Exemestane significantly reduced invasive breast cancers in postmenopausal women who were at moderately increased risk for breast cancer. During a median follow-up period of 3 years, exemestane was associated with no serious toxic effects and only minimal changes in health-related quality of life. (Funded by Pfizer and others; NCIC CTG MAP.3 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00083174.).

The curious habitations sought for shelter and protection are the tul)es of worms, the Imrrows of the craylish, the nests of mollusks, and the nests of ants. Some live in siliceous sponges, others in corallines or among ascidians.The parasitic Isopods attack other Crustacea as well as fishes. The parasites of fish are found on the skin, tins, gills, and in the mouths of their hosts, and have even been known to bore holes in the body l)ack of the tins.One of these, Olenclra prxgudat(/r^attacks the menhaden VII YIII PREFACE. {Brevoortia tt/nm/ius), in great numl)ers.In namino-l)oth species, the host and the parasite, Latrobe aptly and fancifully considered the case analagous to. that of the ancient chief of state {tyraiiiiw^) and the taster {prxgustator). The abdomen is composed of three segments, two short ones followed by the terminal segment, which is rounded posteriorl3\ The uropoda are single branched. The peduncle is short. The branch consists of a single article, tipped with long hairs. There are but two pairs of well-developed pleopoda.

The novel PGMY L1 consensus primer pair is more sensitive than the MY09 and MY11 primer mix for detection and typing with PCR of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in genital specimens. We assessed the diagnostic yield of PGMY primers for the detection and typing of HPV by comparing the results obtained with PGMY09/PGMY11 and MY09/MY11/HMB01 on 299 genital samples. Amplicons generated with PGMY primers were typed with the line blot assay (PGMY-line blot), while HPV amplicons obtained with the degenerate primer pool MY09/MY11/HMB01 were detected with type-specific radiolabeled probes in a dot blot assay (standard consensus PCR test). Cervicovaginal lavage samples (N ‫؍‬ 272) and cervical scrape samples (N ‫؍‬ 27) were tested in parallel with both PCR tests. The PGMY-line blot test detected the presence of HPV DNA more frequently than the standard consensus PCR assay. The concordance for HPV typing between the two assays was 84.3% (214 of 255 samples), for a good kappa value of 0.69. Of the 177 samples containing HPV DNA by at least one method, 40 samples contained at least one HPV type detected only with PGMY-line blot, whereas positivity exclusively with the standard consensus PCR test was found for only 7 samples (P < 0.001). HPV types 45 and 52 were especially more frequently detected with PGMY than MY primers. However, most HPV types were better amplified with PGMY primers, including HPV-16. Samples with discordant results between the two PCR assays more frequently contained multiple HPV types. Studies using PGMY instead of MY primers have the potential to report higher detection rates of HPV infection not only for newer HPV types but also for well-known genital types.Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a very strong and independent predictor of the presence of squamous intraepithelial lesions and invasive cancer of the uterine cervix (14,30,34). Most HPV infections in women are transient and only a minority of women infected with HPV develop persistent infection that may evolve into squamous intraepithelial lesions (10, 13, 21, 27). The 40 HPV genotypes that infect the anogenital tract of men and women are classified into low-risk and high-risk categories based on their association with malignant lesions and phylogenetic relationships (9,14,30,35,36).The modest sensitivity level of HPV detection methods used in initial studies on the natural history and determinants of HPV infection resulted in misclassification of HPV infection status. As a consequence of misclassification of individuals, conflicting results from various studies have been reported. This problem was resolved in the 1990s by using nucleic acid amplification assays, mainly PCR (6,12). Because of the genetic diversity of genital HPVs, the use of type-specific PCR assays is impractical for epidemiological studies for which accurate HPV typing is essential (1). Consensus PCR assays have been devised to amplify most relevant genital types in one reaction and also detect novel HPV genotypes.Three assays target conserved sequences in the HPV L1 gene...

Health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) data are often included in Phase III clinical trials. We evaluate and classify the value added to Phase III trials by HRQoL outcomes, through a review of the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group clinical trials experience within various cancer patient populations. HRQoL may add value in a variety of ways, including the provision of data that may contrast with or may support the primary study outcome; or that assess a unique perspective or subgroup, not addressed by the primary outcome. Thus, HRQoL data may change the study's interpretation. Even in situations where HRQoL measurement does not alter the clinical interpretation of a trial, important methodologic advances can be made. A classification of the added value of HRQoL information is provided, which may assist in choosing trials for which measurement of HRQoL outcomes will be beneficial.

Background: Previous findings regarding risk factors for human papillomavirus (HPV) persistence, other than viral determinants, identified from prospective cohort studies have been inconsistent in part because study designs have differed with respect to differing HPV detection methods and varying lengths of follow-up time. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to continue the search for epidemiologic risk factors of persistent cervical HPV infections and determine what behaviors differed between those women with transient HPV infections and those women who cannot clear their type-specific HPV infections. Methods: Female university students (n = 621) in Montreal were followed for 24 months at 6-month intervals. At each visit, a cervical cell specimen was collected. HPV DNA was detected using the MY09/MY11 PCR protocol and 27 HPV genotypes were identified by the line blot assay