Trends in adolescent smoking prevalence before and after the emergence of vaping in Australia: an interrupted time series analysis, 1999-2023.

Objective: To compare adolescent smoking trends in Australia before and after the emergence of e-cigarettes in about 2010, to evaluate the potential impacts of adolescent vaping on smoking prevalence.

Design: Repeated cross-sectional study.

Setting: Australian secondary schools.

Misread signals: a misinterpretation of population-level vaping and smoking trends.

The increasing prevalence of e-cigarette use (vaping) among adolescents and young adults has ignited debate over its potential role in the initiation of cigarette smoking. Prospective cohort studies at the individual level consistently demonstrate a higher risk of smoking initiation among young people who have previously vaped when compared with those who have never vaped (sometimes called a 'gateway effect'). On the other hand, several studies analysing repeated cross-sectional data argue that vaping might decrease the risk of smoking through a 'displacement effect', as evidenced by an increasing vaping trend coinciding with a decreasing smoking trend.

Moving from theory to practice: implementing a prehabilitation program before gastrointestinal cancer surgery (PREHAB-GI).

Purpose: Surgery remains the primary treatment for early-stage colorectal and upper gastrointestinal (UGI) cancers. However, it can lead to postoperative complications and reduced functionality. Prehabilitation aims to improve functional reserves before surgery.

Trends in smoking prevalence among 14-15-year-old adolescents before and after the emergence of vaping in New Zealand; an interrupted time series analysis of repeated cross-sectional data, 1999-2023.

Background: New Zealand experienced a prolonged period of minimal regulation on e-cigarettes until the passing of the 2020 Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act.

Methods: Interrupted time series analyses of the Action for Smokefree 2025 (ASH) Year 10 Snapshot Survey data from 1999 to 2023 to compare changes in smoking trends among 14-15-year-old students (n = 690,470) before and after the advent of vaping in New Zealand (around 2010).

Findings: The prevalence of daily-vaping increased from 1.

Relationship of tobacco smoking to cause-specific mortality: contemporary estimates from Australia.

Background: Tobacco industry activities and reduced smoking prevalence can foster under-appreciation of risks and under-investment in tobacco control. Reliable evidence on contemporary smoking impacts, including cause-specific mortality and attributable deaths, remains critical.

Methods: Prospective study of 178,169 cancer- and cardiovascular-disease-free individuals aged ≥ 45 years joining the 45 and Up Study in 2005-2009, with linked questionnaire, hospitalisation, cancer registry and death data to November 2017.

Alcohol consumption, drinking patterns and cause-specific mortality in an Australian cohort of 181,607 participants aged 45 years and over.

Objectives: Despite relatively high alcohol consumption in Australia, local evidence regarding drinking and cause-specific mortality is limited. We aimed to quantify the risk of alcohol-related causes of death and to calculate contemporary estimates of absolute risk and population attributable fractions for deaths caused by alcohol consumption in Australia.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on delays and disruptions in cancer care services: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic substantially impacted the delivery of cancer services and programs. Here we reviewed and synthesized the global scale and impact of pandemic-related delays and disruptions on cancer services, including diagnosis, diagnostic procedures, screening, treatment and supportive and palliative care. Based on data from 245 articles in 46 countries, we observed declines in the number of cancer screening participation (39.

The association between vaping and subsequent initiation of cigarette smoking in young Australians from age 12 to 17 years: a retrospective cohort analysis using cross-sectional recall data from 5114 adolescents.

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between vaping and subsequent initiation of smoking among Australian adolescents and explore the impact of design and analytical methods in previous studies.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of cross-sectional data from 5114 Australian adolescents aged 14-17 recalling information on smoking and vaping initiation from age 12 to 17. The outcome was smoking initiation, analysed with negative-binomial regression to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for vape status (ever-vaped vs never-vaped) as a time-varying exposure.

Correlates of intention-to-attend and confirmed cervical screening attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia: Findings from Compass-PLUS, a prospective cohort study.

Objective: The coronavirus pandemic impacted health-seeking behaviour and access to primary care in Australia. We investigated factors associated with intention-to-attend and attendance of cervical screening during the pandemic, mainly in Victoria, Australia.

Methods: We used questionnaire and attendance data (Aug 2020-Nov 2022) from Compass-PLUS, a sub-study of the Compass randomized-controlled trial of Human Papillomavirus-based vs cytology-based screening.

Prostate Cancer Survivorship Essentials for men with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy: protocol for a randomised controlled trial of a tele-based nurse-led survivorship care intervention (PCEssentials Hormone Therapy Study).

Introduction: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is commonly used to treat men with locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer. Men receiving ADT experience numerous side effects and frequently report unmet supportive care needs. An essential part of quality cancer care is survivorship care.

Platinum chemotherapy for early triple-negative breast cancer.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer associated with shorter survival and a higher likelihood of recurrence. In early TNBC, platinum chemotherapy has been shown to improve pathological complete response (pCR); however, its effect on long-term survival outcomes has not been fully elucidated.

Methods: Randomised controlled trials examining neoadjuvant or adjuvant platinum chemotherapy for early TNBC were included.

Tobacco sales through vending machines: Insights from owners and managers of Australian alcohol-licenced premises with different licencing schemes.

Objective: Tobacco sales in alcohol-licenced premises present a very problematic trigger for tobacco sales-a trigger that is particularly problematic for attempting quitters and people who smoke occasionally. This study reports on the attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of owners or managers of alcohol-licenced venues that sell tobacco exclusively through vending machines.

Methods: The study involved a telephone survey of alcohol-licenced venue owners or managers in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia.

Parent's awareness of, and influence on, their 14-17-year-old child's vaping and smoking behaviours; an analysis of 3242 parent-child pairs in Australia.

Background: Vaping by young people in Australia is a rapidly emerging public health issue. Evidence shows that parental behaviours and attitudes can play a key role in influencing adolescent behaviours. Considering the health harms of vaping and evidence that it can be a gateway to tobacco smoking for never-smokers, it is important to understand whether parents' smoking and vaping behaviours influence their teenage children's smoking and vaping behaviours.

Platinum-based chemotherapy for early triple-negative breast cancer.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer associated with shorter survival and a higher likelihood of the cancer returning. In early TNBC, platinum-based chemotherapy has been shown to improve pathological complete response (pCR); however, its effect on long-term survival outcomes has not been fully elucidated and recommendations to include platinum chemotherapy are not consistent in international guidelines.

Objectives: To evaluate the benefits and harms of platinum-based chemotherapy as adjuvant and neoadjuvant treatment in people with early triple-negative breast cancer.

Participation in the national cervical screening programme among women from New South Wales, Australia, by place of birth and time since immigration: A data linkage analysis using the 45 and up study.

Objective: Equitable elimination of cervical cancer in Australia within the next decade will require high National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) participation by all subgroups of women. The aim of this study was to examine the participation of immigrants compared to Australian-born women.

Methods: Participation in the NCSP (≥1cytology test) over a 3-year (2010-2012) and 5-year (2008-2012) period, by place of birth and time since immigration was examined using individually linked data of 67,350 New South Wales (NSW) women aged ≥45 enrolled in the 45 and Up Study.

Prehabilitation Before Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery: Protocol for an Implementation Study.

Background: Surgery remains the standard curative treatment for early-stage colorectal and upper gastrointestinal cancer. Reduced preoperative functional capacity, nutritional status, and psychological well-being are associated with poor postoperative outcomes. Prehabilitation aims to improve preoperative functional reserves through physical, nutritional, and psychological interventions.

Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tools for Stratifying Women into Risk Groups: A Systematic Review.

Background: The benefits and harms of breast screening may be better balanced through a risk-stratified approach. We conducted a systematic review assessing the accuracy of questionnaire-based risk assessment tools for this purpose.

Methods: Population: asymptomatic women aged ≥40 years; Intervention: questionnaire-based risk assessment tool (incorporating breast density and polygenic risk where available); Comparison: different tool applied to the same population; Primary outcome: breast cancer incidence; Scope: external validation studies identified from databases including Medline and Embase (period 1 January 2008-20 July 2021).

Colon and rectal cancer treatment patterns and their associations with clinical, sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics: analysis of the Australian 45 and Up Study cohort.

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer globally and the second leading cause of cancer death. We examined colon and rectal cancer treatment patterns in Australia.

Methods: From cancer registry records, we identified 1,236 and 542 people with incident colon and rectal cancer, respectively, diagnosed during 2006-2013 in the 45 and Up Study cohort (267,357 participants).

Evaluating laser photobiomodulation for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: a randomised phase II trial.

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of laser photobiomodulation (PBM) for treatment of established chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in cancer survivors.

Methods: We conducted a randomised phase II, non-comparative, sham-controlled, single-blinded clinical trial in 44 cancer survivors reporting CIPN symptoms at least 3 months following completion of neurotoxic chemotherapy. Participants were randomised 2:1 to either PBM laser or sham control delivered twice weekly for 12 sessions.

Cutaneous melanoma, prostate-specific antigen testing and the subsequent risk of prostate cancer diagnosis: a prospective analysis of the 45 and Up Study.

Background: The association between cutaneous melanoma and subsequent risk of prostate cancer (PC) was examined in a large population-based cohort study.

Methods: Male participants in the Sax Institute's 45 and Up Study (Australia) were recruited between 2006 and 2009. Questionnaire data and linked administrative health data from the Centre for Health Record Linkage and Services Australia identified melanomas diagnosed between 1/1/1994 and 12 months before Study recruitment (i.

Vaping product access and use among 14-17-year-olds in New South Wales: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: We assessed access to vaping products and types of products used and the factors associated with vaping and smoking among young people in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample of 721 young people aged 14 to 17 years from NSW recruited through online panels. Poisson regression with robust variance was used to estimate relative risks of ever-vaping and ever-smoking.