• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.12
• /
• pp.6497-6500
• /
• 2012

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in females in the World with around 500,000 new cases occurring annually, but the first in the developing countries with a high mortality if not diagnosed early. Papanicolau (Pap) smear is a cheap, easy-to-apply and widely accepted test which has been long used to detect cervical cancer at very early stages. However, despite being available for nearly 60 years, the test can hardly be considered to have become successfully applied in many communities. We aimed in this study to present the results of a screening survey for cervical cancer which targeted a women population aged between 35 and 40 living in a semi-rural area in the province of Hatay, located in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey, with specific aims of increasing early diagnosis, education and raising population awareness about cancers. This community-based descriptive study covered 512 women between 35 and 40 years of age living at Armutlu with a mean age of $37.6{\pm}1.7$. Gynecologic examinations revealed cervical erosion in 8 (1.6%), vaginitis in 193 (37.7%) and normal findings in 311 (60.7%); pathological evaluation reports of the smears were negative in 290 (56.6%), inflammation in 218 (42.6%) and ASC-US in 4 (0.8%), according to the 2001 Bethesda classification. It can be concluded that Pap smear test - proven to be a very valuable test at the clinical level- should also be widely used at the community level to detect cervical cancer at very early stages to reduce both the mortality and morbidity among healthy people. The need for continuous community-based cervical cancer screening programs is strongly suggested.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.1463-1470
• /
• 2012

Objective: The aims of this study were to explore Turkish women's knowledge, behavior and beliefs related to cervical cancer and screening. Methods: The study was performed in two cities in the East of Turkey between September 2009 and April 2010, with a sampling group of 387 women. Data were collected by means of an interview form with the Health Belief Model Scale for Cervical Cancer and Pap Smear Test - Turkish Version. Results: Women in the research group were found to have poor knowledge, inadequate health behavior and low/medium level false beliefs regarding cervical cancer screening. There was relation between health beliefs and characteristics of women and particularly education (F = 10.80, p = 0.01). Similarly, it was found that Pap smear barriers were influenced by demographic characteristics and that women with low-level education (p = 0.001), divorced women (p = 0.05), women with low-income(p = 0.05), women who gave their first birth when they were 18 or younger (p = 0.05) and women not applying any contraceptive method at all (p = 0.01) were determined to have negative Pap smear barriers. Conclusions: Primarily the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of women in the target group should be evaluated to increase their participation in cervical cancer screening and to prepare effective education strategies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.10
• /
• pp.5901-5904
• /
• 2013

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of different methods of recall for repeat Pap smear among women who had normal smears in the previous screening. Design: Prospective randomized controlled study. Setting: All community clinics in Klang under the Ministry of Health Malaysia. Participants: Women of Klang who attended cervical screening and had a normal Pap smear in the previous year, and were due for a repeat smear were recruited and randomly assigned to four different methods of recall for repeat smear. Intervention: The recall methods given to the women to remind them for a repeat smear were either by postal letter, registered letter, short message by phone (SMS) or phone call. Main Outcome Measures: Number and percentage of women who responded to the recall within 8 weeks after they had received the recall, irrespective whether they had Pap test conducted. Also the numbers of women in each recall method that came for repeat Pap smear. Results: The rates of recall messages reaching the women when using letter, registered letter, SMS and phone calls were 79%, 87%, 66% and 68%, respectively. However, the positive responses to recall by letter, registered letter, phone messages and telephone call were 23.9%, 23.0%, 32.9% and 50.9%, respectively (p<0.05). Furthermore, more women who received recall by phone call had been screened (p<0.05) compared to those who received recall by postal letter (OR=2.38, CI=1.56-3.62). Conclusion: Both the usual way of sending letters and registered letters had higher chances of reaching patients compared to using phone either for sending messages or calling. The response to the recall method and uptake of repeat smear, however, were highest via phone call, indicating the importance of direct communication.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.60-66
• /
• 2019

Objective: To compare black rice (Oryza sativa L) extract with three different staining methods for human sperm head assessment. Methods: Semen samples were collected from 34 volunteers. Four smears of each ejaculate were prepared for staining using the rapid Papanicolaou (PAP) stain, SpermBlue, DipQuick, and black rice extract. The percentage of defective sperm heads (mean${\pm}$standard deviation) was compared. Results: Black glutinous rice extract, a natural dye, was used instead of hematoxylin to stain the nuclei of the sperm heads. The percentage of defective sperm heads showed a significant difference between black rice extract and DipQuick (p= 0.000). In contrast, black rice extract and rapid PAP showed no statistically significant difference (p= 0.974). A strong correlation (r = 0.761) was found between the findings obtained using rapid PAP and black rice extract. In contrast, a weak correlation (r = 0.248) was obtained between DipQuick and black rice extract for the percentage of defective sperm heads. Conclusion: The results showed good agreement and a strong correlation between the rapid PAP and black rice extract stains. The advantages of black rice extract as a novel substitute for hematoxylin for nuclear staining include ease of preparation, local availability, and favorable nuclear staining properties. Further studies could also focus on comparing staining techniques in clinical samples.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.7
• /
• pp.3489-3494
• /
• 2016

Background: A major problem with cervical cancer screening in countries which have no organized national screening program for cervical cancer is sub-optimal participation. Implementation of self-sampling method may increase the coverage. Objective: We determined the agreement of cytological diagnoses made on samples collected by women themselves (self-sampling) versus samples collected by physicians (Physician sampling). Materials and Methods: We invited women volunteers to undergo two procedures; cervical self-sampling using the Evalyn brush and physician sampling using a Cervex brush. The women were shown a video presentation on how to take their own cervical samples before the procedure. The samples taken by physicians were taken as per routine testing (Gold Standard). All samples were subjected to Thin Prep monolayer smears. The diagnoses made were according to the Bethesda classification. The results from these two sampling methods were analysed and compared. Results: A total of 367 women were recruited into the study, ranging from 22 to 65 years age. There was a significant good agreement of the cytological diagnoses made on the samples from the two sampling methods with the Kappa value of 0.568 (p=0.040). Using the cytological smears taken by physicians as the gold standard, the sensitivity of self-sampling was 71.9% (95% CI:70.9-72.8), the specificity was 86.6% (95% CI:85.7-87.5), the positive predictive value was 74.2% (95% CI:73.3-75.1) and the negative predictive value was 85.1% (95% CI: 84.2-86.0). Self-sampling smears (22.9%) allowed detection of micro-organisms better than physicians samples (18.5%). Conclusions: This study shows that samples taken by women themselves (self-sampling) and physicians have good diagnostic agreement. Self-sampling could be the method of choice in countries in which the coverage of women attending clinics for screening for cervical cancer is poor.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.16
• /
• pp.6935-6939
• /
• 2015

Background: Currently, a comprehensive program for screening and early detection of cervical cancer does not exist in Iran. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of abnormal Papanicolaou (Pap) smears and some related factors among women living in Zanjan, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012 in Zanjan on 4274 married women aged 20-65 years. The study participants were selected through two-stage cluster sampling. After obtaining written consent, demographic and fertility questionnaires were completed. Samples from cervix were obtained through a standard method using the Rover Cervex- Brush. Evaluation and interpretation of the samples were reported using the Bethesda 2001 method. Data were statistically analyzed using chi-square and logistic regression models. Results: Most inflammatory changes in the samples were mild (37.4%). Abnormal atypical changes in the epithelial cells were found in 4.04%. The highest percentage of abnormal changes in the epithelial cells was atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) (1.9%). Abnormal results of Pap smear was significantly and independently associated with age, papillomavirus infection, and lack of awareness about Pap smear tests. Conclusions: Given the high prevalence of inflammatory and precancerous changes in this study, compared to other studies in Iran and other Muslim countries, and the effect of demographic variables and individual factors on abnormal results, increasing the awareness of women and their families regarding the risk factors for cervical cancer, preventive measures such as screening, and timely treatment seem necessary.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.12
• /
• pp.4903-4907
• /
• 2014

Background: This study aimed to identify factors associated with women's decisions to attend cervical cancer screening and to explore those linked with intention to attend in the coming year and to continue regular screening. Materials and Methods: A community based case-control study was conducted among woman 30-60 years of age in catchment area of Chatapadung Contracting Medical Unit (CCMU), networking of Khon Kaen Center Hospital, Thailand. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data, and in-depth interviews were then performed to explore in greater detail. Results: There were 195 participants. Only one third (32.3 %) had been screened for cervical cancer within the past 5 years. Some 67.7% reported that they had not been screened because they had no abnormal symptoms, single marital status, and no children. Only 10.6% of those never had screening intent to be screened within the next 12 months. High family income (adjusted OR=2.16, 95%CI=1.13-4.14), good attitude towards a Pap test (OR=1.87, 95%CI=1.09-4.23), and having received a recommendation from health care providers were important factors associated with decisions to attend cervical cancer screening (OR=1.73, 95%CI=1.01-4.63). From in-depth interviews, there were five reasons of their decisions to attend cervical cancer screening including yearly check-up, postpartum check-up, having abnormal symptom, encouragement by health care providers, and request from workplace. Conclusions: High family income, good attitude towards a Pap test, and receiving proper recommendation by health care providers, were important factors associated with decision to have cervical cancer screening among women 30-60 years old. Trying to enhance these factors and reduce barriers regarding screening, may increase the coverage rate for cervical cancer screening in Thailand.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.15-22
• /
• 1994

Cancer of the cervix is the most common malignancy in women in developing countries and the second most common cancer in women throughout the world with approximately 500,000 new cases each year. Prevention of this large number of premature deaths among women is, therefore, a goal worthy of urgent and serious consideration. Due to its high diagnostic disagreement among pathologists and large quantity of specimens, it is necessary to develop an automatic screening system measuring morphologic and densitometric features of the samples. Many research works have been published but most of them used Feulgen stained specimens which are not a usual staining method used in clinics. In this thesis, an automatic cancerous nucleus detection method essential to a screening system with papanicolaou stained specimens called Pap-smear is proposed which employs image processing techniques. It uses edge information to segment objects and morphologic as well as densitometric information to distinguish cancerous nuclei from dirts or normal nuclei. It has produced useful results in our study.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
• /
• v.11 no.10
• /
• pp.1992-1998
• /
• 2007

It is important to obtain conn cytodiagnosis to classify background, cytoplasm, and nucleus from the diagnostic image. This study mose an algorithm that detects and classifies carcinoma cells of the uterine cervix in Pap smear using features of cervical cancer. It applies Median filter and Gaussian filter to get noise-removed nucleus area and also applies Kapur method in binarization of the resultant image. We apply 8-directional contour tracking algorithm and stretching technique to identify and revise clustered cells that often hinder to obtain correct analysis. The resulted nucleus area has distinguishable features such as cell size, integration rate, and directional coefficient from normal cells so that we can detect and classify carcinoma cells successfully. The experiment results show that the performance of the algorithm is competitive with human expert.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.403-407
• /
• 2005

자궁 경부 세포진 영상의 핵 영역 분할은 자궁 경부암 자동화 검색 시스템의 가장 어렵고도 중요한 분야로 알려져 있다. 본 논문에서는 자궁 경부 세포진 영상에서 HSI 모델을 이용하여 세포진 핵 영역을 추출한다. 추출된 세포진 핵 영역은 형태학적 정보(morphometric feature)와 명암 정보(densitometric feature), 색상 정보(colorimetric feature), 질감 정보(textural features)를 분석하여 핵의 특징을 추출한다. 또한 Bethesda System에서의 분류 기준에 따라 핵의 분류 기준을 정하고 추출된 핵의 특징들을 퍼지 c-Means 클러스터링 알고리즘에 적용하여 실험한 결과, 제안된 방법이 자궁 세포진 핵 추출과 인식에 있어서 효율적임을 확인하였다.