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Article History

Received: 4 May 2021

Accepted: 12 October 2021

First Online: 22 October 2021

DECLARATIONS

:

: The study protocol was approved by the Ethical Committee of the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District (statement 2/2015). Paraffin embedded tissue samples were approved for research use by National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Dnro V/25054/2019). Permission to use death certificates was given by Statistics Finland (Dnro: TK-53–515-15). The study was conducted in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

: As this was a retrospective study and the majority of subjects were deceased, no patient consent forms were gathered in accordance with Finnish legislation.

: JS reports congress fees and travel costs from Boehringer-Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Orion Pharma and Roche, and lecture fees from Boehringer-Ingelheim, Chiesi, GlaxoSmithKline, Orion Pharma and Roche outside the submitted work. MK, SL and HV have nothing to disclose. MP reports a lecture fee from Boehringer-Ingelheim Finland Ltd and a congress fee and travel costs from Roche, outside the submitted work. RK reports a consultant fee from Boehringer-Ingelheim, lecture fees from Roche and Boehringer-Ingelheim, and a congress travel cost from Orion pharma outside the submitted work.