Publications by authors named "Isabel Li"
Mental disorders contribute substantially to the global burden of disease, accounting for up to 16.5% of all years of healthy life lost due to disability and premature mortality. Epidemiological evidence indicates that mental health problems are associated with a diverse range of demographic, social, and economic factors, referred to collectively as social determinants; however, the causal mechanisms underlying these associations are widely recognized to be complex and are only incompletely understood.
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- The text discusses a method for analyzing survival data where some patients may never experience the event of interest, using a mixture cure Cox model and an accelerated failure time (AFT) model when applicable.
- It introduces a penalized likelihood technique to estimate mixture cure semi-parametric AFT models, which accounts for various types of censored data and uses Gaussian basis functions for baseline hazard estimation.
- The method's efficacy is validated through simulation studies and a real case study on melanoma recurrence, showcasing its advantages over existing methods like the smcure R package and making it accessible via the aftQnp R package.
Article Synopsis
- The study examines the effectiveness of combining anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 therapies compared to anti-PD-1 alone for advanced melanoma patients with liver metastases.
- Results showed a higher objective response rate in the combination therapy group (47%) versus anti-PD-1 monotherapy (35%), though no significant differences were found in progression-free or overall survival rates.
- The study concludes that combination therapy may offer better treatment responses, suggesting it should be considered for patients with liver metastases in future treatment plans.
Article Synopsis
- Recent trials showed benefits of using adjuvant systemic therapy (pembrolizumab/nivolumab) for stage IIB or IIC melanoma, but also highlighted risks. Accurate predictions for recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) can help patients balance risks and benefits.
- Researchers created a multivariable risk prediction calculator using data from 3,220 stage II melanoma patients to estimate 5- and 10-year RFS and OS more accurately than the current AJCC-8 staging model.
- The new MIA models demonstrated better prediction accuracy (C-statistics) for RFS and OS compared to AJCC-8 models and were validated externally
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on sentinel node-positive melanoma patients who are monitored using active surveillance with ultrasound rather than undergoing additional surgery (CLND).
- Out of 225 patients studied, 36% experienced recurrences, but only a small fraction (11%) recurred in the node-positive field and the detection methods varied among imaging techniques.
- Results indicate that since all ultrasound-detected recurrences were also seen on CT/PET/CT, routine ultrasound may not be necessary for patients already receiving regular imaging.