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Serum level of high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol is associated with risk of coronary artery disease. We correlated the serum level of cholesterol with coronary artery remodeling index of patients with coronary artery disease. A total of 120 patients with de novo lesions located in native coronary artery were studied. Remodeling index was based on intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) interrogation of the lesions using the static approach, and was defined as external elastic membrane (EEM) area at lesion/average EEM area at proximal and distal reference segments. The average remodeling index was 0.9 (SD: 0.2). The remodeling index was not associated with any of the demographic and coronary risk factors. Stable angina was associated with a low remodeling index. Remodeling index correlated with white blood cell count and HDL-cholesterol, but not with total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride. In the multiple linear regression analysis, HDL-cholesterol and procedure indication were the only 2 significant predictors of remodeling index. An increase of 1 mg/dL of HDL-cholesterol resulted in a decrease of 0.003 (95% CI: 0.0001, 0.007; P = 0.046) in remodeling index, after adjusting for procedural indications. When stratified according to diabetic status, the negative correlation persisted in non-diabetic (P = 0.023), but not in diabetic, patients (P = 0.707). We found a negative correlation between HDL-cholesterol level and remodeling index. Diabetic status may have an influence on the observed relationship.

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Introduction: The life expectancy of cancer patients has increased in recent decades due to better diagnostic and screening tools as well as better treatment modalities. Hence, it becomes increasingly important to study trends in long-term cancer patient survival in order to document that medical progress has conveyed benefit at the population level. In this paper, we assessed the long-term survival experience of all incident cancer patients in Singapore. Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of patients diagnosed with single primary invasive cancer from 1 January 1968 to 31 December 2002, and passively followed up to 31 December 2005. The data was derived from the Singapore Cancer Registry, which has been in existence since 1968. Relative survival via the period approach was used to provide a more up-to-date estimate by looking at recent cohorts of patients. Sex- and stage-specific survival was compared for each cancer. Results: The overall age-standardised 10-year relative survival ratios for the calendar years of 1998 to 2002 were 30.5% in males and 44.2% in females. A steady improvement in overall long-term cancer survival was observed over the study period. This upward trend in survival was observed in localised tumours and cancers with a favourable prognosis such as breast, cervical and colorectal cancers. In contrast, survival of cancers with poor prognosis such as lung, liver and pancreas remained low. Conclusions: Although factors such as changes in diagnostic criteria could influence the trend in survival, we believed that the improvement in survival predominantly reflected real progress in cancer control in Singapore. Key words: Carcinoma, Period analysis, Population-based, Public Health, Relative survival

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