• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2643-2646
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• 2012

Objectives: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the major etiological agent of cervical cancer, a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in women worldwide. Screening strategies for reducing the burden of HPV-mediated carcinogenesis are emerging as an effective means for cervical cancer control and prevention in developing countries. Our study, therefore, aimed to identify HPV infection status in North Indian women during random population screening. Methodology: Cervical/vaginal exfoliated cells and/or Pap smear specimens were collected from 890 women of North Indian ethnicity residing in Lucknow and adjoining areas, during random population screening from June 2009-March 2012. HPV viral loads in clinical specimens were determined by the Hybrid Capture (hc)-2 HPV DNA assay, and subsequently, positive/negative/borderline HPV status was calculated. Results: The HPV incidence in the present study was 11.7%. 751 out of a total of 890 women (84.4%) participating in our HPV screening program were HPV negative (HPV -), 104 (11.7%) tested positive (HPV +) while 35 (3.9%) showed borderline (HPV $^*$) infection status. Furthermore, in the HPV + subjects (N=104), 18 (17.3%) showed strong positivity. We observed that HPV positivity tends to increase with age in North Indian women; the higher the viral load with increasing age, higher is the susceptibility to HPV-mediated cervical cancer. Conclusions: HPV viral load/genotyping may help in identifying women at risk of developing cervical cancer. However, cost-effective HPV screening protocols with a wider population coverage are warranted so as to reduce the burden of cervical cancer in women worldwide in the vaccine-era.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.16
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• pp.6691-6695
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• 2014

Background: A population-based cervical cancer screening program using visual inspection with acetic acid was launched in Maldives in 2014. Our study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of women in relation to risk factors of cervical cancer, early detection of the disease and its prevention. Materials and Methods: The questionnaire based survey was conducted among 20 to 50 year old women, systematically sampled to represent three regions of Maldives. Trained investigators interviewed a total of 2,845 women at home. Results: The prevalence of the risk factors of cervical cancer like early age at marriage and childbirth, multiple marriages, multiple marriages of the husbands, and multiple pregnancies was high. More women knew about breast cancer than cervical cancer. Even among the small number of women who knew of cervical cancer, only 34.6% had the knowledge of at least one early symptom. Very few women knew that the cancer could be prevented by any test. Only 6.2% of the women reported having ever undergone a Pap smear. Many women had the misconception that cervical cancer was infectious. In Maldives the younger women have high literacy rate due to the policy of universal free education and those with higher levels of education had improved knowledge of cervical cancer and its risk factors. The prevalence of risk factors also reduced with improved literacy. Conclusions: Awareness about risk factors and prevention of cervical cancer is limited among Maldivian women in spite of having high exposure to some of the risk factors. A universal literacy program in the country has helped to improve the knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and to reduce the exposure to various risk factors in the younger population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.2141-2146
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• 2013

Cervical cancer is the third most common form of cancer that strikes Malaysian women. The National Cancer Registry in 2006 and 2007 reported that the age standardized incidence (ASR) of cervical cancer was 12.2 and 7.8 per 100,000 women, respectively. The cumulative risk of developing cervical cancer for a Malaysian woman is 0.9 for 74 years. Among all ethnic groups, the Chinese experienced the highest incidence rate in 2006, followed by Indians and Malays. The percentage cervical cancer detected at stage I and II was 55% (stage I: 21.0%, stage II: 34.0%, stage III: 26.0% and stage IV: 19.0%). Data from Ministry of Health Malaysia (2006) showed a 58.9% estimated coverage of pap smear screening conducted among those aged 30-49 years. Only a small percentage of women aged 50-59 and 50-65 years old were screened, 14% and 13.8% coverage, respectively. Incidence of cervical cancer was highest (71.6%) among those in the 60-65 age group (MOH, 2003). Currently, there is no organized population-based screening program available for the whole of Malaysia. A pilot project was initiated in 2006, to move from opportunistic cervical screening of women who attend antenatal and postnatal visits to a population based approach to be able to monitor the women through the screening pathway and encourage women at highest risk to be screened. The project was modelled on the screening program in Australia with some modifications to suit the Malaysian setting. Substantial challenges have been identified, particularly in relation to information systems for call and recall of women, as well as laboratory reporting and quality assurance. A cost-effective locally-specific approach to organized screening, that will provide the infrastructure for increasing participation in the cervical cancer screening program, is urgently required.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.80-88
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• 2008

Purpose: By focusing on immigrant women's problems and considering human rights, resettlement plans and marital-life adaptation, health status is often overlooked. It was examined in this study. Method: The participants were 110 immigrant women who lived in Busan. Data were collected from September to November 2007 using a questionnaire. Results: One of five of the women had been hospitalized for a delivery, about 25% were pregnant, and most (80.9 %) have never had a pap-smear test. The average score for anxiety was 3.0 (${\pm}2.50$) and for depression 2.9 (${\pm}2.71$). Most were in the normal range for blood pressure, body mass index(BMI), blood sugar and urine test. There was a significant difference in level of anxiety according to education (F=3.42, p=.020) and in level of depression according to age (F=4.05, p=.020), number of children(t=-.444, p=.009), financial status (F=3.75, p=.027) and satisfaction with life (F=6.38, p=.002). There were significant differences in BMI according to age (F=7.73, p=.001), native nation (F=18.38, p=.000), period of stay in Korea (F=3.11, p=.049), education (F=3.82, p=.012), number of children (t=-4.26, p=.040). Conclusion: Although the health status of the immigrant women was good, procreative care protocols should be developed to support immigrant women who are pregnant.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6039-6045
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• 2012

This study was conducted to assess the predictive value of p-glycoprotein (p-gp) and p53 immunoexpression in human papillomavirus (HPV) infected cases of cervical dysplasia. Expression of both p-gp and p53 proteins was detected in cervical smears from 177 squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) cases along with 183 "atypical squamous cells of unknown significance" (ASCUS) and 150 normal cases. HPV 16 and 18 infection was detected by polymerase chain reaction using type-specific primers for HPV sub-types. There were no significant detectable p53 and p-gp expression in the normal cervix smears (p>0.05). In the ASCUS group 10 cases were positive for both p53 and p-gp immunoreactivity. In cervical dysplasia cases, p53 was positive in 86 (48.58%) while p-gp was positive in 93 (52.54%) and the two markers showed a highly significant correlation (r=0.92, p<0.001). Expression of p53 and p-gp was associated with grade of SIL (p<0.001). A positive correlation between the presence of HPV and expression of proteins p53 and p-gp in smears of patients with cervical lesions was also noted (p<0.001). Thus, p53 and p-gp immunostaining in cervical smears may act as an auxiliary biomarker for detection of HPV-associated cervical lesions. Additionally, a significant positive correlation between ascending grades of SIL and labeling indices of markers suggests that p53 and p-gp can be used as an adjunct to cytomorphological interpretation of conventional cervical Pap smears.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6203-6206
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• 2012

The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) smears who had undergone the "see and treat" approach compared to those who underwent a conventional approach. The records of women with HSIL smears undergoing colposcopy at Srinagarind Hospital were reviewed. In those undergoing the conventional approach, the final histological diagnosis was made on the most severe histological results obtained after initial colposcopy. In the "see and treat" group, the final histological diagnosis was made on the examination of LEEP specimens obtained after initial colposcopy. Overtreatment in the see and treat group was defined as the LEEP specimens containing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1 or less. During the study period, 302 women with HSIL underwent colposcopy. Twenty (6.6%) were nulliparous. One hundred and ninety-four (64.2%) underwent conventional management while the remaining 108 (35.8%) received the see and treat management. The prevalence of underlying high-grade lesions in women undergoing the conventional approach was significantly higher than that observed among women undergoing the see and treat approach (89.2% and 47.2%, respectively, P<0.001). The overtreatment rate in the see and treat group was 52.8%. Multivariate analysis revealed that only parity status was a statistically significant factor for predicting the overtreatment after undergoing the see and treat approach. In conclusion, the overtreatment rate among women undergoing see and treat in this study is notably high and therefore this approach should not be routinely practiced.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4329-4334
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• 2013

Background: Cervical cancer, which is common in developing countries, is also a major health issue in Korea. Our aim was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of Korea's National Cancer Screening Program (NCSP), implemented in 1999. Materials and Methods: The target population was Korean women 30 years or over who were invited to take part in the NCSP in 2002-2007. By merging NCSP records with Korean Central Cancer Registry data, patients diagnosed with cervical cancer who had been screened were assigned to a "screened group," while patients diagnosed elsewhere were assigned to a "non-screened group." Clinical outcomes were measured in terms of life-years saved (LYS), derived from 5-year mortality rates supplied by the Korean National Health Insurance Corporation and National Statistical Office. Direct and travel costs associated with screening were evaluated from the perspective of the payer, the NCSP. Results: A diagnosis via screening was associated with 2.30 LYS, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) estimate for screening was 7,581,679 KW/LYS (6,727 USD/LYS). ICER estimates were lower for older patients (${\geq}$ 50 years) than younger patients (4,047,033 KW/LYS vs 5,680,793 KW/LYS). The proportion of early-stage cancers detected was 16.3% higher in the screened group. Conclusions: In light of Korea's per capita gross domestic product (32,272 USD in 2012), the current NCSP's incremental cost per LYS appears acceptable.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.75-89
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• 2012

Objectives: This study was performed to identify the level of health literacy and to investigate the relationship between the health literacy and preventive health care use in middle-aged adults in Korea. Methods: A total of 315 adults aged 40 to 64 years living in Seoul participated in the study. Data were collected from December 15-24, 2010 from outpatient hospitals, clinics, workplaces and other locations in the community. Health literacy was measured using the Functional Health Literacy and Self-rated Health Literacy Questionnaires. Preventive health service use was defined as receiving screening (general health checkups, gastric and colorectal cancer, mammogram, and pap smear) and influenza vaccination. Descriptive analysis, t-test, and ANOVA were used. Results: The mean of functional health literacy was 3.87 (score range 0-6) and the self-rated health literacy was 60.08 (score range 16-80). The most difficult items of the self-rated questionnaires were patient educational materials provided by health care providers and medical forms. The most difficult items of functional health literacy were information-based, including nutritional facts and clinical schedules. Association between health literacy and preventive health service use was not found. Conclusions: Further study is necessary with larger samples and with considerations for their education level, age, and preventive health care use.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.486-498
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to identify transition conditions, health behavior and indicators of healthy transitions among middle-aged women based on Schumacher & Meleis(1994) transition model for developing intervention program for their health promotion. A convenience sample of 221 women aged 40-60 was obtained in Jung-Gu, Seoul and they were asked to complete the questionnaires, which consisted of modified health-promoting lifestyle profile(HPLP), knowledge of menopause, physical well-being, emotional well-being, modified women's role integration protocol (WRIP), Beck's Depression Inventory(BDI), and indicators of healthy transition with subcategories such as subjective well-being, role mastery and well-being of interrelationship. The results were as follows: 1. Women had a mean age of 47.53 years. More than half(53.39%) of the women had jobs and 88.69 % had their spouses, Of 221 women, 51.13 % were premenopausal, 19.91% were perimenopausal, and 28.96% were postmenopausal. 2. Women scored lower on health responsibility and exercise than on self actualization, nutrition and interpersonal support among subcategories of health behavior measured the modified HPLP. Only 11.98% of respondents had breast-self examination and 42.66% had pap smear for screening cancer. 3. In transition conditions, women had poor knowledge about menopause and median level of physical well-being, emotional well-being and stress. 15.45% of the women had clinical depression. 4. As for the outcome index of the transition model, the mean of indicators of healthy transition was 3.69(possible range 1-5). 5. The levels of education and economic and the menstrual status were significantly related to physical well-being, depression and stress in the categories of transition conditions. The total score of health behavior correlated negatively with depression. The total score of indicators of healthy transition correlated with physical well-being, emotional well-being, stress, and depression in the categories of transition conditions. In conclusion, these findings suggested a profile of fragile middle-aged women and contributed to developing the community-based intervention program for health promotion.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 2016

Background: Tobacco smoking is considered a risk factor for cervical cancer development due to the presence of tobacco based carcinogenic metabolites in cervical cells of female smokers. In this study, we investigated the role of the T3801C (MspI) polymorphism of CYP1A1, a gene encoding an enzyme necessary for the initiation of tobacco based carcinogen metabolism, on cervical cancer risk. The T to C substitution may alter CYP1A1 activities, potentially elevating cervical cancer risk. Since results of gene-disease association studies vary according to the study population, the multi-ethnic population of Malaysia provides an excellent representative cohort for identifying and comparing the cervical cancer risk among the 3 major ethnics in Southeast Asia in relation to CYP1A1 MspI polymorphism. Materials and Methods: A total of 195 Thin Prep Pap smear samples from HPV negative and cancer free females were randomly selected as controls while 106 formalin fixed paraffin embedded samples from females with invasive cervical cancer were randomly selected for the cases group. The polymorphisms were identified using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) PCR. Results: We found no significant associations between CYP1A1 MspI polymorphism and cervical cancer in the general Malaysian female population. However, upon ethnic stratification, the variant C/C genotype was significantly associated with a 4.66-fold increase in cervical cancer risk in Malay females (95% CI= 1.21-17.9; p=0.03). No significant association was observed in the Chinese and Indian females. Additionally, there were no significant associations in the dominant model and allele frequency model analysis in both the general and ethnically stratified female population of Malaysia. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the C/C genotype of CYP1A1 MspI polymorphism is associated with the development of cervical carcinoma in the Malay females of Malaysia.