Predicting The Individual Risk Of Prostate Cancer In Australian Men
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$348,656.00
Summary
Prostate cancer is a major cause of disability and death in Australian men. A number of factors, particularly age and family history, influence the risk of prostate cancer but, in contrast to breast cancer, we don't know what is the risk of developing prostate cancer over a period of time for a man with a specific set of risk factors. In fact, while a number of statistical models have been developed that use a woman's risk factor profile to estimate her risk of breast cancer, none is currently a ....Prostate cancer is a major cause of disability and death in Australian men. A number of factors, particularly age and family history, influence the risk of prostate cancer but, in contrast to breast cancer, we don't know what is the risk of developing prostate cancer over a period of time for a man with a specific set of risk factors. In fact, while a number of statistical models have been developed that use a woman's risk factor profile to estimate her risk of breast cancer, none is currently available for prostate cancer. We will apply standard statistical methods to existing data from the Australian Risk Factors for Prostate Cancer study and from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare to develop a prostate cancer risk prediction model. We will test how factor like age, detailed family history, diet, baldness status and possibly previous PSA tests and prostate biopsies predict the risk. After developing the model, we will test the accuracy of the predictions in three ways. First, using existing data from the Australian Prostate Cancer Family Study, we will see whether the number of cases in a group of men is close to the number predicted by the model (calibration). Second, to test whether the model discriminate well men who develop prostate cancer from those who do not, we will collect family trees in a sample from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. We will use these data also to estimate the optimal cut point: men above this level of risk will be considered at high risk. Third, we will apply the model to existing data from the Dutch Prostate Cancer Family Study (DPCFS) to test whether the optimal cut point identify high-risk men and to validate the model in a non-Australian population. Finally, we will prepare a computer package that health professionals will use as decision-making tool in different scenarios including individual cancer risk assessment, design of prevention trials and targeting prevention programs to high-risk men.Read moreRead less
An Examination Of The Causes Of Mortality Following Imprisonment In New South Wales Using Data-linkage.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$205,500.00
Summary
Prisoner populations are characterised by poor health status including infectious diseases, injury, risk taking behaviours (eg. smoking and self-harm), mental illness, and substance abuse. Serosurveys of blood borne viruses such as hepatitis C and hepatitis B conducted in Australian and overseas prison settings have found that over one third of inmates have been exposed to these viruses with higher rates detected in injecting drug users and female inmates. Few attempts have been made to examine ....Prisoner populations are characterised by poor health status including infectious diseases, injury, risk taking behaviours (eg. smoking and self-harm), mental illness, and substance abuse. Serosurveys of blood borne viruses such as hepatitis C and hepatitis B conducted in Australian and overseas prison settings have found that over one third of inmates have been exposed to these viruses with higher rates detected in injecting drug users and female inmates. Few attempts have been made to examine the causes of mortality among prisoners following release from detention. Most interest has focused on overdoses in the period immediately following release; the aim of this study will examine all causes of death among individuals exposed to the correctional environment and compare these to death rates for NSW. Correctional centres house a largely male (94% in NSW) population with backgrounds of disadvantage in all areas, including Indigenous Australians, people of lower socio-economic status, those with a mental illness, and the intellectually disabled. There are currently over 21,000 (June 2001) prisoners detained in Australian correctional centres with approximately 39% housed in NSW. Fifteen percent of the NSW prisoners are Indigenous but comprise only 2% of the general population. The aims of this project will be to: (1) Identify all causes of death among ex-prisoners in NSW for the period 1985 to 2001; (2). Compare death rates in the study group with those in the NSW community; (3) Correlate pre-release health information contained in medical records with specific causes of death; (4) Compare causes of mortality among various sub-groups eg. injecting drug users, the mentally ill, violent offenders, and the intellectually disabled; (5) Examine causes of mortality between Indigenous and non-Indigenous inmates; and (6) use this information to develop pre-release programmes aimed at reducing excess mortality among this group.Read moreRead less
THE ROLE OF CELL SURFACE GLYCOSAMINOGLYCANS IN FLAVIVIRUS BIOLOGY: VIRUS ENTRY, TROPISM, VIRULENCE, AND ANTIVIRALS
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$493,764.00
Summary
The flaviviruses are a group of viruses mostly transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes or ticks to vertebrate hosts. They have a world-wide distribution and many flaviviruses are important human and veterinary pathogens. Dengue virus is the most important flavivirus in terms of disease frequency, causing >50 million cases of dengue fever, annually, in tropical and subtropical countries. It has been estimated that 2.5 billion people are at risk of dengue virus infection. Japanese enceph ....The flaviviruses are a group of viruses mostly transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes or ticks to vertebrate hosts. They have a world-wide distribution and many flaviviruses are important human and veterinary pathogens. Dengue virus is the most important flavivirus in terms of disease frequency, causing >50 million cases of dengue fever, annually, in tropical and subtropical countries. It has been estimated that 2.5 billion people are at risk of dengue virus infection. Japanese encephalitis virus is the most important causative agent of viral encephalitis in humans; >35,000 cases of Japanese encephalitis occur annually, with 30-50% mortality and frequent life-long neurological impairment among survivors. Murray Valley encephalitis virus is endemic in northern Australia where it gives rise, in most years, to a small number of human cases of sometimes fatal encephalitis. Dengue, Japanese encephalitis, and Murray Valley encephalitis viruses are a threat to human health in Australia. There is wide-spread speculation that climate change will affect the pattern of transmission of vector-borne pathogens; accordingly , the population at risk of flavivirus infection in Australia (and world-wide) may dramatically increase in future years. This project investigates the role of sulfated sugar molecules present abundantly on cellular surfaces in the biology of flaviviruses. It will address how the binding ability of medically important flaviviruses to these sulfated sugars impacts on the efficiency of virus entry into diverse cell types and, in turn, on the virus ability to cause disease. Ultimately, we aim to exploit the affinity of flavivirus particles to the sulfated sugar molecules on cellular surfaces; we will select synthetic mimetics of these sulfated sugars that block virus attachment to cells, and thus may identify antiviral compounds that may find application as therapeutic agents against flaviviral disease.Read moreRead less
The Natural History Of Injecting Drug Use Among IDU In Melbourne: A Prospective Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$760,869.00
Summary
Our response to the emergent epidemic of methamphetamine injection is hampered by our lack of understanding of injecting drug use (IDU) natural history that place users at risk of harm and the effectiveness of interventions. This study will examine typical trajectories of IDU and provide a framework for service evaluation. The study will focus on untreated methamphetamine and heroin users, providing the first clear indication of the comparative harms associated with these different types of IDU.