Andrew Julian Vickers (born 11 February 1967) is a biostatistician and attending research methodologist at
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...
. Since 2013, he has also been professor of public health at
Weill Cornell Medical College
The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York.
Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with N ...
. He is the statistical editor for the peer-reviewed journal ''
European Urology
''European Urology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering urology. It was established in 1975 and is published by Elsevier. It is the official journal of the European Association of Urology. The editor-in-chief is James Catto (Unive ...
''.
Education and career
Vickers received his B.A. from the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
in 1989 and his D.Phil. from the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
in 1999.
He joined Memorial Sloan Kettering in 1999 as an assistant attending research methodologist, before being appointed an associate attending research methodologist there in 2006 and an attending research methodologist in 2012.
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Research
Vickers is known for his research into prostate cancer screening
Prostate cancer screening is the screening process used to detect undiagnosed prostate cancer in men without signs or symptoms. When abnormal prostate tissue or cancer is found early, it may be easier to treat and cure, but it is unclear if early ...
. In 2011, he published a study which found that PSA velocity—the change in the blood level of prostate-specific antigen
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), also known as gamma-seminoprotein or kallikrein-3 (KLK3), P-30 antigen, is a glycoprotein enzyme encoded in humans by the ''KLK3'' gene. PSA is a member of the kallikrein-related peptidase family and is secreted b ...
(PSA)--was not a more accurate predictor of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
than comparing PSA levels to a specific threshold. He was responsible for designing the algorithm that is used in the commercial "4Kscore" test for men with elevated PSA. With colleague Hans Lilja, Vickers published a series of studies demonstrating that a single PSA at age 45 - 60 is an extremely strong predictor of the long-term risk of prostate cancer mortality. Vickers is separately known for his methodological research on prediction modeling - he developed the statistical method known as " decision curve analysis" - and empirical research into several forms of alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...
, particularly acupuncture
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientifi ...
. Vickers was the lead author of a 2012 meta-analysis
A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting me ...
of 29 acupuncture trials published in the ''Archives of Internal Medicine''. Vickers told Reuters that this meta-analysis "provides evidence that atients with painwould be justified in considering acupuncture." Vickers leads the "Amplio" surgical quality assurance initiative at Memorial Sloan Kettering and is Director of the "Web Survey" health informatics core facility.
Personal life
Vickers is a competitive runner and plays ultimate frisbee
Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its ath ...
. He has a daughter and two sons.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers, Andrew
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Living people
Alumni of the University of Oxford
British emigrants to the United States
Cancer researchers
Alternative medicine researchers
Biostatisticians
1967 births