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SummaryBackground Survival and prognostic factors for thin melanomas have been studied relatively little in population-based settings. This patient group accounts for the majority of melanomas diagnosed in western countries today, and better prognostic information is needed. Objectives The aim of this study was to use established prognostic factors such as ulceration, tumour thickness and Clark's level of invasion for risk stratification of T1 cutaneous melanoma. Methods From 1990 to 2008, the Swedish Melanoma Register included 97% of all melanomas diagnosed in Sweden. Altogether, 13 026 patients with T1 melanomas in clinical stage I were used for estimating melanoma-specific 10-and 15-year mortality rates. The Cox regression model was used for further survival analysis on 11 165 patients with complete data. Results Ulceration, tumour thickness and Clark's level of invasion all showed significant, independent, long-term prognostic information. By combining these factors the patients could be subdivided into three risk groups: a low-risk group (67AE9% of T1 cases) with a 10-year melanoma-specific mortality rate of 1AE5% (1AE2-1AE9%); an intermediate-risk group (28AE6% of T1 cases) with a 10-year mortality rate of 6AE1% (5AE0-7AE3%); and a high-risk group (3AE5% of T1 cases) with a 10-year mortality rate of 15AE6% (11AE2-21AE4%). The high-and intermediate-risk groups accounted for 66% of melanoma deaths within T1. Conclusions Using a population-based melanoma register, and combining ulceration, tumour thickness and Clark's level of invasion, three distinct prognostic subgroups were identified.

In all age groups among men, living alone is significantly associated with reduced CMM-specific survival, partially attributed to a more advanced stage at diagnosis. This emphasizes the need for improved prevention and early detection strategies for this group.

Introduction Growing populations of elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or heart failure (HF) require more healthcare. A four-year telehealth intervention – the Health Diary system based on digital pen technology – was implemented. We hypothesized that study patients with advanced COPD or HF would have lower rates of hospitalization when using the Health Diary. The aim was to investigate the effects of the intervention on healthcare costs and the number of hospitalizations, as well as other care required in COPD and HF patients. Methods Patients were introduced to the telemonitoring system which was supervised by a specialized hospital-based home care (HBHC) unit. Staff associated with this unit were responsible for the healthcare provided. The study included patients with COPD or HF, aged ≥ 65 years who were frequently hospitalized due to exacerbations – at least two inpatient episodes within the last 12 months. Observed number of hospitalizations and total healthcare costs were compared with the expected values, which were calculated using the generalized estimating equations (GEE) method. Results A total of 36 COPD and 58 HF patients with advanced stages of disease were included. The number of hospitalizations was significantly reduced for both HF and COPD patients participating in telemonitoring. Accordingly, hospitalization costs were significantly reduced for both groups, but the total healthcare cost was not significantly different from the expected costs. Conclusion A telemonitoring system, the Health Diary, combined with a specialized HBHC unit significantly decreases the need for hospital care in elderly patients with advanced HF or COPD without increasing total healthcare costs.

Summary Background Both patient survival and the proportion of patients diagnosed with thin cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) have been steadily rising in Sweden as in most Western countries, although the rate of improvement in survival appears to have declined in Sweden at the end of the last millennium. Objectives To analyse the most recent trends in the distribution of tumour thickness (T category) as well as CMM‐specific survival in Swedish patients diagnosed during 1997–2011. Methods This nationwide population‐based study included 30 590 patients registered in the Swedish Melanoma Register (SMR) and diagnosed with a first primary invasive CMM during 1997–2011. The patients were followed through 2012 in the national Cause of Death Register. Results Logistic and Cox regression analyses adjusting for age at diagnosis, tumour site and healthcare region were carried out. The odds ratio for being diagnosed with thicker tumours was significantly reduced (P < 0·001) and the CMM‐specific survival significantly improved in men diagnosed during 2007–2011 compared with men diagnosed during 1997–2001 (hazard ratio = 0·81; 95% confidence interval 0·72–0·91; P < 0·001), while the corresponding differences for women were not significant. Women were diagnosed with significantly thicker tumours during 2002–2006 and a tendency towards decreased survival was observed compared with those diagnosed earlier (during 1997–2001) and later (during 2007–2011). Conclusions In Sweden, the CMMs of men are detected earlier over time and this seems to be followed by an improved CMM‐specific survival for men. Women are still diagnosed with considerably thinner tumours and they experience a better survival than men.

Background The healthcare system needs effective strategies to identify the most vulnerable group of older patients, assess their needs and plan their care proactively. To evaluate the effectiveness of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) of older adults with a high risk of hospitalisation we conducted a prospective, pragmatic, matched-control multicentre trial at 19 primary care practices in Sweden. Methods We identified 1604 individuals aged 75 years and older using a new, validated algorithm that calculates a risk score for hospitalisation from electronic medical records. After a nine-month run-in period for CGA in the intervention group, 74% of the available 646 participants had accepted and received CGA, and 662 participants remained in the control group. Participants at intervention practices were invited to CGA performed by a nurse together with a physician. The CGA was adapted to the primary care context. The participants thereafter received actions according to individual needs during a two-year follow-up period. Participants at control practices received care as usual. The primary outcome was hospital care days. Secondary outcomes were number of hospital care episodes, number of outpatient visits, health care costs and mortality. Outcomes were analysed according to intention to treat and adjusted for age, gender and risk score. We used generalised linear mixed models to compare the intervention group and control group regarding all outcomes. Results Mean age was 83.2 years, 51% of the 1308 participants were female. Relative risk reduction for hospital care days was − 22% (− 35% to − 4%, p = 0.02) during the two-year follow-up. Relative risk reduction for hospital care episodes was − 17% (− 30% to − 2%, p = 0.03). There were no significant differences in outpatient visits or mortality. Health care costs were significantly lower in the intervention group, adjusted mean difference was € − 4324 (€ − 7962 to − 686, p = 0.02). Conclusions and relevance Our findings indicate that CGA in primary care can reduce the need for hospital care days in a high-risk population of older adults. This could be of great importance in order to manage increasing prevalence of frailty and multimorbidity. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT03180606, first posted 08/06/2017.

Few studies have evaluated long-term health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients during auto-SCT. This prospective study examined HRQL in 96 eligible patients before, during and up to 3 years after auto-SCT. The aim of the study was to make a comprehensive assessment of the frequency and severity of different symptoms in patients undergoing auto-SCT. The European Organization for Treatment and Research of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ C-30) was administered 13 times. The second week during treatment was the period when patients had the lowest HRQL regarding both total quality of life and function and symptom scales. The patients recovered quickly and just two months after transplantation the baseline values were restored. Three years after transplantation most of the items in the questionnaire had stabilized, except role function and dyspnea, which had improved. There were significant differences between multiple myeloma (MM) and lymphoma patients' physical function, quality of life, fatigue and pain during week 2. At the 3-year follow-up, lymphoma patients indicated a better HRQL than MM patients. The quick recovery of patients after transplantation suggests that treatment is well tolerated; however, the supportive care could be improved at week 2, especially for the lymphoma patients.

Background: The healthcare for older adults is insufficient in many countries, not designed to meet their needs and is often described as disorganized and reactive. Prediction of older persons at risk of admission to hospital may be one important way for the future healthcare system to act proactively when meeting increasing needs for care. Therefore, we wanted to develop and test a clinically useful model for predicting hospital admissions of older persons based on routine healthcare data. Methods: We used the healthcare data on 40,728 persons, 75-109 years of age to predict hospital inward care in a prospective cohort. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify significant factors predictive of unplanned hospital admission. Model fitting was accomplished using forward selection. The accuracy of the prediction model was expressed as area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, AUC. Results: The prediction model consisting of 38 variables exhibited a good discriminative accuracy for unplanned hospital admissions over the following 12 months (AUC 0.69 [95% confidence interval, CI 0.68-0.70]) and was validated on external datasets. Clinically relevant proportions of predicted cases of 40 or 45% resulted in sensitivities of 62 and 66%, respectively. The corresponding positive predicted values (PPV) was 31 and 29%, respectively. Conclusion: A prediction model based on routine administrative healthcare data from older persons can be used to find patients at risk of admission to hospital. Identifying the risk population can enable proactive intervention for older patients with as-yet unknown needs for healthcare.