• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권11호
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• pp.6783-6790
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is the commonest type of cancer among women, and in Malaysia 50-60% of the new cases are being detected at late stages. Do age, education level, income, ethnicity, relationship with breast cancer patients and knowledge of breast cancer risk factors influence breast screening practices? This study revealed interesting but significant differences. Objectives: To assess the knowledge of breast cancer risk factors and early detection measures among women in a high risk group. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional survey of one hundred and thirty one women relatives of breast cancer patients was carried out. Participants were selected through purposive sampling, during hospital visits. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: The majority of the respondents (71%) had poor knowledge of the risk factors for breast cancer. Income, relationship with a patient and practise of breast cancer screening predicted performance of mammography, $R^2$=0.467, F=12.568, p<0.0001. Conclusions: The finding shows inadequate knowledge of breast cancer risk factors and poor cancer screening practise among women with family history of breast cancer. Poor knowledge and practise of breast screening are likely to lead to late stage presentation of breast cancer disease. Some important predictors of breast cancer screening behaviour among women with positive family history of breast cancer were identified. An understanding of the strengths and significance of the association between these factors and breast screening behaviour is vital for developing more targeted breast health promotion.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제60권3호
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• pp.321-329
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• 2006

연구 배경: 폐암은 2000년에 들어와 우리나라 암 사망 원인 질환 중 1위가 되었으며, 아직 뚜렷한 생존기간의 향상이 없는 예후가 불량한 암이다. 최근 표적 치료제 개발에 따른 후속 연구 및 흡연이 폐암 발병에 미치는 영향에 대한 연구들에서 인종 간 유전적 특성의 차이, 생활환경이 미치는 영향 등이 부각되기도 하였다. 우리나라 폐암 환자의 임상적 특성에 대한 연구는 아직 미흡한 실정이다. 저자 등은 단일 3차 의료기관에서 지난 9년간 확진된 폐암 환자의 임상적 특성을 알아보고자 한다. 방 법: 1996년 9월부터 2005년 8월까지 9년간 본원에 입원하여 폐암으로 진단을 받았던 1655예의 환자를 대상으로 연구하였다. 모든 대상 환자에 있어서 연령, 성별, 세포형, 임상적 병기를 분석하였다. 폐암 진단 당시 설문에 응답하였던 941예의 환자를 대상으로 폐암 가족력, 직업, 흡연력, 임상 증상, 체중감소, 수행상태 등을 조사하였다. 진단 당시 동반 질환으로 당뇨, 고혈압을 포함한 심장혈관질환, 만성폐쇄성폐질환, 특발성 폐섬유화증 및 활동성 폐결핵 등을 조사하였다. 결 과:전체 연구대상 폐암 환자의 남여 성비는 3.6:1 이었다. 세포형은 편평상피세포암이 제일 흔하였고, 여자에서는 선암이 흔한 세포형이었다. 흡연력이 있었던 경우가 80.1%이었고 비흡연자는 19.9%이었다. 여자 72.3%가 비흡연자 이었다. 비흡연자에서는 남여 모두 선암이 제일 흔한 세포형이었고, 흡연력이 있는 환자에서는 편평상피세포암이 흔하였다. 1996년부터 2000년까지와 2001년부터 2005년까지 두 단위 기간으로 나누어 보았을 때, 비소세포폐암 중 선암이 차지하는 빈도의 증가(29.5%에서 33.7%로)추세와 편평상피세포암의 감소(49.9%에서 41.8%로) 추세를 확인할 수 있었다. 환자 중 무증상은 6.2%에서 관찰되었고 흔한 증상으로는 기침, 객담, 호흡곤란 등 순 이었다. 동반 질환으로 만성폐쇄성폐질환, 심장 혈관 질환, 당뇨, 결핵, 특발성 폐섬유화증은 각각 44.1%, 22.2%, 10.7%, 3.9%, 1.6%에서 관찰되었다. 부모, 형제, 자매 중 폐암 가족력이 있었던 환자는 4.4% 이었고, 환자 직업력이 폐암 발병과 관련성이 있을 것으로 추정된 경우는 12.2%이었다. 결 론: 우리나라 폐암 환자에서 높은 흡연율이 관찰되었고 아직 편평상피세포암이 제일 흔한 세포형 이었다. 향후 우리나라 폐암 환자의 임상적 특성에 대한 보다 세밀한 조사가 필요하겠다.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제43권1호
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• pp.53-58
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• 2016

Background Increasingly, prophylactic mastectomy has been evaluated as a treatment of breast cancer. Hereditary breast cancer now accounts for approximately 5%-10% of all cases of breast cancer, meaning that the widespread implementation of prophylactic mastectomy may significantly reduce the occurrence of breast cancer. However, prophylactic mastectomy is rarely performed in Korea. Therefore, in this study, we assessed Koreans' attitudes toward and awareness of preventive mastectomy. Methods This was a prospective study of a cohort of patients attending outpatient clinics and their relatives. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires assessing sex, age, educational level, knowledge of breast cancer, understanding of prophylactic mastectomy, attitudes toward prophylactic mastectomy, and reasons for choosing prophylactic mastectomy. Results Sixty-five patients were included. Most patients (36.9%) were between 40 and 49 years of age and 58.4% were college graduates. Only six respondents (9%) understood prophylactic mastectomy, and 17 respondents (27%) stated that they would agree to undergo prophylactic mastectomy if necessary. Reasons given for refusing prophylactic mastectomy included aesthetic concerns (38%), the perception that it would not cure the disease (26%), possible surgical complications (24%), and financial cost (6%). Conclusions In this study, most of the respondents showed a poor knowledge of prophylactic mastectomy. Ultimately, it will be necessary to establish medical guidelines for patients with a high risk of breast cancer, with the objective of providing accurate information and proper treatment at hospitals.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제47권4호
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• pp.507-516
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• 1999

연구배경 : 폐암으로 진단 받은 환자 혹은 보호자들은 친지 또는 친구 의사들에게 치료방법이나 예후에 관해서 상의하는 경우가 많으며 환자들은 이들의 권고에 따르는 경우가 많다. 따라서 의사들의 폐암의 치료 및 예후에 관한 견해는 환자들의 치료순응도에 많은 영향을 미칠것으로 생각된다. 저자들은 일반의사들의 폐암의 치료와 예후에 관한 견해를 조사함으로서 폐암환자들의 치료순응도를 향상시키기 위한 대책올 수립하는데 필요한 지침을 제공하고자 본 연구를 시행하였다. 방 법 : 대구 및 경상북도의 개원의와 소종합병원에 근무하는 의사들을 대상으로 우편을 통한 설문조사를 동하여 폐암의 예후와 치료에 관한 견해를 조사하였다. 통계분석은 SPSS/PC+ 통계 프로그램을 이용하여 분석하였다. 결 과 : 설문지에 충실히 답한 응답자는 228명이었으며 연령별 분포는 40세 이하가 26명, 41-50세가 113명, 51-60세가 57명, 61세 이상이 32명이었고, 성별분포는 남자가 213명, 여자가 15명이었다. 응답자의 68.3%가 폐암의 치료에 관한 문의를 받은 경험이 있었으며 응답자의 연령이 증가할수록 문의를 받았다는 응답자가 많았다. 진단명을 환자에게 통고해 주는 것이 좋다는 응답자가 51.5% 였으며 보호자의 뜻에 따라 결정하는 것이 좋다는 의견이 21.6% 였다. 치료선택에 있어서는 주치의가 가장 적합하다고 생각되는 치료를 적극적으로 원하는 것이 바람직하다는 응답자가 86.9%로 대부분 주치의가 주도적으로 결정하는 것을 선호하였다. 수술이 가능한 고령(80세) 환자에서는 응답자의 71.3%가 비수술적 치료를 선호하였으며 응답자의 연령이 증가할수록 비수술적 치료를 권하는 응답자가 유의하게 많았다. 방사선요법 혹은 항암화학요법에 관해서는 적극적으로 권하거나 주치의의 지시에 따르라고 권고하겠다는 응답자가 대부분이었으나 방사선치료와 항암화학요법의 효과에 대해서는 부정적인 생각을 갖고 있는 응답자가 비교적 많았다. 결 론 : 폐암의 치료와 예후에 관한 의사들의 견해는 매우 다양하였으며 고령의 환자 혹은 진행된 병기의 환지들에서는 적극적인 치료를 선호하지 않는 경향이 있었다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제17권6호
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• pp.2811-2819
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• 2016

Multiple genetic and environmental factors have been reported to play key role in the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Here, we investigated interactions of XRCC1 Arg399Gln and XRCC2 Arg188His polymorphisms and environmental factors in modulating susceptibility to NPC in Northeast India. One-hundred NPC patients, 90 first-degree relatives of patients and 120 controls were enrolled in the study. XRCC1 Arg399Gln and XRCC2 Arg188His polymorphisms were determined using PCR-RFLP, and the results were confirmed by DNA sequencing. Logistic regression (LR) and multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) approaches were applied for statistical analysis. The XRCC1 Gln/Gln genotype showed increased risk (OR=2.76; P<0.024) of NPC. However, individuals with both XRCC1 and XRCC2 polymorphic variants had 3.2 fold elevated risk (P<0.041). An enhanced risk of NPC was also observed in smoked meat (OR=4.07; P=0.004) and fermented fish consumers (OR=4.34, P=0.001), and tobacco-betel quid chewers (OR=7.00; P=0.0001) carrying XRCC1 polymorphic variants. However, smokers carrying defective XRCC1 gene showed the highest risk (OR = 7.47; P<0.0001). On MDR analysis, the best model for NPC risk was the five-factor model combination of XRCC1 variant genotype, fermented fish, smoked meat, smoking and chewing (CVC=10/10; TBA=0.636; P<0.0001); whereas in interaction entropy graphs, smoked meat and tobacco chewing showed synergistic interactions with XRCC1. These findings suggest that interaction of genetic and environmental factors might increase susceptibility to NPC in Northeast Indian populations.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권17호
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• pp.7467-7472
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• 2015

Background: Breast cancer is known to be one of the most prevalent cancers among women in both developing and developed countries. The incidence of breast cancer in Pakistan has increased dramatically within the last few years and is the second country after Israel in Asia to have highest proportional cases of breast cancer. However, there are limited data for breast cancer available in the literature from Pakistan. Objectives: The study was conducted to bring to light the common clinical presentation of breast cancer and to evaluate the frequency of established risk factors in breast carcinoma patients and furthermore to compare the findings between premenopausal and postmenopausal women in Pakistan. Materials and Methods: A 6 months (from July 2012 to Dec 2012) cross sectional survey was conducted in Surgical and Oncology Units of Civil Hospital, Karachi. Data were collected though a well developed questionnaire from 105 female patients diagnosed with carcinoma of breast and analyzed using SPSS version 17. Institutional ethical approval was obtained prior to data collection. Results: Out of 105 patients, 43 were premenopausal and 62 were postmenopausal, 99 being married. Mean age at diagnosis was $47.8{\pm}12.4years$. A painless lump was the most frequent symptom, notived by 77.1%(n=81). Some 55.2% (n=58) patients had a lump in the right breast and 44.8%(n=47) in the left breast. In the majority of cases, the lump was present in upper outer quadrant 41.9% (n=44). Mean period of delay from appearance of symptoms to consulting a doctor was $5.13{\pm}4.8months$, from the shortest 1 month to the longest 36 months. Long delay (> 3 months) was the most frequent figure 41.9%. Considering overall risk factors most frequent were first pregnancy after 20 years of age (41%), physical breast trauma (28.6%), lack of breast feeding(21.9%), and early menarche <11 years (19%), followed by null parity (16.2%), consumption of high fat diet (15.2%), family history of breast cancer or any other cancer in first degree relatives (9.5% and 13.3%, respectively). Some of the less common factors were late menopause >54 years (8.6%), use of oral contraceptive pills (10.5%), use of hormone replacement therapy (4.7%),smoking (4.7%) and radiation (0.96%). Significant differences (p<0.005) were observed between pre and post menopausal women regarding history of physical breast trauma, practice of breast feeding and parity. Conclusions: A painless lump was the most frequent clinical presentation noted. Overall age at first child > 20 years, physical breast trauma, lack of breast feeding, early menarche <11 were the most frequent risk factors. Physical breast trauma, lower parity, a trend for less breast feeding had more significant associations with pre-menopausal than post-menopausal onset. Increase opportunity of disease prevention can be obtained through better understanding of clinical presentation and risk factors important in the etiology of breast cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권5호
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• pp.2225-2229
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• 2014

Background: Carcinoma of the tongue is the most common intra-oral malignancy in Western countries. Incidence and mortality rates have increased in recent years, and survival has not improved. This study aimed to determine etiologic factors for tongue cancer with age-sex matched case-control data. Materials and Methods: 47 patients with carcinoma of the tongue referred to our oral medicine clinic between years 2005-2006 were analyzed and compared with control group data. The medical records, including family history of cancer, dental trauma, and history of abuse of alcohol and tobacco products was recorded for all subjects. Chi square comparison tests and linear regression analysis were performed using the SPSS program for statistics. Results: Patient and randomly selected control groups each consisted of 30 male and 17 female subjects with mean ages 53.2 (${\pm}12.6$) and 52.6 (${\pm}11.5$) years respectively. Smoking and alcohol abuse proportions were significantly higher in the patient group (p=0.0001, p<0.0001 respectively). Chronic mechanical trauma was observed in 44.7% of the patients and 17.0% of the control group (p=0.004). Similarly, family history of cancer of any type (for the first degree relatives) was found to be more common in the patient group (p=0.009). On regression analysis, alcohol abuse, family history of cancer, smoking, chronic mechanical traumas appeared as significant etiologic factors (p=0.0001). Conclusions: We believe that field cancerization may become evident in oral and oropharyngeal mucosa with multiple steps of molecular changes starting from the first sign of dysplasia with chronic exposure to etiological factors. Chronic trauma cases need particular attention to search for very early signs of cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.1015-1021
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• 2014

This study aimed at summarizing published study findings on the diagnostic value of rectal bleeding (RB) and informing clinical practice, preventive interventions and future research areas. We searched Medline and Embase for studies published by September 13, 2013 examining the risk of colorectal cancer in patients with RB using highly inclusive algorithms. Data for sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio and positive predictive value (PPV) of RB were extracted by two researchers and analyzed applying Meta-Disc (version 1.4) and Stata (version 11.0). Methodological quality of studies was assessed according to QUADAS. A total of 38 studies containing 5,626 colorectal cancer patients and 73,174 participants with RB were included. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.47 (95% CI: 0.45-0.48) and 0.96 (95% CI: 0.96-0.96) respectively. The overall PPVs ranged from 0.01 to 0.21 with a pooled value of 0.06 (95% CI: 0.05-0.08). Being over the age of 60 years, change in bowel habit, weight loss, anaemia, colorectal cancer among first-degree relatives and feeling of incomplete evacuation of rectum appeared to increase the predictive value of RB. Although RB greatly increases the probability of diagnosing colorectal cancer, it alone may not be sufficient for proposing further sophisticated investigations. However, given the high specificity, subjects without RB may be ruled out of further investigations. Future studies should focus on strategies using RB as an "alarm" symptom and finding additional indications to justify whether there is a need for further investigations.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.75-82
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• 1996

Background: Nerve blocks, including epidural analgesia, can be risky for terminal cancer pain patients in generally poor conditions. We performed this study to evaluate the efficacy of intravenous patient-controlled analgesia(PCA) to treat severe pain of terminally ill cancer patients during the last days of life. Methods: We explained the patient's poor general condition to relatives and received a written consent to administer PCA. The starting dose of opioid for PCA in cancer pain management was based on previous 24-hour dose. Previous 24-hour opioid dose was converted to intramuscular morphine equivalent. The concentration of opioid mixed into Basal Bolus $Infusor^{(R)}$ was controlled to allow for one half of the previous 24-hour equianalgesic dose to infuse continuously. Patients controlled their pain by pushing the PCA module themselves. Patients were observed by pain service team. Some discharged patients were treated at home until death. Results: Forty eight patients received PCA for last two years. The most common reason receiving a PCA was the patient's poor general condition(52.0%). The mean starting dose of PCA was $20.6{\pm}16.2$ mg of morphine. Over eighty percents of the patients were in good or tolerable state of analgesia. Half of the patients expired within one week. The mean duration of PCA was $8.7{\pm}7.0$ days. The problems during PCA were: difficulty in maintaining intravenous routes, early loss of mentality after starting PCA, hypotension and nausea. Conclusion: We concluded that PCA, if correctly, is an effective, relatively safe and readily controllable method of pain management in terminally ill cancer patients during the last days of life. For future considerations, terminal patients may expire at the comfort of their own homes after the resolution of legal problems regarding using opioid in home care.

• 대한방사선치료학회지
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• 제13권1호
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• pp.75-90
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• 2001

Although it is presumed that cancer patients take various alternative therapies, the present status is not well recognized. The purpose of this study is to survey alternative therapies used by cancer patients receiving radiation therapy and then, find associated factors of taking alternative therapies. The study subjects were composed of those who receiving radiation therapy in the department of radiation oncology in 5 hospitals located at Extended Busan city and who were on follow-up after medical cure. They were 394 male and female patients over 20 years old. The mean age of the subjects was 53.2 years old and the age ranged from 23 to 83 years old. 188 patients($47.7\%$) used alternative therapies. Total 68 different kinds of alterative therapies were used, average 7.3 kinds per patient were experienced, and average total cost expenditure was 2,830,000 won. Among the alternative therapies, black bean($38.8\%$) was the most commonly used and brown rice($38.3\%$), ganoderm lucidum($37.8\%$), elm tree($33.5\%$), and phellinus linteus($30.8\%$) were followed in order of frequency. However in considering the time, cost and effort spent, phellinus linteus was the first. In terms of cost, phellinus linteus was the highest with average expenditure of 2,740,000 won. Among the motivation of using alternative therapies, expecting auxiliary help for the hospital therapy was the highest ($31.4\%$). About half of users($56.9\%$) of alternative therapies were recommended by their relatives to use alternative therapies. In comparing the characteristics of experienced and unexperienced groups, alternative therapy was experienced significantly more in patients of younger age(p=0.001), in patient of higher educational level(p=0.001), and in patients of higher income(p=0.030) The proportion of using alternative therapies was significantly higher in the group treated with chemotherapy(p=0.005), and in the patients who did not satisfy with radiation therapy(p=0.001). The frequency of drinking was significantly higher tendency in the inexperienced group(p=0.046), There was no significant difference in marital status, job, religion, other disease, surgical operation of the cancer and smoking staus between the two groups. Among the unexperienced group, $34.0\%$ of the patients did not take the alternative therapies because they did not have know]edge for the alternatives, and $22.3\%$ worried about negative effects on hospital-based therapy $58.7\%$ of them were willing to take the alternative therapies if the effects and safety were proven by the government or research institutes. $21.9\%$ of the patients wanted to take the alternatives if they were affordable. $72.3\%$ of the patients was willing to take them if their families recommend, but $27.2\%$ responded they would not take them in any situation. Conclusively, various kinds of alternative therapies which were not proved medically were exposed to patients, In these circumstances, it is required to investigate, study and evaluate the medical effects and safety of the alternative therapies.