• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권16호
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• pp.6825-6830
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• 2015

Opisthorchis viverrini is remains a public health problem in Thailand, particularly in the northeast and north regions which have the highest incidences of chonalgiocarcinoma (CCA). O. viverrini causes the disease opithorchiasis, and its has been classified as a group 1 biological carcinogen. Humans, dogs, and cats become infected with O. viverrini by ingesting raw or undercooked fish containing infective metacercariae. The first human cases of O. viverrini infection were reported in Thailand 100 years ago, and it's still a problem at the community level. Based on data for the year 2009, more than 6 million people were infected with O. viverrini. Associated medical care and loss of wages in Thailand costs about $120 million annually. This review highlights the current status of O. viverrini infection in communities of Thailand through active surveillance for the five years period from 2010 and 2015. A total of 17 community-based surveys were conducted, most in the northeast region. Some 7 surveys demonstrated a high prevalence over 20%, and the highest was 45.7%. Most commonly infection was found in age group of 35 years and older, males, and agricultural workers. Although, the national prevalence may be decreasing but the results show that the O. viverrini infection is still high in communities of the northeast region. Therefore, the focus in populations living in northeast Thailand should be screening of infection and changing their eating behavior.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권17호
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• pp.7803-7807
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• 2015

Opisthorchis viverrini infection is a serious public health problem in Southeast Asia especially in the northeast and north of Thailand. Therefore, a cross-sectional survey using multistage sampling was conducted from the rural communities of Surin province, Thailand, during September 2013 to July 2014. O. viverrini infection was determined using Kato's thick smear technique. Socio-demographic, information resources, and history data were collected using predesigned semi-structured questionnaires. A total of 510 participants completed interviews and had stools collected. Some 32 (6.47%) participants were infected with O. viverrini. The rate was slightly higehr in males (6.61%) than females (6.32%). High frequencies were found in the age groups 61-70 (19.4%) and 71-80 years (19.4%), those involved in agriculture (10.5%), and in primary school (10.3%). The distribution of high infection was found in Tha Tum (16.7%) and Sankha district (16.7%), followed by Samrong Thap (13.3%), Si Narong (13.33%), and Buachet district (13.33%). Chi-square testing indicated that age (61-70 and 71-80 year old), education (primary school) and occupation (agriculture), were significantly associated with O. viverrini infection (p-value<0.05). Of 72.6% participants who had past histories with stool examination, 17.0% of them had been infected with O. viverrini and 43.2% treated with praziquantel. This finding confirmed that O. viverrini is still a problem in Surin province, Thailand, and therefore, interventions are urgently required for mass treatment and health education implementation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권14호
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• pp.5903-5906
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• 2015

Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a serious public health problem in the Northeast of Thailand. CCA is considered to be an incurable and rapidly lethal disease. Knowledge of the distribution of CCA patients is necessary for management strategies. Objectives: This study aimed to utilize the Geographic Information System and Google $Earth^{TM}$ for distribution mapping of cholangiocarcinoma in Satuek District, Buriram, Thailand, during a 5-year period (2008-2012). Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study data were collected and reviewed from the OPD cards, definitive cases of CCA were patients who were treated in Satuek hospital and were diagnosed with CCA or ICD-10 code C22.1. CCA cases were used to analyze and calculate with ArcGIS 9.2, all of data were imported into Google Earth using the online web page www.earthpoint.us. Data were displayed at village points. Results: A total of 53 cases were diagnosed and identified as CCA. The incidence was 53.57 per 100,000 population (65.5 for males and 30.8 for females) and the majority of CCA cases were in stages IV and IIA. The average age was 67 years old. The highest attack rate was observed in Thung Wang sub-district (161.4 per 100,000 population). The map display at village points for CCA patients based on Google Earth gave a clear visual deistribution. Conclusions: CCA is still a major problem in Satuek district, Buriram province of Thailand. The Google Earth production process is very simple and easy to learn. It is suitable for the use in further development of CCA management strategies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권10호
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• pp.4401-4408
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• 2015

Background: Cancer is a primary source of concern in Thailand and other countries around the world, including the Asian-Pacific region. Evidence supports that an important contributing cause of cancer and other chronic illnesses such as stroke, diabetes, and hypertension is excessive alcohol consumption. Studies conducted in Thailand reveal a worrisome rise in the number of new and regular drinkers in communities. Therefore, actions for primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of problem drinking are necessary. In recent years nurses in North East Thailand have been developing and implementing the Khon Kaen Family Health Nursing model to embed disease prevention in communities through the actions of family health nurses and local family health leaders. Aim: The aim of this qualitative research was to better understand the experiences of the local family health leaders using this model and to synthesize lessons learned. Materials and Methods: As part of a participatory action research approach involving analysis of focus group discussions and individual interviews, the experiences of 45 family health leaders were synthesized. Results: Four main themes were identified, namely: i) Family first: role modeling beginning at the personal and family level. ii) Local leverage: using village community forums to reduce alcohol drinking. iii) Gentle growth: making the first step and treading gently; and iv) Respect, Redemption, Rehabilitation: valuing the person to re-integrate them in the village society. Conclusions: As alcohol consumption in the village declined significantly following the prevention program, these findings illuminate how low-tech integrated prevention approaches may be very useful, particularly in rural communities. The lessons learned may have relevance not only in Thailand but in other countries seeking to prevent and mitigate behavior that conduces to diseases such as cancer.

• 동남아시아연구
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.1-40
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• 2017

본 연구는 메콩 유역 내 최대의 전력/에너지 소비 국가인 태국의 전력/에너지 체제를 살펴보는 것을 목적으로 한다. 태국의 전력/에너지 인프라 정책은 국경 내에서 머무는 것이 아니라 메콩유역국가들간, 더 나아가 아세안의 전력교류 및 경제통합과도 긴밀한 연계를 맺고 있다. 따라서 본 연구는 태국의 국내적 차원(national level)뿐만 아니라 대륙부 메콩을 아우르는 지역적 차원(sub-regional level)에서 태국의 전력/에너지 체제가 어떻게 형성되었고 현재까지 변화되어 왔는지까지 검토하였다. 한편, 2015년 파리협정을 기점으로 출범하게 될 신(新)기후체제 하에서 선진국뿐만 아니라 개발도상국도 기후변화 대응에 대한 자발적 책임과 감축의 의무가 주어진 만큼 태국도 기존의 전력/에너지 정책의 수정이 불가피해졌다. 따라서 우리는 태국의 최근 에너지 정책을 검토함으로써 지속가능한 에너지 체제로의 전환 가능성을 평가해보았다. 또한 태국의 시민사회가 국가의 전력/에너지 계획 설정에 미친 영향을 살펴봄으로써 향후 태국의 에너지와 기후변화 분야에서 시민사회의 역할에 대한 논의를 전개하였다. 분석 결과 먼저 태국의 전력/에너지 체제는 냉전 시대 하에서 미국 등 서방세계의 지원으로 급속 성장하였음을 확인할 수 있었다. 특히 이 과정에서 태국전력공사(EGAT)는 태국 에너지 정책에 있어 핵심적인 행위자로 작용하였다. 또한, 태국의 지리적 위치와 주변 국가에 비해 상대적으로 높은 경제 수준은 향후 지역 내 전력망 구축에 있어서도 그 중요성이 계속 부각될 전망이다. 다른 한편, 2015년에 수립된 태국통합에너지청사진을 에너지 트릴레마의 분석틀로 검토한 결과 태국은 여전히 환경적 지속가능성 측면에서 취약점을 드러내고 있어 지역적 차원의 환경적 고려가 필요함을 확인할 수 있었다. 마지막으로 태국의 시민사회는 지금까지 다양한 방식으로 국가의 전력/에너지 정책 및 기후변화 정책에 영향을 미쳐왔으나, 2014년 쿠데타 이후 그 움직임이 많이 둔화된 상태이다. 결론적으로 본 연구는 태국뿐 아니라 메콩 지역의 지속가능한 전환을 위하여, 태국의 현 전력/에너지 체제와 정책 방향에 대한 지속적 관찰을 제안하며, 이를 위해 태국 및 메콩지역의 정부 뿐 아니라 시민사회 진영과 다양한 노력에 협조할 필요가 있음을 제안한다.

• 식품저장과 가공산업
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.3-9
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• 2015

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권16호
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• pp.7375-7379
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• 2015

A high prevalence of Opisthorchis viverrini infection is usually found in wetland geographical areas of Thailand where people have traditional behavior of eating uncooked freshwater fish dishes which results in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) development. There were several approaches for reducing opisthorchiasis-linked CCA, but the prevalence remains high. To develop community participation as a suitable model for CCA prevention is, firstly, to know what factors are related. We therefore aimed to investigate factors associated with the community participation in CCA prevention among rural residents in wetland areas of Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. This was a cross-sectional analytic study. All participants were 30-69 years of age, and only one member per house was invited to participate. A total of 906 participants were interviewed and asked to complete questionnaires. Independent variables were socio-demographic parameters, knowledge, health belief and behavior to prevent CCA. The dependent variable was community participation for CCA prevention. Descriptive statistics were computed as number, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Associations were assessed using logistic regression analysis with a P-value <0.05 considered statistically significant. Of all the participants, more than 60% had regularly participated in activities to prevent CCA following health officials advice. Age and health behavior to prevent CCA were factors associated with community participation for CCA (p<0.001). Both factors will be taken into consideration for community participation approaches for CCA prevention through participatory action research (PAR) in future studies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권16호
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• pp.7049-7052
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• 2015

Background: Helicobacter pylori plays an important role in gastric cancer, which has a relatively low inciduence in Thailand. MDM2 is a major negative regulator of p53, the key tumor suppressor involved in tumorigenesis of the majority of human cancers. Whether its expression might explain the relative lack of gastric cancer in Thailand was assessed here. Materials and Methods: This single-center study was conducted in the northeast region of Thailand. Gastric mucosa from 100 patients with Helicobacter pylori associated gastritis was analyzed for MDM2 SNP309 using real-time PCR hybridization (light-cycler) probes. Results: In the total 100 Helicobacter pylori associated gastritis cases the incidence of SNP 309 T/T homozygous was 78 % with SNP309 G/T heterozygous found in 19% and SNP309 G/G homozygous in 3%. The result show SNP 309 T/T and SNP 309 G/T to be rather common in the Thai population. Conclusions: Our study indicates that the MDM2 SNP309 G/G homozygous genotype might be a risk factor for gastric cancer in Thailand and the fact that it is infrequent could explain to some extent the low incidence of gastric cancer in the Thai population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권5호
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• pp.1771-1779
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• 2015

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Presently, targeted therapy via monoclonal antibodies to specific tumor-associated antigens is being continuously developed. Hep88 mAb has proven to exert tumoricidal effects on the HepG2 cell via a paraptosis-like morphology. To verify the pathway, we then demonstrated downstream up-regulation of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9, assessingmRNA expression by real-time PCR and associated enzyme activity by colorimetric assay. Active caspase-3 determination was also accomplished by flow cytometry. Active caspase-3 expression was increased by Hep88 mAb treatment in a dose-and time-dependent manner. All of the results indicated that Hep88 mAb induced programmed cell death in the HepG2 cell line from paraptosis-like to apoptosis by downstream induction of caspases. These conclusions imply that Hep88mAb might be a promising tool for the effective treatment of HCC in the future.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권6호
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• pp.2269-2276
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• 2015

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is now common in Thailand with an increase in incidence over time. Health authorities are planning to implement a nationwide CRC screening program using fecal immunochemical test (FIT) as a primary screening tool. This study aimed to estimate preferences and acceptance of FIT and colonoscopy, explore factors influencing the acceptance, and investigate reasons behind choosing and rejecting to screen before the program was implemented. Patients aged 50-69, visiting the primary care unit during the study period, were invited to join this study. Patients with a history of cancer or past CRC screening were excluded. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. Subjects were informed about CRC and the screening tests: FIT and colonoscopy. Then, they were asked for their opinions regarding the screening. The total number of subjects was 437 (86.7% response rate). Fifty-eight percent were females. The median age was 58 years. FIT was accepted by 74.1% of subjects compared to 55.6% for colonoscopy. The acceptance of colonoscopy was associated with perceived susceptibility to CRC and family history of cancer. No symptoms, unwilling to screen, healthy, too busy and anxious about diagnosis were reasons for refusing to screen. FIT was preferred for its simplicity and non-invasiveness compared with colonoscopy. Those rejecting FIT expressed a strong preference for colonoscopy. Subjects chose colonoscopy because of its accuracy; it was refused for the process and complications. If the screening program is implemented for the entire target population in Thailand, we estimate that 106,546 will have a positive FIT, between 8,618 and 12,749 identified with advanced adenoma and between 2,645 and 3,912 identified with CRC in the first round of the program.