registry. The statistical analysis addressed the following research questions: (1) the prevalence of recommendation for early (<24 months) rescreen (RES) among negative mammography reports; (2) factors associated with the likelihood of a women receiving RES; and (3) whether women receiving RES and women receiving standard negative reports differed in terms of proportional incidence of interval breast cancer, recall rate at the next rescreen, detection rate of breast cancer at the next rescreen and the odds of having late-stage breast cancer during the interscreening interval and at the next rescreen. Results: RES was used in eight out of 13 screening centres, where it was found in 4171 out of 313,320 negative reports (average rate 1.33%; range 0.05%-4.33%). Reports with RES were more likely for women aged 50-59 years versus older women (odds ratio (OR) 1.33; 95% CI 1.25-1.42), for the first versus subsequent screening rounds (OR 1.91; 95% CI 1.79-2.04) and with a centre-specific recall rate below the average of 6.2% (OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.32-1.50). RES predicted a 3.51-fold (95% CI 0.94-9.29) greater proportional incidence of first-year interval cancers, a 1.90-fold (95% CI 1.62-2.22) greater recall rate at the next screen, a 1.72-fold (95% CI 1.01-2.74) greater detection rate of cancer at the next screen and a non-significantly decreased risk of late disease stage (OR 0.59; 95% CI 0.23-1.53). Conclusion: The prevalence of RES was in line with the maximum standard level established by the Italian national guidelines. RES identified a subset of women with greater incidence of interval cancers and greater prevalence of cancers detected at the next screen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was the evaluation of the impact of service screening programmes on breast cancer mortality in five regions of Italy. We conducted a matched case-control study with four controls for each case. Cases were defined as breast cancer deaths occurred not later than 31 December 2002. Controls were sampled from the local municipality list and matched by date of birth. Screening histories were assessed by the local, computerised, screening database and subjects were classified as either invited or not-yet-invited and as either screened or unscreened. There were a total of 1750 breast cancer deaths within the 50 to 74-year-old breast cancer cases and a total of 7000 controls. The logistic conditional estimate of the cumulative odds ratios comparing invited with not-yet-invited women was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.62-0.92). Restricting the analyses to invited women, the odds ratio of screened to never-respondent women corrected for self-selection bias was 0.55 (95% CI: 0.36-0.85). The introduction of breast cancer screening programmes in Italy is associated with a reduction in breast cancer mortality attributable to the additional impact of service screening over and above the background access to mammography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To estimate the total proportional incidence of interval breast cancers in a two-yearly mammography screening programme, and to perform subgroup analyses by woman's age, screening centre-specific recall rate and screening round. Methods: Using unconverted electronic data-sets from the 13 screening centres in the Emilia-Romagna Region of northern Italy (540,450 women aged 50–69 years), a database of 919,538 mammography records was created. Of these, 655,175 eligible single-mammography records (1997–2002) from 379,318 women were record-linked with the regional Breast Cancer Registry. In the two-year inter-screening interval, a total of 1,022,694.3 woman-years at risk were accumulated, with 695 interval cancers observed and 2428.3 expected. The observed number of interval cancers was divided by the expected number to obtain the proportional incidence. Results: The total proportional incidence of first- and second-year interval cancers was 0.18 (95% CI 0.15–0.20) and 0.43 (0.39–0.47), respectively. Woman's age was inversely associated with proportional incidence in both interval years, with a cut-off point at age 60. A screening centre-specific recall rate greater than the regional average of 5% was associated with a proportional incidence of 0.14 (0.11–0.17) versus 0.20 (0.17–0.24) in the first interval year, and of 0.36 (0.31–0.41) versus 0.50 (0.44–0.56) in the second. The proportional incidence remained unchanged between the first and subsequent screening rounds. Conclusions: The results were in line with the previous Italian data and with the recommended European standards. The inverse effect of woman's age and of recall rate was expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We enrolled all 2162 in situ and 21 148 invasive cases of breast cancer in 17 areas of Italy, diagnosed in 1997-2001. Rates of early cancer increased by 13.7% in the screening age group (50-69 years), and breast conserving surgery by 24.6%. Advanced cancer rates decreased by 19.4%, and mastectomy rates by 24.2%. Service screening did not increase mastectomy rates in the study population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: An innovative web-based colposcopy quality assurance programme was implemented in population-based cervical screening services in three north-eastern Italian administrative regions with different colposcopists' training background. In this study, the levels of intra- and interregional intercolposcopist diagnostic agreement were evaluated.Study Design: Of the 158 registered colposcopists, 125 accessed the website of the programme, logged-in, viewed a posted set of 50 digital colpophotographs selected by an expert steering committee, and classified them for the colposcopic impression, the visibility of the squamocolumnar junction, and the need for biopsy. Anonymous data were downloaded and analysed using the crude, or observed, proportion of agreement and the kappa coefficient.Results: There were 113 eligible colposcopists. Overall, crude agreement on the colposcopic impression, the visibility of the squamocolumnar junction, and the need for biopsy was 0.72, 0.72, and 0.87, with kappa values of 0.60, 0.36, and 0.69, respectively. The homologous kappa values were 0.61, 0.41, and 0.69 in one region, 0.57, 0.36, and 0.69 in another, and 0.66, 0.38, and 0.74 in the third. Total intra- and interregional agreement were nearly identical, with kappa values of 0.59 and 0.60 for the colposcopic impression, 0.38 and 0.35 for the visibility of the squamocolumnar junction, and 0.69 and 0.69 for the need for biopsy. The width of 95% confidence intervals around the above kappa values was ≤0.01.Conclusions: The levels of agreement varied between moderate and substantial both within and between regions. Regional differences in training background had minor effects. The interpretation of colposcopy is potentially well-reproducible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tuscany Region was the first Italian Region to initiate a program for the prevention of hip fractures in over 65 year old. The T.A.R.Ge.T. project "Appropriate treatment of geriatric re-fractures in Tuscany" (Trattamento Appropriato delle Rifratture Geriatriche in Toscana), which is still on-going, includes a preliminary phase (2009-2010) for baseline analysis and education of the participating centers and a 4-year-prospective phase (2011-2014). The monitoring system is performed horizontally analyzing 5 different flows: SDO (Performance Hospitalization), SPF (Pharmaceutical Distribution Dataset), FED (Direct Distribution Dataset), SAA (Registry of Patients), SPA (Specialized Outpatient) flows. In this review will be shown some of the most important results of analyzes of the retrospective phase. Between 2006 and 2011 only 26% of hip fractured patients has being treated with anti-osteoporotic drugs. The percentage of treatment increases 10% after the second fracture. Until 2011 there wasn't in Tuscany a prevention program of bone fragility; patients were treated with specific treatment only in severe cases: this phenomenon implies that mortality and re-fracture are higher on treated patients than in patients who did not have any kind of treatment. The treated patients are the most severe and therefore they have a higher risk of death and re-fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prehospital treatment of new-onset supraventricular arrhythmias can be attempted by physician-staffed mobile intensive care units to decrease the hospitalization rate and expense. Identification of patients suitable for at-home pharmacological treatment may help in the triage of patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF). In the present investigation, the value of several clinical variables to predict the success of pharmacological at-home cardioversion was tested. A total of 924 patients with new onset (less than 24 h) AF, rescued by the Florence Mobile Coronary Care Unit (MCCU), were included in the study. By univariate analysis, female sex, palpitations as symptoms leading to MCCU call and a short delay between symptom onset and MCCU intervention were associated with a favourable outcome of treatment, whilst dyspnoea as the main complaint requiring MCCU intervention and the association of AF with an acute cardiovascular event (angina, acute myocardial infarction or pulmonary oedema) were negatively associated with the success rate of treatment. The cardioversion rate was not significantly different in patients with underlying heart disease or in patients with lone atrial fibrillation. By multivariate analysis, only sex and the drug employed for treatment (positive relation for propafenone and bunaftine, negative for amiodarone, digoxin and verapamil) were significant predictors of the outcome of MCCU intervention. Our results suggest that patients with new-onset (less than 24 h) AF with or without underlying heart disease whose main complaint is palpitation can be successfully cardioverted at home with a class IC drug (propafenone). Patients with acute coronary syndromes or left ventricular failure are good candidates for elective cardioversion after hospitalization.