• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6327-6332
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• 2014

National cancer registration reports provide a huge potential for identifying patterns and trends of important policy, research, prevention and treatment significance. As summary reports written on an annual basis, the China Cancer Registry Annual Reports (CCRARs) fall short from fully addressing their potential. This paper attempts to explore part of the patterns and trends hidden behind published CCRARs. It extracted data for cancer incidence rates (IRs) and mortality rates (MRs) for 2004, 2006 and 2009 from relevant CCRARs and portrayed 4 kinds of indicators in line graphs. The study showed that: a) all of the line graphs of age-specific IRs and MRs characterized typical "growth curves or histogram"; b) graphs of IRs and MRs for males and urban areas had higher peaks than that for females and rural regions; c) most of the line graphs of IR/MR ratios comprised a starting peak, a secondary peak and a decreasing tail and the secondary peaks for females and urban areas were higher than those for males and rural areas; d) most of the urban versus rural IR ratios valued above one, but most the urban versus rural MR ratios, below one; e) the accumulative IRs and MRs showed a stable increasing trend from 2004 to 2009 for urban areas, but mixed for rural regions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2159-2165
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• 2013

Cancer registries help to establish and maintain cancer incidence reporting system, serve as a resource for investigation of cancer and its causes, and provide information for planning and evaluation of preventive and control programs. However, their wider role in directly enhancing oncology drug access has not been fully explored. We examined the value of cancer registries in oncology drug access in the Asia-Pacific region on three levels: (1) specific registry variable types; (2) macroscopic strategies on the national level; and (3) a regional cancer registry network. Using literature search and proceedings from an expert forum, this paper covers recent cancer registry developments in eight economies in the Asia-Pacific region - Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand - and the ways they can contribute to oncology drug access. Specific registry variables relating to demographics, tumor characteristics, initial treatment plans, prognostic markers, risk factors, and mortality help to anticipate drug needs, identify high-priority research area and design access programs. On a national level, linking registry data with clinical, drug safety, financial, or drug utilization databases allows analyses of associations between utilization and outcomes. Concurrent efforts should also be channeled into developing and implementing data integrity and stewardship policies, and providing clear avenues to make data available. Less mature registry systems can employ modeling techniques and ad-hoc surveys while increasing coverage. Beyond local settings, a cancer registry network for the Asia-Pacific region would offer cross-learning and research opportunities that can exert leverage through the experiences and capabilities of a highly diverse region.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2727-2732
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• 2014

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe and analyze the incidence and mortality of female breast cancer in Jiangsu Province of China. Methods: Incidence and mortality data for female breast cancer and corresponding population statistics from eligible cancer registries in Jiangsu from 2006 to 2010 were collected and analyzed. Crude rates, age-specific rates and age-standardized rates of incidence and mortality were calculated, and annual present changes (APCs) were estimated to describe the time trends. Results: From 2006 to 2010, 11,013 new cases and 3,068 deaths of female breast cancer were identified in selected cancer registry areas of Jiangsu. The annual average crude incidence and age-standardized incidence by world population (ASW) were 25.2/ and 17.9/100,000 respectively. The annual average crude and ASW for mortality rates were 7.03/ and 4.81/100,000. The incidence was higher in urban areas than that in rural areas, and this was consistent in all age groups. No significant difference was observed in mortality between urban and rural areas. Two peaks were observed when looking at age-specific rates, one at 50-59 years and another at over 85 years. During the 5 years, incidence and mortality increased with APCs of 4.47% and 6.89%, respectively. Compared to the national level, Jiangsu is an area with relatively low risk of female breast cancer. Conclusion: Breast cancer has become a main public health problem among Chinese females. More prevention and control activities should be conducted to reduce the burden of this disease, even in relatively low risk areas like Jiangsu.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.5003-5006
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• 2012

Objective: Yanting County is a high risk area for esophageal cancer (EC) in China. The purpose of this study was to describe the mortality and mortality change of EC from 2004 to 2009 in Yanting County. Methods: EC mortality data from 2004 to 2009 obtained from the Cancer Registry in Yanting were analyzed. Annual percentage changes (APC) were calculated to assess the trends in EC mortality. Age-standardized mortality was calculated based on world standard population of 2000. Results: The average EC mortality was 54.7/$10^5$ in males and 31.6/$10^5$ in females over the 6 years. A decline in EC mortality with time was observed in both genders, with a rate of -8.70% per year (95% CI: -13.23%~-3.93%) in females and -4.11% per year (95%CI: -11.16%~3.50%) in males. Conclusion: EC mortality decreased over the six years in both genders, although it remained high in the Yanting area. There is still a need to carry out studies of risk factors for improved cancer prevention and further reduction in the disease burden.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.3721-3729
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• 2014

Background: Cancer is becoming the most important public health burden around the globe. As per the GLOBOCAN 2008 estimates, about 12.7 million cancer cases and 7.6 million cancer deaths were estimated to have occurred in 2008. The burden of cancer cases for India in the year 2020 is calculated to be 1,148,757 (male 534,353; female 614,404) compared to 979,786 in 2010. The pattern of cancer incidence is varying among geographical regions, esophageal cancer for example being high in China, lung cancer in USA, and gallbladder cancer in Chile. The question remains why? Is it due to the diversity in genome pool, food habits, risk factor association and role of genetic susceptibility or some other factors associated with it? In India, the North East (NE)-India region is seeing a marked increase in cancer incidence and deaths, with a very different cancer incidence pattern compared to mainland India. The genome pool of the region is also quite distinct from the rest of India. Northeastern tribes are quite distinct from other groups; they are more closely related to East Asians than to other Indians. In this paper an attempt was made to see whether there is any similarity among the pattern of cancer incidence cases for different sites of NE-India region to South or East-Asia. Materials and Methods: Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA), Pearson Correlation coefficient test was assessed to evaluate the linkage of North-East India region to other regions. A p value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The results clearly shows that there are similarities in occurrence of cancer incidence patterns for various cancer sites of NE-India with South and East-Asian regions, which may lead to the conclusion that there might be a genetic linkage between these regions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8529-8538
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• 2014

According to the China tumor registry 2013 annual report, breast cancer, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer are three common cancers in China nowadays, with high mortality due to the absence of early diagnosis technology. However, proteomics has been widespreadly implanted into every field of life science and medicine as an important part of post-genomics era research. The development of theory and technology in proteomics has provided new ideas and research fields for cancer research. Proteomics can be used not only for elucidating the mechanisms of carcinogenesis focussing on whole proteins of the tissue or cell, but also seeking the biomarkers for diagnosis and therapy of cancer. In this review, we introduce proteomics principles, covering current technology used in exploring early diagnosis biomarkers of breast cancer, lung cancer and ovarian cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4501-4504
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• 2012

In recent decades, decreasing trends in esophageal cancer mortality have been observed across China. We here describe esophageal cancer mortality trends in Linzhou city, a high-incidence region of esophageal cancer in China, during 1988-2010 and make a esophageal cancer mortality projection in the period 2011-2020 using a Bayesian approach. Age standardized mortality rates were estimated by direct standardization to the World population structure in 1985. A Bayesian age-period-cohort (BAPC) analysis was carried out in order to investigate the effect of the age, period and birth cohort on esophageal cancer mortality in Linzhou during 1988-2010 and to estimate future trends for the period 2011-2020. Age-adjusted rates for men and women decreased from 1988 to 2005 and changed little thereafter. Risk increased from 30 years of age until the very elderly. Period effects showed little variation in risk throughout 1988-2010. In contrast, a cohort effect showed risk decreased greatly in later cohorts. Forecasting, based on BAPC modeling, resulted in a increasing burden of mortality and a decreasing age standardized mortality rate of esophageal cancer in Linzhou city. The decrease of esophageal cancer mortality risk since the 1930 cohort could be attributable to the improvements of socialeconomic environment and lifestyle. The standardized mortality rates of esophageal cancer should decrease continually. The effect of aging on the population could explain the increase in esophageal mortality projected for 2020.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.14
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• pp.5639-5644
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• 2014

Objective: This study aimed to determine effects of doctor-patient communication on the quality of life among breast cancer survivors in 16 communities in southern China. Methods: Multistage random sampling was to use to recruit 260 females from the Guangzhou Cancer Registry Database who were diagnosed with breast cancer. A questionnaire provided data on the doctor-patient communication (including the doctor's attitude, the patient's participation with the medical decision and information about the disease) and QOL (quality of life), as measured using FACT-B. Univariate analysis, non-conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the associations between the doctor-patient communication and QOL. Results: Females who received good attitudes from doctors demonstrated higher FACT-B (OR=4.65, 95% CI: 1.68-12.86), social well-being (OR=5.88, 95% CI: 2.16-16.05), emotional well-being (OR=4.77, 95% CI: 1.92-11.88), and functional well-being ((OR=5.26, 95% CI: 1.90-14.52) compared to the females who encountered worse attitudes from their doctor, adjusting for age, education, marriage, employment, family income, years since diagnosis, TNM stage, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and side effects, particularly when the TNM stage was 0-II and the patients exhibited no side effects. Regardless of the length of time after diagnosis, doctors' good attitudes resulted in higher QOL scores. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the doctor-patient communication has a significant association with the QOL of breast cancer survivors, mainly dependent on the doctors' attitude. Effective intervention is required to develop optimal doctor-patient communication.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.7295-7302
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• 2015

Background: Lung cancer has been a major health problem in developed countries for several decades, and has emerged recently as the leading cause of cancer death in many developing countries. The incidence of lung cancer appears to be increasing more rapidly in rural than in urban areas of China. This paper presents the trends of lung cancer incidence and survival derived from a 40-year population-based cancer monitoring program in a rural area, Qidong, China. Materials and Methods: The Qidong cancer registration data of 1972-2011 were used to calculate the crude rate, age-standardized rate by Chinese population (CASR) and by world population (WASR), birth cohort rates, and other descriptive features. Active and passive methods were used to construct the data set, with a deadline of the latest follow-up of April 30, 2012. Results: The total number of lung cancer cases was 15,340, accounting for 16.5% of all sites combined. The crude incidence rate, CASR and WASR of this cancer were 34.1, 15.7 and 25.4 per 100,000, respectively. Males had higher crude rates than females (49.7 vs 19.0). Rapidly increasing trends were found in annual percent change resulting in lung cancer being a number one cancer site after year 2010 in Qidong. Birth cohort analysis showed incidence rates have increased for all age groups over 24 years old. The 5 year observed survival rates were 3.55% in 1973-1977, 3.92 in 1983-1987, 3.69% in 1993-1997, and 6.32% in 2003-2007. Males experienced poorer survival than did females. Conclusions: Lung cancer has become a major cancer-related health problem in this rural area. The rapid increases in incidence likely result from an increased cigarette smoking rate and evolving environmental risk factors. Lung cancer survival, while showing some improvement in prognosis, still remains well below that observed in the developed areas of the world.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2831-2834
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to determine the mortality rate and burden of urinary tract cancers among residents of Inner Mongolia. We analyzed mortality data reported by the Death Registry System from 2008 to 2012. The rate of mortality due to urinary tract cancer was 2.04 per 100,000 person-years for the total population, 2.91 for men, and 1.11 for women. Therefore, the mortality rate for men was 2.62-fold the mortality rate for women, constituting a statistically significant difference (p<0.001). Over the period 2008 through 2012, the total potential years of life lost was 1388.1 person-years for men and 777.1 person-years for women, and the average years of life lost were 7.71 years per male decedent and 12.0 years per female decedent. Mortality due to urinary tract cancers is substantially greater among the elderly population. Further, the mortality rate associated with urinary tract cancers is greater for elderly men than it is for elderly women. Therefore, in Inner Mongolia, urinary tract cancers appear to pose a greater mortality risk for men than they do for women.