0000000001079196
AUTHOR
Ilona Kojalo
Improving uptake of screening for colorectal cancer: a study on invitation strategies and different test kit use
Objective The aim of this study was to compare the uptake of mail-delivered tests for colorectal cancer screening. We assessed the effect of an advance notification letter and a reminder letter, and analysed the proportion of inappropriately handled tests. Materials and methods Fifteen thousand randomly selected residents of Latvia aged 50–74 years were allocated to receive one of three different test systems: either a guaiac faecal occult blood test (gFOBT) or one of two laboratory-based immunochemical tests (FIT) – FOB Gold or OC-Sensor. Half of the target population received an advance notification letter; all nonresponders were sent a reminder letter. Results The uptake of screening was…
Low Prevalence of Celiac Disease among Patients with Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Latvia.
Background and Aims: Studies suggest that the prevalence of celiac disease (CD) is increased in individuals with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs), in particular, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); however, the evidence is conflicting. We aimed to analyze the prevalence of CD in patients with FGIDs in Latvia.
 Methods: This retrospective study included patients with FGIDs, referred for a gastroenterologist consultation in a secondary gastroenterology practice unit. Patients were divided into three groups – patients only with IBS (IBS group), patients only with functional dyspepsia (FD) (FD group), patients with mixed symptoms IBS and FD (Mixed group). Patient levels of tissue …
Pepsinogen Test for the Evaluation of Precancerous Changes in Gastric Mucosa: a Population-Based Study
Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the rationale of blood pepsinogen (PG) testing in population based screening settings.Methods: Participants from a cross-sectional population-based study of cardiovascular risk factors in Latvia were invited to participate in the current study. Pepsinogen I and II were measured in blood samples taken during the initial study and at follow-up; upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed. There were three groups of patients: with moderately decreased (PG I< 70 ng/ml and PG I/PG II ratio < 3), with strongly decreased (PG I< 30 ng/ml and PG I/PG II ratio < 2), and with normal PG level. Biopsy with H. pylori detection was performed (updat…
Clinicopathological characteristics of Epstein-Barr virus-positive gastric cancer in Latvia
Objective Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated gastric cancer has been proposed to be a distinct gastric cancer molecular subtype. The prognostic significance of EBV infection in gastric cancer remains unclear and needs further investigation. Our study aimed to analyze EBV-positive and EBV-negative gastric cancer patients regarding their personal and tumor-related characteristics, and compare their overall survival. Methods Gastric cancer patients consecutively treated at the Riga East University Hospital during 2009-2016 were identified retrospectively. Tumor EBV status was determined by in-situ hybridization for EBV-encoded RNA (EBER). Information about clinicopathological characteristics …
Detection of gastric atrophy by circulating pepsinogens: A comparison of three assays.
Background Circulating levels of pepsinogens have been used in high gastric cancer-risk Asian and European populations to triage endoscopic evaluation for more severe pathology. There are different analytic methods with uncertain correlations. We therefore compared diagnostic performance of three commonly used pepsinogen assays to detect histologically confirmed gastric atrophy. Methods We tested plasma samples from adult patients with (n=50) and without (n=755) moderate or severe gastric corpus atrophy, as determined histologically by consensus of three expert pathologists. A single laboratory measured pepsinogens I (PgI) and II (PgII) using commercially available assays: two ELISA assays …
Sensing gastric cancer via point‐of‐care sensor breath analyzer
Background Detection of disease by means of volatile organic compounds from breath samples using sensors is an attractive approach to fast, noninvasive and inexpensive diagnostics. However, these techniques are still limited to applications within the laboratory settings. Here, we report on the development and use of a fast, portable, and IoT-connected point-of-care device (so-called, SniffPhone) to detect and classify gastric cancer to potentially provide new qualitative solutions for cancer screening. Methods A validation study of patients with gastric cancer, patients with high-risk precancerous gastric lesions, and controls was conducted with 2 SniffPhone devices. Linear discriminant an…
Comparison of the yield from two faecal immunochemical tests at identical cutoff concentrations – a randomized trial in Latvia
OBJECTIVE We have compared the performance of two faecal immunochemical tests (FIT) in an average-risk population. MATERIALS AND METHODS Altogether, 10 000 individuals aged 50-74 were selected randomly from the population of Latvia in 2011 and assigned randomly either to OC-Sensor or to FOB Gold single-time testing. Positivity of the test, frequency of colonic lesions, number needed to screen (NNscreen) and scope for the detection of an advanced neoplasm (cancer and advanced adenoma) were compared between the tests using the same cutoff concentrations in µg/g faeces. Confidence intervals (CIs) at 95% were calculated. RESULTS Positivity with the cutoff set at 10 µg/g faeces was 12.8% (95% CI…