• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권20호
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• pp.8779-8782
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• 2014

Background: Malignancies of the female reproductive tract are estimated to be the third most common group of cancers in women. Objectives: We here aimed to present their epidemiological features in Golestan province located in Northeast of Iran. Materials and Methods: Data on primary female reproductive cancers diagnosed between 2004-2010 were obtained from Golestan Population-based Cancer Registry (GPCR). CanReg-4 and SPSS software were used for data entry and analysis. Age standardized incidence rates (ASR) (per 100,000 person-years) were calculated using the world standard population. Poisson regression analysis was used to compare incidence rates. P-values of less than 0.05 were considered as significant. Results: A total of 6,064 cancer cases were registered in Golestan females in the GPCR during 2004-2010, of which 652 cases (11%) were female reproductive cancers. Cancers of the ovary (ASR=6.03) and cervix (ASR=4.97) were the most common. We found significant higher rates in females living in cities than in villages. Our results showed a rapid increase in age specific incidence rates of female reproductive cancers at the age of 30 years. Conclusions: We found significant higher rates of female reproductive cancers among residents of cities than villages. Differences in the prevalence of risk factors including reproductive behavior between the two populations may partly explain such diversity. Our results also showed a rapid increase in incidence rates of these cancers in young age females. Further studies are warranted to determine risk factors of female reproductive cancers in our population.

• 대한한방부인과학회지
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.85-94
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• 2010

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate a clinical effect of Coo-Sun activity focusing on improvement of quality of life in female cancer patients. Methods: The subject of study consisted of 5 female cancer patients at the East-West Cancer Center of OO Oriental hospital. The survey methods of this study are Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Patients performed Coo-Sun activity 6 times a week and filled out FACT-G and STAI questionnaire after every 3 times training. Results: In FACT-G questionnaire, physical well-being and emotional wellbeing was improved significantly after Coo-Sun activity. And change of social/family well-being and functional well-being score were not significant statistically. In STAI questionnaire, STAI1 was improved significantly after Coo-Sun activity. And change of STAI2 score was not significant statistically. Conclusion: After Coo-Sun activity, quality of life (QOL) in female cancer patients was improved and anxiety was decreased. But this study have limitation to prove effects of Coo-Sun activity completely in female cancer patients. So well designed prospective cohort study will be needed to prove its benefits.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권18호
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• pp.7875-7878
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• 2014

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the awareness of breast cancer risk factors among female university students in 24 low, middle income and emerging economy countries. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 10,242 undergraduate university students (mean age 20.7, SD=2.9) from 25 universities in 24 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Using anonymous questionnaires the awareness of links between breast cancer and heredity, diet, overweight, exercise, alcohol use, smoking and stress was assessed. Results indicated that 35.4% of the women were not aware that any of these risk factors could influence breast cancer, 43.8% were aware of a genetic link, and only 12.5%, 10.9% and 10.6% correctly identified alcohol use, overweight and physical inactivity, respectively, as factors causing breast cancer. Moreover, 13.3% rated dietary fat and 11.5% fibre as influencing breast cancer; both low-fat and high-fibre diets may be weakly protective against breast cancer, and smoking (19.4%) and stress (13.5%), the most commonly chosen breast cancer lifestyle risk factors, have less clear impact on breast cancer. There were marked country differences, e.g., in regards of being aware of genetic causes of breast cancer risk in female students from Ivory Coast, India, Madagascar, Nigeria and Laos below 30% and female students from Pakistan, Singapore, Turkey, Grenada and Philippines 60 or more percent. This study provides insight in the breast cancer risk perception of young women, which can be utilized in breast cancer awareness and prevention programmes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.1193-1196
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• 2012

Breast and cervical cancer are the most common causes of cancer mortality among women worldwide, but they are largely preventable. There are limited data on knowledge and practices on screening methods of breast and cervical cancers among female health care workers in Sri Lanka, in spite of having an organized screening programme islandwide. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 219 female health care workers including public health midwives (68.9%) selected from 6 districts in Sri Lanka using convenient sampling methods. A self-administered questionnaire was used as a pre-test in a capacity building training programme to collect the data. The mean (SD) duration of work experience of the respondents was 12 years and 52.5% were aged over 35 years. Most (76.7%) were married, and afamily history of cancer was reported by 24.2%. Over 98% knew about self breast examination. Even though 84.1% practiced it, only 47.9% practiced it on a monthly basis. Clinical breast examination and mammography were known by 94.1% and 64.3% respectively. Only 19.2% had undergone a clinical braest examination within one year and 3.6% had ever undergone a mamography. Only 76.3% knew that a Pap smear detects precancerous stage of cervical cancer. Among 169 married workers, 73.4% had never had a Pap smear and only 17.2% had got it done within the preceding 5 years. Among the reasons for not doing a pap smear within 5 years, 47.0% belived it as not nescessary, 17.3% due to fear/dislike, 23.2% as not having symptoms, 3% had not known about it and 3% not known about availability of services. The study findings suggest that the knowledge and practices on breast and cervical cancer screening methods among female health care workers need to be improved. Considering the role that health care workers play in communicating health behaviors to the general public, strengthening health education interventions for this group of females is essential.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권13호
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• pp.5297-5304
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• 2015

Background: The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Cancer Registry (PAECCR) program has made availability of a common cancer incidence database possible in Pakistan. The cancer incidence data from nuclear medicine and oncology institutes were gathered and presented. Materials and Methods: The cancer incidence data for the last 30 years (1984-2014) are included to describe a data set of male and female patients. The data analysis concerning occurrence, trends of common cancers in male and female patients, stage-wise distribution, and mortality/follow-up cases is also incorporated for the last 10 years (2004-2014). Results: The total population of provincial capital Lahore is 9,800,000. The total number of cancer cases was 80,390 (males 32,156, females 48,134). The crude incidence rates in PAECCR areas were 580.8/$10^5$ during 2010 to 885.4/$10^5$ in 2014 (males 354.1/$10^5$, females 530.1/$10^5$). The cancer incidence rates for head and neck (15.70%), brain tumors (10.5%), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL, 9.53%) were found to be the highest in male patients, whereas breast cancer (46.7%), ovary tumors (6.80%), and cervix (6.31%) cancer incidence rates were observed to be the most common in female patients. The age range distribution of diagnosed and treated patients in conjunction with the percentage contribution of cancer patients from 15 different cities of Punjab province treated at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology, Lahore are also included. Leukemia was found to be the most common cancer for the age group of 1-12 years. It has been identified that the maximum number of diagnosed cases were found in the age range of 51-60 years for males and 41-50 years for female cancer patients. Conclusions: Overall cancer incidence of the thirty years demonstrated that head and neck and breast cancers in males and in females respectively are the most common cancers in Punjab province in Pakistan, at rates almost the highest in Asia, requiring especial attention. The incidence of brain, NHL, and prostate cancers among males and ovarian and cervix cancers among females have increased rapidly. These data from a major population of Punjab province should be helpful for implementation of appropriate planning, prevention and cancer control measures and for determination of risk factors within the country.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권17호
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• pp.7407-7411
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• 2014

The incidence of urban female breast cancer has been continuously increasing over the past decade with unknown etiology. One hypothesis for this increase is carcinogen exposure from tobacco. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the risk of urban female breast cancer from tobacco smoke exposure. The matched case control study was conducted among Thai females, aged 17-76 years and living in Bangkok or its surrounding areas. A total of 444 pairs of cases and controls were recruited from the Thai National Cancer Institute. Cases were newly diagnosed and histologically confirmed as breast cancer while controls were selected from healthy women who visited a patient, matched by age ${\pm}5$ years. After obtaining informed consent, tobacco smoke exposure data and information on other potential risk factors were collected by interview. The analysis was performed by conditional logistic regression, and presented with odds ratio (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals(CI). From all subjects, 3.8% of cases and 3.4% of controls were active smokers while 11.0% of cases and 6.1% of controls were passive smokers. The highest to lowest sources of passive tobacco smoke were from spouses (40.8%), the workplace (36.8%) and public areas (26.3%), respectively. After adjusting for other potential risk factors or confounders, females with frequent low-dose passive smoke exposure (${\leq}7$ hours per week) from a spouse or workplace had adjusted odds ratio 3.77 (95%CI=1.11-12.82) and 4.02 (95%CI=1.04-15.50) higher risk of breast cancer compared with non-smokers, respectively. However, this study did not find any association of breast cancer risk in high dose passive tobacco smoke exposure, or a dose response relationship in cumulative passive tobacco smoke exposure per week, or in the active smoker group. In conclusion, passive smoke exposure may be one important risk factor of urban female breast cancer, particularly, from a spouse or workplace. This risk factor highlights the importance of avoiding tobacco smoke exposure as a key measure for breast cancer prevention and control.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권6호
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• pp.2893-2900
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• 2014

Background: Statistical methods are very important to precisely measure breast cancer patient survival times for healthcare management. Previous studies considered basic statistics to measure survival times without incorporating statistical modeling strategies. The objective of this study was to develop a data-based statistical probability model from the female breast cancer patients' survival times by using the Bayesian approach to predict future inferences of survival times. Materials and Methods: A random sample of 500 female patients was selected from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results cancer registry database. For goodness of fit, the standard model building criteria were used. The Bayesian approach is used to obtain the predictive survival times from the data-based Exponentiated Exponential Model. Markov Chain Monte Carlo method was used to obtain the summary results for predictive inference. Results: The highest number of female breast cancer patients was found in California and the lowest in New Mexico. The majority of them were married. The mean (SD) age at diagnosis (in years) was 60.92 (14.92). The mean (SD) survival time (in months) for female patients was 90.33 (83.10). The Exponentiated Exponential Model found better fits for the female survival times compared to the Exponentiated Weibull Model. The Bayesian method is used to obtain predictive inference for future survival times. Conclusions: The findings with the proposed modeling strategy will assist healthcare researchers and providers to precisely predict future survival estimates as the recent growing challenges of analyzing healthcare data have created new demand for model-based survival estimates. The application of Bayesian will produce precise estimates of future survival times.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권10호
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• pp.5189-5193
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• 2012

Kemerovo is an industrial region of the Russian Federation characterized by highly developed mining, chemical, metallurgical and power industries. Many of the factories were closed down due to the socioeconomical crisis in the early 90's, and economic potential of the survivors has also decreased significantly. Paradoxically, this has led to the improvement of the ecological situation in the region and elimination of exposure to many chemical carcinogens. This factor, in combination with the improvement of oncological care, might be expected to have lead to a decline of cancer incidence and mortality in the region. To assess trends of cancer incidence and mortality in Kemerovo Region, we therefore carried out an analysis of relevant epidemiological data during 1991-2010. In fact, a significant increase of cancer incidence overall was revealed during 2001-2010. Male cancer incidence was significantly higher than female cancer incidence. Regarding gastric cancer incidence, statistically significant differences during 2001-2010 were found only for men, and male incidence exceeded female incidence. Concerning colorectal cancer incidence, it was lower during 2001-2005 and 2006-2010 as compared to the period of 1991-1996. Lung cancer incidence was significantly higher during 1991-2000 compared to 2001-2010. Among urban populations, cancer incidence was higher in comparison with rural population, but a gradual steady convergence of trends of cancer incidence among urban and rural populations was noted. Lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, non-melanoma skin cancer, and gastric cancer are the most prevalent cancer forms in Kemerovo Region. There were no differences in cancer mortality between 2001-2005 and 2006-2010; however, male cancer mortality exceeded female cancer mortality. A similar situation was observed for gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer. Cancer mortality among urban populations exceeded mortality among rural population, for both genders. We suggest that these data can be used for development of modern programs of cancer prevention and early diagnostics in industrial regions of Siberia.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권9호
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• pp.4019-4023
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• 2015

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer in women and the most common cause of cancer death worldwide. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 792 female undergraduate students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia, from January to April 2011. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire developed for this study. Results: The mean age of respondents was $21.7{\pm}1.2$ years. Most of them were single (96.8%), Malay (91.9%) and 150 (19.6%) claimed they had practiced BSE. There was a significant differences between performers and non-performers correlated to age, marital status, check breast by doctor, and being trained about BSE. Performers had lower mean scores for perceived barriers and susceptibility and higher mean score for confidence. Stepwise logistic regression analysis yielded four significant predictor variables. Conclusions: Overall our findings indicate that the practice of BSE while perceived as being important is not frequently practiced among female in Malaysia. Targeted education should be implemented to improve early detection of breast cancer.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제11권3호
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• pp.361-366
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• 2020

Background: This study aimed to identify the validity of breast cancer symptom questionnaire of worker's special health examination and its relationship with breast ultrasonography findings in young female night workers. Methods: The breast cancer symptom questionnaire data of worker's special health examination and breast ultrasonography results in young female shift workers who worked in one electronic manufacture company were collected from 2014 to 2018. Results: Of the 857 workers, 18 had a Breast Imaging Reporting and Database System category 4 or higher. Among other variables, shift work tenure alone was associated with the risk of having a Breast Imaging Reporting and Database System category higher than 4. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the symptom questionnaire were 16.7%, 87.7%, 2.8%, and 98.0%, respectively. Conclusion: The current breast cancer symptom questionnaire of the worker's special health examination is inappropriate due to its low sensitivity and positive predictive value. In the future, female night workers will need alternative measures for more accurate screening for breast cancer.