Current Research Interests:

Dr. Vickers clinical research falls into three broad areas: randomized trials, surgical outcomes research and molecular marker studies. A particular focus of his work is the detection and initial treatment of prostate cancer. Dr Vickers has analyzed the 'learning curve' for radical prostatectomy and is working on a series of studies demonstrating that a single measure of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) taken in middle age can predict prostate cancer up to 25 years subsequently. His work on randomized trials has focused on complementary therapies for the treatment of cancer or treatment related symptoms, such as a clinical trial of music therapy for patients undergoing stem cell transplant. However, he is currently researching methods for integrating randomized trials into routine surgical practice so as to compare different approaches to surgery.

Dr. Vickers methodological research centers primarily on novel methods for assessing the clinical value of predictive tools. In particular, he has developed decision-analytic tools that can be directly applied to a data set, without the need for data gathering on patient preferences or utilities. Dr Vickers has a strong interest in teaching statistics. He is course leader for the MSKCC biostatistics course, teaches on the undergraduate curriculum at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and writes the statistics column for Medscape.

Selected Bibliography:

1. Vickers AJ, Bianco FJ, Serio AM, Eastham JA, Schrag D, Klein EA, Reuther AM, Kattan MW, Pontes JE, Scardino PT. The surgical learning curve for prostate cancer control after radical prostatectomy. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2007;99: 1171 - 7

2. Lilja H, Ulmert D, Björk T, Becker C, Serio AM, Nilsson JA, Abrahamsson PA, Vickers AJ, Berglund G. Long-term prediction of prostate cancer in a large, representative Swedish cohort: prostate kallikreins measured at age 44-50 predict prostate cancer up to 25 years before diagnosis. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2007;25(4):431-6

3. Vickers AJ, Elkin EB. Decision curve analysis: a novel method for evaluating prediction models. Medical Decision Making 2006;26(6):565-74

4. Vickers AJ, Kramer BS, Baker SG. Selecting patients for randomized trials: a systematic approach based on risk group. Trials 2006; 7(1):30

5. Vickers AJ, Rees RW, Zollman CE, McCarney R, Smith C, Ellis N, Fisher P, Van Haselen R. Acupuncture for chronic headache in primary care: a large, pragmatic, randomised trial. British Medical Journal 2004;328:744-7