• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.17
• /
• pp.7401-7407
• /
• 2015

Cervical cancer continues to be a serious public health problem in the developing world, including China. Because of its large population with geographical and socioeconomic inequities, China has a high burden of cervical cancer and important disparities among different regions. In this review, we first present an overview of the cervical cancer incidence and mortality over time, and focus on diversity and disparity in access to care for various subpopulations across geographical regions and socioeconomic strata in China. Then, we describe population-based cervical cancer screening in China, and in particular implementation of the National Cervical Cancer Screening Program in Rural Areas (NACCSPRA) and the challenges that this program faces. These include low screening coverage, shortage of qualified health care personnel and limited funds. To improve prevention of cervical cancer and obtain better cancer outcomes, the Chinese government needs to urgently consider the following key factors: reducing disparities in health care access, collecting accurate and broadly representative data in cancer registries, expanding target population size and increasing allocation of government funding for training of personnel, improving health education for women, enhancing quality control of screening services and improving a system to increase follow up for women with positive results.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.9
• /
• pp.5345-5349
• /
• 2013

Background: This study developed and measured the effects of a cervical cancer prevention program for married women immigrants. Materials and Methods: A nonequivalent control group pre-test/post-test design was used with a group of married women immigrants registered at the multi-cultural center in the city of "J." Data on for 30 participants in the intervention group and 27 participants in the control group (N=57) were used for analysis. The intervention group attended a 4-session cervical cancer prevention program. Results: The knowledge of the intervention and control groups about cervical cancer post-intervention was significantly different (F=12.55, p<0.001). The perceived susceptibility score before and after the experiment, for the intervention group, and 29.4 and 28 for the control group, was significantly different (t=2.063, p=0.043). After the program, cancer prevention behavior was significantly different in the intervention group (t=2.646, p=0.010). Conclusions: The results obtained in this study indicate that the cervical cancer preventive program was effective in increasing cervical cancer knowledge, perceived susceptibility, and cancer prevention behavior.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.11
• /
• pp.6445-6450
• /
• 2013

Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women worldwide. Failure to prevent cervical cancer is partly due to non-participation in regular screening. It is important to plan and develop screening programs directed towards underscreened women. In order to identify the factors associated with underscreening for cervical cancer among women, this study examined Pap test participation and factors associated with not having a time-appropriate (within 3 years) Pap test among a representative sample of women in Ontario, Canada using Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) data. Materials and Methods: Univariate analyses, cross-tabulations, and logistic regression modeling were conducted using cross-sectional data from the 2007-2008 CCHS. Analyses were restricted to 13,549 sexually active women aged 18-69 years old living in Ontario, with no history of hysterectomy. Results: Almost 17% of women reported they had not had a time-appropriate Pap test. Not having a time-appropriate Pap test was associated with being 40-69 years old, single, having low education and income, not having a regular doctor, being of Asian (Chinese, South Asian, other Asian) cultural background, less than excellent health, and being a recent immigrant. Conclusions: Results indicate that disparities still exist in terms of who is participating in cervical cancer screening. It is crucial to develop and implement cervical cancer screening programs that not only target the general population, but also those who are less likely to obtain a Pap tests.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.13
• /
• pp.5127-5131
• /
• 2014

Background: Cervical cancer is the ninth most common cancer among females in Turkey. Cervical smear is a routine screening test used for the detection of cervical abnormalities and also it detects certain infections of the cervix. Objective: To analyze cervical smear results of our clinic in order to determine most frequent pathology of the women in North Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Materials and Methods: In a retrospective study design, 8,495 cervical cytology cases diagnosed at the Pathology Department of the Regional Education and Research Hospital in Erzurum over the last one and half years extending from August 2012 to December 2013 were investigated. Results: The most common diagnosis was found to be inflammation, 65.5 % (5,566 out of 8,495), and the least was squamous epithelial abnormalities 0.2% (13 out of 8,495). There was some variation among the three pathologists regarding diagnosis but findings for the latter. Conclusions: Regular cervical smear tests are one of the most important strategies in early diagnosis of cervical cancer but there are conflicting data regarding the prevalence of epithelial cell abnormalities in Turkey, and the reasons o f this should be investigated.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.155-170
• /
• 2000

This study was aimed at preparing basic data required for establishment of a cancer screening program by examining the status of cancer screenings performed by women in a city and the factors that had an influence on cervical and breast cancers screening behavior of women. In order to find out the status of cervical and breast cancers screening and the factors having an influence on cervical and breast cancers screening behavior, 1,113 women were selected as study area and subjects by a random cluster sampling method, and the subjects were answered by questionnaires. The major results were as follows: 1. In the cases of the breast and the cervical cancers, 16.7% and 55.7% of the subjects turned out to have had one or more screenings respectively in their life-time. Also the rate of screening group of cervical and breast cancers was 16.7%, the rate of screening group of only cervical cancer was 38.9%, and the rate of non-screening group was 44.4%. 2. As to the screening pattern of cervical and breast cancer, there were significantly for age, income, occupation, married status, spouse, the factors associated with health promotion (doctor visiting, exercising), married age, number of children, and breast feeding(p〈0.05). 3. The factors associated with screening behaviors for cervical and breast cancers were age, income, occupation, married status, doctor visiting, exercising, married age, number of children, and breast feeding(p〈0.05). Based on the above-mentioned results obtained by this study, it was anticipated that this study may be playa vital role as basic data for the development and execution of cervical and breast cancers screening program for women in a community. And the analysis, done on the basis of the status of the cancer screening, of the influence factors on cervical and breast cancers screening behavior showed that for the development of a cancer screening program, the factors like age, social-economic class, married status, health promotion behavior, and reproductive characteristics should be considered.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.7
• /
• pp.3159-3163
• /
• 2012

Background: For cervical cancer the epidemiological profile is poorly known in Morocco and no data is available concerning the direct medical costs. The purpose of this work is to estimate the direct cost of medical management of invasive cervical cancer during the first year after diagnosis in Morocco. Methods: The estimation of direct costs of medical management of invasive cervical cancer during the first year after diagnosis in Morocco is based on the estimation of individual cost in each stage which covers diagnosis, treatment and follow-up during first year. The cost was estimated per patient and whole cycle-set using the costs for each drug and procedure as indicated by the Moroccan National Agency for Health Insurance. Extrapolation of the results to the whole country was used to calculate the total annual cost of cervical cancer treatments in Morocco. Results: Overall approximately 1,978 new cases of cervical cancer occur each year in Morocco. The majority (82.96%) of these cases were diagnosed at a late stage (stageII or more). The cost of one case of cervical cancer depends on stage of diagnosis, the lowest cost is $382 for stageCis followed by the cost of stageIA1 for young women (< 40 years) which is $2,952. The highest cost is for stageIV, which is $7,827. The total cost of cervical cancer care for one year after diagnosis is estimated at $13,589,360. The share allocated to treatment is the most important part of the global care budget with an annual sum of $13,027,609 whereas other cost components are represented as follows: $435,694 for annual follow-up activity and $126,057 for diagnosis and preclinical staging. Conclusion: This study provides health decision-makers with a first estimate of costs and the opportunity to achieve the optimal use of available data to estimate the needs of health facilities in Morocco.

• Women's Health Nursing
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.150-161
• /
• 2004

The importance of screening or repeat screening for cervical and breast cancer is well known to decrease the chance of death from cancer. Few data is avaliable regarding factors associated with participation in cervical and breast cancer screening and repeat screening examinations. This study was to investigate the associations of demographic factors, health status and cancer risk recognition, attitude to cancer screening, health behaviors, and inhibiting or facilitating factors to cervical and breast cancer screening with participation in the screening tests. Data was collected with self-administrated questionnaires from 342 women, aged 40 to 69 years. The cancer screenings were classified into have had or never groups and repeat or not repeated groups. In the case of cervical and breast cancer screening, the have had group was 90 (26.3%), and 82 (24.0%) and the repeat group was 17 (5.0%), and 13 (3.8%) respectively. According to logistic regression analysis, age (<60 vs ${\geq}60$ : OR=3.25, 95% CI=1.27-8.26), breast cancer screening (Do vs Don't : OR=14.49, 95% CI=7.46-27.78) and other person's cancer (Yes vs No : OR=4.27, 95% CI=1.01-18.05) were statistically significantly associated with participation in screening for cervical cancer. Regular exercise (Do vs Don't : OR=2.76, 95% CI=1.30-5.88) and cervical cancer screening (Do vs Don't : OR=13.70, 95% CI=7.09-26.32) were statistically significantly related to participation in screening for breast cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.20
• /
• pp.8689-8692
• /
• 2014

Purpose: To evaluate the recent incidence and mortality of and scientific research trends in cervical cancer in Mexican females. Materials and Methods: Data between 2000 and 2010 from the Department of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health, and International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of World Health Organization were analyzed, and age-standardized rates (ASRs) were calculated. In addition, scientific research data were retrieved from the Web of Science database from 2003 to 2012, using different terms related to cervical cancer. Results: The incidence rate decreased during last five years, while mortality rates showed an annual decrease of 4.93%. A total of 780 articles were retrieved, and the institutions with the majority of publications were National Autonomous University of Mexico (34.87%), Social Security Mexican Institute (16.02%), and National Institute of Cancerology (15%). The main types of research were treatment, diagnosis, and prevention. Conclusions: The above results show that incidence of cervical cancer decreased over time in Mexico during last five years; similarly, the downturn observed in mortality mainly reflects improved survival as a result of earlier diagnosis and cancer treatment. Also, this article demonstrates the usefulness of bibliometrics to address key evaluation questions and to establish priorities, define future areas of research, and develop cervical cancer control strategies in Mexico.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.19
• /
• pp.8007-8018
• /
• 2014

Cervical cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy worldwide and development of new therapeutic strategies and anticancer agents is an urgent priority. Plants have remained an important source in the search for novel cytotoxic compounds and several polyphenolic flavonoids possess antitumor properties. In this review article, data about potential anticarcinogenic activity of common natural flavonoids on various human cervical cancer cell lines are compiled and analyzed showing perspectives for the use of these secondary metabolites in the treatment of cervical carcinoma as well as in the development of novel chemotherapeutic drugs. Such anticancer effects of flavonoids seem to differentially depend on the cellular type and origin of cervical carcinoma creating possibilities for specific targeting in the future. Besides the cytotoxic activity per se, several flavonoids can also contribute to the increase in efficacy of conventional therapies rendering tumor cells more sensitive to standard chemotherapeutics and irradiation. Although the current knowledge is still rather scarce and further studies are certainly needed, it is clear that natural flavonoids may have a great potential to benefit cervical cancer patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.20
• /
• pp.8801-8807
• /
• 2014

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of Turkish women over 20 years old on cervix cancer. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was performed at a primary care center covering 246 women using a questionnaire composed of 3 sections and 38 questions. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test in univariate analysis and multivariate hierarchical logistic regression analysis. Results: Of the 93.7% women who knew about cervical cancer, 68.0% of them had heard pap smear test and 46.1% had actually undergone a Pap smear once or more throughout their lives. According to the results of the hierarchical logistic regression analysis about factors affecting the Pap smear test; in Model 1, increase in age and education levels, in Model 2 and Model 3 increase in age and cervical cancer information points were determined. The most important information source for cervical cancer was TV-radio/media (59.9%) and health care workers (62.8%) for pap smear test. Conclusions: Although most women have heard of cervical cancer, knowledge about cervical cancer and also Pap smear screening rate are significantly lower. Having Pap smear test for women was affected by age and knowledge level about cervical cancer. Informing women about cervical cancer would be an important intervention.