Centre for Public Health, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
RTI Health Solutions, Waltham, MA.
Ann Epidemiol. 2023 Aug;84:25-32. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2023.05.004. Epub 2023 May 9.
With the increasing utilization of medications worldwide, coupled with the increasing availability of long-term data, there is a growing opportunity and need for robust studies evaluating drug-cancer associations. One methodology of importance in such studies is the application of lag times.
In this narrative review, we discuss the main reasons for using lag times.
Namely, we discuss the typically long latency period of cancer concerning both tumor promoter and initiator effects and outline why cancer latency is a key consideration when choosing a lag time. We also discuss how the use of lag times can help reduce protopathic and detection bias. Finally, we present practical advice for implementing lag periods.
In general, we recommend that researchers consider the information that generated the hypothesis as well as clinical and biological knowledge to inform lag period selection. In addition, given that latency periods are usually unknown, we also advocate that researchers examine multiple lag periods in sensitivity analyses as well as duration analyses and flexible modeling approaches.
随着全球药物使用的增加，以及长期数据的可获得性增加，对于评估药物-癌症相关性的强有力研究的机会和需求也在不断增加。在这类研究中，一种重要的方法是应用潜伏期。
在这篇叙述性综述中，我们讨论了使用潜伏期的主要原因。
具体来说，我们讨论了癌症中肿瘤促进剂和启动剂效应的典型长潜伏期，并概述了为什么在选择潜伏期时癌症潜伏期是一个关键考虑因素。我们还讨论了使用潜伏期如何有助于减少前馈和检测偏差。最后，我们提出了实施潜伏期的实用建议。
一般来说，我们建议研究人员考虑产生假设的信息以及临床和生物学知识，以告知潜伏期的选择。此外，由于潜伏期通常是未知的，我们还主张研究人员在敏感性分析以及持续时间分析和灵活的建模方法中检查多个潜伏期。
