Kok VC, Horng JT, Chang WS, Hong YF, Chang TH Allopurinol therapy in gout patients does not associate with beneficial cardiovascular outcomes: a population-based matched-cohort study. PLoS One. 2014 Jun 4;9(6):e99102. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099102. eCollection 2014.
Kok VC, Horng JT, Huang HK, Chao TM, Hong YF Regular inhaled corticosteroids in adult-onset asthma and the risk for future cancer: a population-based cohort study with proper person-time analysis. Ther Clin Risk Manag. 2015 Mar 26;11:489-99. doi: 10.2147/TCRM.S80793. eCollection 2015.
Kok VC, Horng JT, Hung GD, Xu JL, Hung TW, Chen YC, Chen CL Risk of Autoimmune Disease in Adults with Chronic Insomnia Requiring Sleep-Inducing Pills: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study. J Gen Intern Med. 2016 Sep;31(9):1019-26. doi: 10.1007/s11606-016-3717-z. Epub 2016 Apr 29.
Kok VC, Horng JT, Lin HL, Chen YC, Chen YJ, Cheng KF Gout and subsequent increased risk of cardiovascular mortality in non-diabetics aged 50 and above: a population-based cohort study in Taiwan. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2012 Nov 21;12:108. doi: 10.1186/1471-2261-12-108.
Kok VC, Sung FC, Kao CH, Lin CC, Tseng CH Cancer risk in East Asian patients associated with acquired haemolytic anaemia: a nationwide population-based cohort study. BMC Cancer. 2016 Feb 4;16:57. doi: 10.1186/s12885-016-2098-3.
Kok VC, Tsai HJ, Su CF, Lee CK The Risks for Ovarian, Endometrial, Breast, Colorectal, and Other Cancers in Women With Newly Diagnosed Endometriosis or Adenomyosis: A Population-Based Study. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2015 Jul;25(6):968-76. doi: 10.1097/IGC.0000000000000454.
Lee PH, Kok VC, Chou PL, Ku MC, Chen YC, Horng JT Risk and clinical predictors of osteoporotic fracture in East Asian patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a population-based cohort study. PeerJ. 2016 Oct 27;4:e2634. eCollection 2016.
Saitz TR, Serefoglu EC, Trost LW, Thomas R, Hellstrom WJ The pre-treatment prevalence and types of sexual dysfunction among patients diagnosed with prostate cancer. Andrology. 2013 Nov;1(6):859-63. doi: 10.1111/j.2047-2927.2013.00137.x. Epub 2013 Oct 11.
Erectile Dysfunction and the Future Risk of Prostate Cancer: a Population-based Longitudinal Follow-up Study With Concurrent Double Comparison Cohorts
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.
