• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7277-7281
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• 2013

Background: Globally, there have been important changes in trends amongst gender, histology and smoking patterns of lung cancer cases. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 466 patients with lung cancer who were registered in Regional Cancer Center, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Manipur from January 2008 to December 2012. Results: Most were more than 60 years of age (67.8%) with a male: female ratio of 1.09:1. Some 78.8% of patients were chronic smokers with male smoker to female smoker ratio of 1.43:1. Consumption of alcohol was found in 29.4%, both smoking and alcohol in 27.5%, betel nut chewing in 37.9% and tobacco chewing in 25.3%. A history of tuberculosis was present in 16.3% of patients. The most frequent symptom was coughing (36.6%) and most common radiological presentation was a mass lesion (70%). Most of the patients had primary lung cancer in the right lung (60.3%). The most common histological subtype was squamous cell carcinoma (49.1%), also in the 40-60 year age group (45.9%), more than 60 year age group (51.6%), males (58.1%) and females (41.8%). As many as 91.9% of squamous cell carcinoma patients had a history of smoking. About 32.5% of patients had distant metastasis at presentation with brain (23.8%) and positive malignant cells in pleural effusions (23.1%) as common sites. The majority of patients were in stage III (34.4%), stage IV (32.5%) and stage II (30.2%). Conclusions: Our analysis suggests that the gender gap has been narrowed such that about half of the patients diagnosed with lung cancer are women in this part of India. This alarming rise in female incidence is mainly attributed to an increased smoking pattern. Squamous cell carcinoma still remains the commonest histological subtype. Most of the patients were elderly aged and presented at locally or distantly advanced stages.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.311-321
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• 2004

Relationships between sedimentary environments and abundance of benthic animals were examined on the deep-sea floor, the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, in the northeast equatorial Pacific Ocean. Specimens were collected using a box corer at 8 stations by sieving through 0.3 mm mesh screen. Sediments showed finer grain size ranged from 5.63 to $7.97{\varphi}$, 83.1% of mean porosity, 1.81 kPa of mean shear strength and organic carbon content in sediment ranged from 0.97 to $1.87\;mg/cm^3$. Manganese nodules covered on the bottom layer from 4 to 57% of coverages. A total of 26 faunal groups in 6 phyla was sampled and comprised 1,467 individuals. Mean biomass were calibrated to 0.5 gWWt/$0.06\;m^2$. Small-sized animals including foraminiferans and nematods were dominated among the faunal group which comprised 49.1% (892 ind.) and 11.5% (320 ind.), respectively. In SPI-analysis, vertical bio-disturbance marks were not observed except to Beggiatoa-type bacterial mats. As the results of relationship between environments and benthos, abundance of benthic animals, especially nematode, showed only a negative correlation to the coverage of nodules, and any other sedimentary factors analyzed in this study were rarely affected to the spatial distribution of benthic animals.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.4593-4596
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• 2015

Background: Opisthorchis viverrini (OV) infection is the main risk factor for cholangiocarcinoma and is often found in Northeastern Thailand. The prevalence of OV infection and the incidence of cholangiocarcinoma are major public health problems in this region. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to identify factors associated with OV infection among people in Nong Khai Province in order to develop a prevention programme in the community. Materials and Methods: The data were collected in July 2013. Stool specimens were examined for intestinal parasites within hours after collection using a normal saline wet preparation and the modified Kato-Katz technique. A case-control study was conducted to collect information about demographic data, the habit of eating unsafely prepared fish, the safe disposal of waste food, and the practice of defaecating in fields. Structured questionnaires were used to interview 351 participants (117 cases and 234 controls) in a random selection of 30 villages across Nong Khai Province. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for OV infection. Results: In the multivariate analysis, the results showed that the factors which had a statistically significant association with OV infection were the habit of consuming unsafely prepared fish ($OR_{adj}=5.17$, 95%CI=2.49-10.74), the similar habit of family members ($OR_{adj}=3.25$, 95%CI=1.63-6.49), a history of O. viverrini infection ($OR_{adj}=5.64$, 95%CI=2.10-15.18), a history of taking praziquantel ($OR_{adj}=5.66$, 95%CI=3.11-10.29), and the unsafe disposal of waste food ($OR_{adj}=2.1$, 95%CI=1.10-3.80). Conclusions: The findings of this study highlight the features on which a community programme should focus in order to reduce the prevalence of opisthorchiasis and incidence of bile duct cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1989-1993
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• 2013

Background: Lung cancer is the most frequent cancer among men and second highest among women overall, including in Turkey. Cigarette smoking is the most important etiologic factor for the development of cancer in both men and women. Objective: To determine the lung cancer incidence in Northeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey with a focus on clinical properties, cancer subtypes, the relationships of tumors with cigarette smoking and radiological properties of the lesions. Materials and Methods: In a retrospective study design, 566 lung cancer cases diagnosed at the Pathology Department of Ataturk University in Erzurum over the last seven years extending from January 2006 to June 2012 were investigated. The results were compared with statistical analyses. Results: The most common histopathological subtype of primary bronchogenic carcinoma in our study was found to be the squamous cell carcinoma, 46.1% (261 out of 566), and the second was small cell lung carcinoma 15.7% (89 out of 566). Based on our data, an overall male predominance was noted with a male/female ratio of 6.1/1. While 296 (52.2%) of the patients were found to be smokers at the time of diagnosis, 125 (22.0%) were nonsmokers and 145 (25.6%) were ex-smokers. Smoking status was found to have a strong correlation with primary lung cancer (p<0.05), and there were significant differences between males and females (p<0.001). Conclusion: Although relative prominence of subtypes of lung cancers differ between Turkish and other populations, lung cancer overall remains as an important health problem in Turkey. Our findings stress the critical need for effective cancer prevention programs such as anti-smoking campaigns.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.3697-3701
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• 2015

Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CHCA) is serious public health problem in Thailand, especially in the northeastern and northern regions. CHCA is known as one of the most aggressive malignant tumors associated with local invasion and a high rate of metastasis. A crucial step in the invasion process is the proteolytic degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and basal membranes, for which several studies have shown a critical role played by matrix metalloproteinase-11 (MMP-11). Objective: This study aim to detect MMP-11 expression in CHCA specimens and any correlation with survival time. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 30 patients with CHCA in Rajvithi hospital, who had undergone immunohistochemical staining of MMP-11. Relationships between clinicopathological data and MMP-11 expression in CHCA specimens were analyzed by the ${\chi}^2$ test or Fisher's exact test. The estimated survival and the survival differences were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test, respectively. Results: MMP-11 expression was found in 15 specimens (50%). The overall mean survival time is 237.0 days (95% CI 135.4-338.5, SD 271.9). Specimens with a positive MMP-11 had an average survival time of 136.7 days (95%CI 50.3-223.1, SD 156.0). Survival differences was signficant for the positive and negative MMP-11(p=0.022), but not well differentiated tumor and moderate to poor differentiated tumor (p=0.755), CA19-9 level of >1,000 and <1,000 (p=0.488), and between advanced and non-advanced staging (p=0.388). Conclusions: The positive MMP-11 expression indicates poor prognosis in CHCA specimens.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1547-1551
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• 2016

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a clonal hematopoietic disorder resulting from genetic alterations in normal hematopoietic stem cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate prognostic factors and survival of AML patients in the Northeast of Iran. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study covered 96 patients with AML referred to Emam Reza Hospital, Mashhad city, Iran, from 2009 to 2015. Age, sex, blood group, type of AML, fever, consumption of amphotericin B, cytogenetic forms and survival were analyzed. Also, WBC, hemoglobin and platelet levels were checked. Mean follow-up was 30.5 months (60.4% mortality). Survival was plotted by GraphPad Prism 5 with Log-rank test. Results: The mean age for all AML patients at diagnosis was 40.4 years (range, 17-77 years). Some 42.7% patients were aged <35 years and 40.6% were male. In all patients, 76% had fever and 50% consumed amphotericin. T(15;17)(q22;q21) had the most prevalence (37.7%) compared to other forms. Out of 92 patients, O+(30.4%) was the most common blood group and AML-M5 (28.3%) the most common subtype. There was a significant difference in survival based on WBC and consumption of amphotericin B (P<0.05). Conclusions: WBC level, fever and consumption of amphotericin B proved to be factors for survival of AML patients. The mean age for patients in Iran is lower than other areas in the World and also survival in this study was higher than in other studies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1163-1168
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• 2016

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the bile duct cancer which constitutes one of the important public health problems in Thailand with high mortality rate, especially in the Opisthorchis viverrini (a parasite risk factor for CCA) endemic area of the northeastern region of the country. This study aimed to identify potential biomarkers from the plasma peptidome by CCA patients. Peptides were isolated using 10 kDa cut-off filter column and the flow-through was then used as a peptidome for LC-MS/MS analysis. A total of 209 peptides were obtained. Among these, 15 peptides were concerned with signaling pathways and 12 related to metabolic, regulatory, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolite pathways. Five exclusive peptides were identified as potential biomarkers, i.e. ETS domain-containing transcription factor ERF (P50548), KIAA0220 (Q92617), phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit beta isoform isoform 1 (P42338), LP2209 (Q6XYC0), and casein kinase II subunit alpha (P19784). Three of these biomarkers are signaling related molecules. A combination of these biomarkers for CCA diagnosis is proposed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7991-7995
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• 2015

Background: To identify the epidemiological characteristics of colorectal cancer mortality in China during the period of 1991-2011, and forecast the future five-year trend. Materials and Methods: Mortality data for colorectal cancer in China from 1991 to 2011 was used to describe epidemiological characteristics in terms of age group, gender, and rural/urban residence. Trend surface analysis was performed to analyze the geographical distribution of colorectal cancer. Four models including curve estimation, time series modeling, gray modeling and joinpoint regression were applied to forecast the trends for the future five years. Results: Since 1991 the colorectal cancer mortality rate increased yearly, and our results showed that the trend would continue to increase in the ensuing 5 years. The mortality rate in males was higher than that of females and the rate in urban areas was higher than in rural areas. The mortality rate was relatively low for individuals less than 60 years of age, but increased dramatically afterwards. People living in the northeastern China provinces or in eastern China had a higher mortality rate for colorectal cancer than those living in middle or western China provinces. Conclusions: The steadily increasing mortality of colorectal cancer in China will become a substantial public health burden in the foreseeable future. For this increasing trend to be controlled, further efforts should concentrate on educating the general public to increase prevention and early detection by screening. More effective prevention and management strategies are needed in higher mortality areas (Eastern parts of China) and high-risk populations (60+ years old).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7583-7587
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• 2015

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is an extremely common herpesvirus that may cause asymptomatic infection or various diseases, including infectious mononucleosis, certain lymphoproliferative diseases and several types of neoplasms. Vaccine development is an important strategy to reduce the burden of EBV-associated diseases and the timing of vaccinations should be before primary infection occurs. In the past, more than 90% of Thai children were infected with EBV in early childhood. Now, due to the improved healthcare system in Thailand, we aim to determine current prevalence of EBV infection among people in different age groups. A total of 538 sera were collected from residents of Khon Kaen province in northeastern Thailand for detecting anti-EBV IgG. Sera of infants under 2-years-old were also tested for anti-EBV IgM and EBV-DNA. The prevalence of anti-EBV IgG was 47.1% (95% CI: 23.3-70.8) in infants aged 0-6 months, 34.9% (95% CI: 23.1-46.7) in those aged 6-24 months, 87.9% (95% CI: 79.5-96.3) in children aged 3-5 years and then maintained at above 95% through adulthood. These seropositivity rates among Thai children remain similar to those found in a previous study conducted 20 years ago. Thai children are still exposed to EBV from an early age. Therefore, a prophylactic vaccine should be given within the first two years of life.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6175-6179
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• 2012

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are still important to the health of Thai rural residents. IPIs are the cause of many chronic diseases with, for example, opisthorchiasis resulting in progression to cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). This cross-sectional study in a prospective cohort study aimed to examine the prevalence and co-infection of intestinal parasites among Northeastern Thai rural residents, recruited into the Khon Kaen Cohort Study (KKCS), and who were residing in areas of high-risk for developing CCA. On recruitment, subjects had completed questionnaires and provided fecal samples for IPI testing using the formalin ethyl acetate concentration technique. Data on selected general characteristics and the results of the fecal tests were analysed. IPI test results were available for 18,900 of cohort subjects, and 38.50% were found to be positive for one or more types of intestinal parasite. The prevalence of Opisthorchis viverrini (O. viverrini) infection was the highest (45.7%), followed by intestinal flukes (31.9%), intestinal nematodes (17.7%), intestinal protozoa (3.02%), and intestinal cestodes (1.69%). The pattern of different infections was similar in all age groups. According to a mapping analysis, a higher CCA burden was correlated with a higher prevalence of O. viverrini and intestinal flukes and a greater intensity of O. viverrini. Both prevention and control programs against liver fluke and other intestinal parasites are needed and should be delivered simultaneously. We can anticipate that the design of future control and prevention programmes will accommodate a more community-orientated and participatory approach.