• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5401-5406
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• 2014

Background: Cancer is the leading cause of mortality around the world. However, the majority of cancers occur as a result of modifiable risk factors; hence public awareness of cancer risk factors is crucial to reduce the incidence. The objective of this study was to identify the level of public awareness of cancer risk factors among the adult Omani population. Materials and Methods: A community based survey using the Cancer Awareness Measure (CAM) questionnaire was conducted in three areas of Oman to measure public awareness of cancer risk factors. Omani adults aged 18 years and above were invited to participate in the study. SPPSS (ver.20) was used to analyse the data. Results: A total of 384 participated from 500 invited individuals (response rate =77%). The majority of respondents agreed that smoking cigarettes (320, 83.3%), passive smoking (279, 72.7%) and excessive drinking of alcohol (265, 69%) are risks factors for cancer. However, fewer respondents agreed that eating less fruit and vegetables (83, 21.6%), eating more red or processed meat (116, 30.2%), being overweight (BMI> 25) (123, 32%), doing less physical exercise (119, 31%), being over 70 years old (72, 18.8%), having a close relative with cancer (134, 34.9%), infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) (117, 30.5%) and getting frequent sunburn during childhood (149, 38.8%) are risk factors for cancer. A significant association was found between participant responses and their educational level. The higher the educational level, the more likely that respondents identified cancer risk factors including smoking (p<0.0005), passive smoking (p= 0.007), excessive drinking of alcohol (p<0.0005), eating less fruit and vegetables (p= 0.001) and infection with HPV (p<0.0005). Conclusions: The majority of respondents in this study in Oman were not aware of the common risk factors for cancer. It may be possible to reduce the incidence of cancers in Oman by developing strategies to educate the public about these risk factors.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.4699-4704
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• 2015

Medical diagnostic X-ray workers are one occupational group that expose to the long-term low-dose external radiation over their working lifetime, and they may under risk of different cancers. This study aims to determine the relationship between the occupational X-ray radiation exposure and cancer risk among these workers in Jiangsu, China. We conducted Nested case-control study to investigate the occupational X-ray radiation exposure and cancer risk. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaire, which includes but not limits to demographic data, personal behaviors and family history of cancer. Retrospective dose reconstruction was conducted to estimate the cumulative doses of the x-ray workers. Inferential statistics, t-test and 2 tests were used to compare the differences between each group. We used the logistic regression model to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of cancer by adjusting the age, gender. All 34 breast cancer cases and 45 esophageal cancer cases that detected in a cohort conducted among health workers between 1950~2011 were included in this presented study, and 158 cancer-free controls were selected by frequency-matched (1:2). Our study found that the occupational radiation exposure was associated with a significantly increased cancer risk compared with the control, especially in breast cancer and esophageal cancer (adjusted OR=2.90, 95% CI: 1.19-7.04 for breast cancer; OR=4.19, 95% CI: 1.87-9.38 for esophageal cancer, and OR=3.43, 95% CI: 1.92-6.12 for total cancer, respectively). The occupational X-ray radiation exposure was associated with increasing cancer risk, which indicates that proper intervention and prevention strategies may be needed in order to bring down the occupational cancer risk.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4677-4681
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• 2012

Objective: Egg consumption has been suggested to increase the risk of colorectal and some other cancers. The present study summarized and quantified the current evidence relating dietary intake of eggs and prostate cancer. Materials and methods: Literature searches were conducted to identify peer-reviewed manuscripts published up to July 2012. Twenty manuscripts from nine cohort studies and 11 case-control studies were identified. Summary risk estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for case-control and cohort studies separately. Results: Neither the case-control not the cohort studies showed any association of prostate cancer incidence with egg consumption (case-control studies: odds ratio 1.09, 95% CI 0.86-1.31; cohort studies: relative risk 0.97, 95% CI 0.97-1.07). The results were consistent in subgroup analysis. Furthermore, no association was observed between egg consumption and prostate cancer-specific mortality. Conclusions: Our analyses provided no evidence of a significant influence of egg consumption on prostate cancer incidence and mortality. However, more studies, particularly large prospective studies, are needed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.24
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• pp.10543-10555
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• 2015

Breast cancer primary prevention is a high research priority due to the high psychological and economic costs. The disease is a multistep process and several risk factors have been recognized. Over the past three decades numerous studies have investigated the association of lifestyle with breast cancer, showing independent effects of various factors. We report here a summary of the present state of knowledge on the role of lifestyle patterns, such as physical activity, diet, smoking, hormone therapy, and experience of psychological stress in the modulation of breast cancer in women, and discuss commonly accepted biological mechanisms hypothesized as responsible for the associations. The findings indicate that regular physical activity of moderate to vigorous intensity is probably linked with the decreased breast cancer risk among postmenopausal females and suggestive for a decrease of the risk in premenopausal women. In contrast, the consumption of high-fat diet, alcohol intake, and use of combined estrogen and synthetic progestagen hormonal therapy may increase the risk. Epidemiological findings dealing with a role of smoking and experience of psychological stress are conflicting.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6783-6790
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is the commonest type of cancer among women, and in Malaysia 50-60% of the new cases are being detected at late stages. Do age, education level, income, ethnicity, relationship with breast cancer patients and knowledge of breast cancer risk factors influence breast screening practices? This study revealed interesting but significant differences. Objectives: To assess the knowledge of breast cancer risk factors and early detection measures among women in a high risk group. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional survey of one hundred and thirty one women relatives of breast cancer patients was carried out. Participants were selected through purposive sampling, during hospital visits. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: The majority of the respondents (71%) had poor knowledge of the risk factors for breast cancer. Income, relationship with a patient and practise of breast cancer screening predicted performance of mammography, $R^2$=0.467, F=12.568, p<0.0001. Conclusions: The finding shows inadequate knowledge of breast cancer risk factors and poor cancer screening practise among women with family history of breast cancer. Poor knowledge and practise of breast screening are likely to lead to late stage presentation of breast cancer disease. Some important predictors of breast cancer screening behaviour among women with positive family history of breast cancer were identified. An understanding of the strengths and significance of the association between these factors and breast screening behaviour is vital for developing more targeted breast health promotion.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3403-3409
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• 2013

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women affecting up to one third of tehm during their lifespans. Increased expression of some genes due to polymorphisms increases the risk of breast cancer incidence. Since mutations that are recognized to increase breast cancer risk within families are quite rare, identification of these SNPs is very important. The most important loci which include mutations are; BRCA1, BRCA2, PTEN, ATM, TP53, CHEK2, PPM1D, CDH1, MLH1, MRE11, MSH2, MSH6, MUTYH, NBN, PMS1, PMS2, BRIP1, RAD50, RAD51C, STK11 and BARD1. Presence of SNPs in these genes increases the risk of breast cancer and associated diagnostic markers are among the most reliable for assessing prognosis of breast cancer. In this article we reviewed the hereditary genes of breast cancer and SNPs associated with increasing the risk of breast cancer that were recently were reported from candidate gene, meta-analysis and GWAS studies. SNPs of genes associated with breast cancer can be used as a potential tool for improving cancer diagnosis and treatment planning.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.69 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2010

Lung cancer remains the most common cause of cancer death in the United States and worldwide. About 80~90% of cases are smoking-related and smoking cessation programs are of great importance in reducing lung cancer risk. However, the lifetime risk for lung cancer remains elevated even in ex-smokers. Chemoprevention holds the promise to further reduce this risk and thus to decrease lung cancer incidence and mortality. Over the last decades, most chemoprevention trials for lung cancer have yielded negative outcomes. Population-based studies suggest that high intake of certain foods such as soy, red wine or green vegetables may be associated with decreased cancer risk. Because of these observations and their general safety, a plethora of natural compounds is currently being studied for the chemoprevention of cancer. In this review we discuss promising in vitro and in vivo data of novel natural compounds, their interference with molecular mechanisms responsible for lung cancer development and potential implications for their further preclinical and clinical investigation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7327-7331
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• 2014

Background: We had previously showed that the neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), ${\gamma}$-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) are prognostic factors for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. In this study we developed a prognostic model based on these three indices. Materials and Methods: A total of 243 patients who were initially diagnosed as mCRC between 2005 and 2010 in the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center were studied. The endpoint was overall survival (OS). Results: NLR>3, elevated GGT and elevated CEA were confirmed as independent risk factors which could predict poor prognosis. Patients could be divided into three groups according to the number of risk factors they had. Those with two or three were defined as the high risk group, individuals with one risk factor as the modest risk group and patients without risk factor as the low risk group. The OS values for these three groups were 16.2 months (2.80~68.8), 24.2 months (4.07~79.0), and 37.2 months (12.6~87.8), respectively (p<0.001). Conclusions: We developed a simple but useful model based on NLR, GGT and CEA to provide prognostic information to clinical practice in highly selected mCRC patients. Further prospective and multi-center studies are warranted to test our model.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.38
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• pp.32.1-32.6
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• 2016

Background: This study aimed to analyze and describe the morbidity and mortality associated with tracheostomy in patients with oral cancer and to identify the risk factors associated with tracheostomy complications. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of patients who underwent tracheostomy during a major oral cancer resection between March 2001 and January 2016 at the National Cancer Center, Korea. Overall, we included 51 patients who underwent tracheostomy after oral cancer surgery. We assessed the morbidity and mortality of tracheostomy and determined the risks associated with tracheostomy complications. Results: Twenty-two tracheostomy-related complications occurred in 51 patients. The morbidity and mortality rates were 35.2 % (n = 18) and 0 % (n = 0), respectively. Tracheostomy-related complications were tracheitis (n = 4), obstructed tracheostomy (n = 9), displaced tracheostomy (n = 5), air leakage (n = 1), stomal dehiscence (n = 1), and decannulation failure (n = 2). Most complications (19/22) occurred during the early postoperative period. Considering the risk factors for tracheostomy complications, the type of tube used was associated with the occurrence of tracheitis (p < 0.05). Additionally, body mass index and smoking status were associated with tube displacement (p < 0.05). However, no risk factors were significantly associated with obstructed tracheostomy. Conclusions: Patients with risk factors for tracheostomy complications should be carefully observed during the early postoperative period by well-trained medical staff.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.6103-6108
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• 2013

Objective: Excision repair cross-complementing group 6 (ERCC6) is a major component of the nucleotide excision repair pathway that plays an important role in maintaining genomic stability and integrity. Several recent studies suggested a link of ERCC6 polymorphisms with susceptibility to various cancers. However, the relation of ERCC6 polymorphism with gastric cancer (GC) risk remains elusive. In this sex- and age-matched case-control study including 402 GC cases and 804 cancer-free controls, we aimed to investigate the association between a potentially functional polymorphism (rs1917799 T>G) in the ERCC6 regulatory region and GC risk. Methods: The genotypes of rs1917799 were determined by Sequenom MassARRAY platform and the status of Helicobacter pylori infection was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidential interval (CI) were calculated by logistic regression analysis. Results: Compared with the common TT genotype, the ERCC6 rs1917799 GG genotype was associated with increased GC risk (adjusted OR=1.46, 95%CI: 1.03-2.08, P=0.035). When compared with (GT+TT) genotypes, the GG genotype also demonstrated a statistical association with increased GC risk (adjusted OR=1.38, 95%CI: 1.01-1.89, P=0.044). This was also observed for the male subpopulation (GG vs. TT: adjusted OR=1.71, 95%CI: 1.12-2.62, P=0.013; G allele vs. T allele: adjusted OR=1.32, 95%CI: 1.07-1.62, P=0.009). Genetic effects on increased GC risk tended to be enhanced by H. pylori infection, smoking and drinking, but their interaction effects on GC risk did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: ERCC6 rs1917799 GG genotype might be associated with increased GC risk in Chinese, especially in males.