• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.4057-4062
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• 2012

Objective: To study the level of awareness and knowledge about cancers and associated risk factors among households in selected states of India. Methods: In the study 3070 households were interviewed from six states viz, West Bengal, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram. Results: Knowledge of cancers other than those related to tobacco was very low (prostate 8%, colon 11% ) among the communities, with a poor awareness of warning signs and symptoms. The knowledge varied from state to state. It is found that the major source of information related to cancers was television (38%) followed by friends and relatives (36%). Only about 15 % of respondents had knowledge about cancer awareness camps organized in their districts but they did not have knowledge about the organizers of the camp. Findings suggested a strong need for strengthening of DCCP. Conclusion: It is important to create awareness among community through educational programs on cancer prevention, preventable cancer risk factors, benefits of early diagnosis, and availability of screening facilities. Integration of District Cancer Control activities with NRHM could be the most cost-effective strategy to prevent cancers and rural population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4307-4312
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• 2013

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy of women worldwide. It is the leading cause of female cancer related disability and mortality. In Saudi Arabia breast cancer ranks first among cancerous diseases in females. In the Gulf region, and especially in Saudi Arabia, few studies have been conducted to address breast cancer awareness. The purpose of the current study was therefore to investigate the level of breast cancer awareness among Saudi females in Jeddah, focusing on knowledge of breast cancer warning signs, risk factors, screening programs and breast self-examination (BSE). The design of this study was an exploratory correlational analysis. The sample comprised 200 Saudi females aged 20 and older living in Jeddah. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews. Breast cancer awareness was measured using a modified Arabic version of the Breast Cancer Awareness Measure (Breast CAM) version 2. Descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson's Product Moment correlation coefficients and ANOVA test were used to answer study questions. Out of 200 participants, 50.5% were aware of breast lump as a warning sign of breast cancer, 57.5% claimed that family history was risk factor, 20.5% had undergone breast screening, 79% heard about BSE, and 47.5% knew how to perform BSE. Findings indicated that Saudi females level of awareness of breast cancer is very inadequate. Public awareness interventions are needed in order to overcome an ever-increasing burden of this disease among Saudi females.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4015-4023
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• 2013

Cancer of the cervix is the third most common cancer in women worldwide, more than 85% of the cases occurring in developing countries such as China. In China, since a national cancer registry is already set up but with geographically limited data generated, the burden of cervical cancer is believed to be underestimated. High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) prevalence among women attending routine cervical cancer screening programs has been shown to correlate well with cervical cancer incidence rates based on independently obtained HPV prevalence data as well as findings for the worldwide cervical cancer burden. Therefore, reviewing data on HR-HPV prevalence in population-based screening studies and hospital-based case studies will be important in the context of better understanding the cervical cancer burden and for the evaluation of the potential impact of HPV vaccination in the country. With the advent of prophylactic vaccines, significant progress is likely to be made in cervical cancer prevention. This article reviews available data on the HPV epidemiology over a 12-year time period (2001-2012) in mainland China under different epidemiological aspects: by age group of study population, by ethnicity, by geographic area, as well as time period. The authors also review the potential acceptability of HPV vaccination among Chinese women.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3247-3251
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• 2015

Background: The attendance rates for cancer screening are low in Japan. Little is actually known about how the Japanese perceive cancer. Since beliefs about illness affect individuals' health care practice, the aim of this study was to explore beliefs about cancer and factors associated with those beliefs, focusing on representative cancer sites. Materials and Methods: Japanese adults (${\geq}20$ years old) who had not been diagnosed with any cancers and were not health care professionals were recruited, using a convenience sampling approach. A total of 91 participants completed questionnaires including open-ended questions. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the responses. Results: Five themes were suggested: (i) a threatening illness that might greatly change one's future life; (ii) basic cancer knowledge; (iii) a curable illness with early detection and adequate treatment; (iv) causes of cancer; and (v) anyone can develop cancer. Families or friends' negative consequences of cancer were associated with negative beliefs about the disease. Gestational cancer was the most representative site of most themes. Conclusions: A threatening illness (e.g., death or incurable illness) was the most common belief among the Japanese laypeople. Importance of early detection and treatments should be more emphasized, and future screening programs should include strategies modifying negative cancer beliefs among Japanese laypeople.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3281-3288
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Despite being associated with high morbidity and mortality, breast cancer is a disease that can be diagnosed and treated early. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study of 321 women, data were collected by Questionnaire, Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Form and Champion's Health Belief Model Scale. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Chisquared tests and logistic regression were used in the statistical analysis. Results: It was found that only 2.2% of women have high and very high risk levels of breast cancer risk. There is a positive correlation between early diagnosis techniques and Health Belief Model Sub-Dimension scores which are sensibility, health motivation, BSE (Breast self-examination) self-efficient perception and negative correlation between mammography barrier score and BSE barrier score (p 0.05). When factors for not having BSE were examined, it was determined that the women who do not have information about breast cancer and the women who smoke have a higher risk of not having BSE. Conclusions: It is important to determine health beliefs and breast cancer risk levels of women to increase the frequency of early diagnosis. Women's health beliefs are thought to be a good guide for planning health education programs for nurses working in this area.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.14
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• pp.5627-5631
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• 2014

Background: Oral cancer presents with high mortality rates, and the likelihood of survival is remarkably superior when detected early. Dental professionals have an important role and responsibility in prevention and early detection of oral cancer. Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, practices and opinions regarding oral cancer among dentists in Yemen. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire involving private and public dental practitioners, working in different governorates in Yemen. Results: Of the 800 dentists surveyed, a total of 221 questionnaires were completed and returned (response rate 27.6%). A vast majority of dentists (96.38%) identified tobacco as the major risk factor for oral cancer, and 82.8% knew that squamous cell carcinoma is the most common form. While 47.1% of the dentists agreed that they were adequately trained in oral cancer screening, the majority (86%) believed that they need further training in oral cancer screening. Conclusions: These results suggest that additional training and continuing educational programs on prevention and early detection of oral cancer for dentists are to be highly recommended.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.78-85
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• 1999

To investigate kernel hardness, a compression test which is widely used to measure the hardness of individual kernels as a physical testing method was made simultaneously with the measurement of friabilin (15KDa) which is strongly associated with kernel hardness and was recently developed as a biochemical marker for evaluating kernel hardness in 79 Korean wheat varieties and experimental lines. With the scattered diagram based on the principal component analysis from the parameters of the compression test, 79 Korean wheat varieties were classified into three groups based on the principal component analysis. Since conventional methods required large amount of flour samples for analysis of friabilin due to the relatively small amount of friabilin in wheat kernels, those methods had limitations for quality prediction in wheat breeding programs. An extraction of friabilin from the starch of a single kernel through cesium chloride gradient centrifugation was successful in this experiment. Among 79 Korean wheat varieties and experimental lines 50 lines (63.3%) exhibited a friabilin band and 29 lines (36.7%) did not show a friabilin band. In this study, lines that contained high maximum force and the lower ratio of minimum force to maximum force showed the absence of the friabilin band. Identification of friabilin, which is the product of a major gene, could be applied in the screening procedures of kernel hardness. The single kernel analysis system for friabilin was found to be an easy, simple and effective screening method for early generation materials in a wheat breeding program for quality improvement.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.170-175
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• 2014

Twenty five methanolic plant extracts were investigated to determine the anticancer activity against sonic hedgehog (shh)/Gli signaling pathway dependent cancer, PANC-1 human pancreatic cancer cells, through three screening programs. All extracts were inspected their inhibitory properties on sonic hedgehog-conditioned medium (shh-CM) induced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in C3H10T1/2 mouse mesenchymal stem cells to examine whether the plant extracts affect the shh/Gli signaling pathway. Next, plant extracts were screened the ability to suppress the cell proliferation of PANC-1 human pancreatic cancer cells. Finally, active plant extracts from the two screening systems were evaluated for the suppressive effect on Gli-mediated transcriptional activity in PANC-1 cells. Among active plants, Cinnamomum cassia suppressed Gli-mediated transcriptional activity leading to the down-regulated expression of Gli-target genes such as Gli-1 and Patched-1 (Ptch-1). This study provides the consideration for the important role of natural products in drug discovery process as well as the basis for the further analysis of active plant and potential identification of novel bioactive compounds as inhibitors of Gli and therapeutic candidates against shh/Gli signaling pathway dependent cancers.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.28-38
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• 2006

Purpose: To explore the level of health status and health promotion lifestyle, and the group differences in health promotion lifestyle among Seoul citizens who participated in free hypertension screening. Methods: This study was a cross sectional descriptive design. The administered questionnaire included the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II), perceived health status scale, and demographic questions. Blood pressure was measured by researcher teams. Data were collected from July 2 to 6, 2004 in the waiting area of subway stations 7 in Seoul. The study subjects were 168 adults. Results: The average age of the respondents was 55.45 years and 38.7% of them perceived themselves as healthy, while 44% did not know their own blood pressure. Among the participants, 44.6% were classified as 'prehypertensive', and 36.9% as having high blood pressure. The mean score of health promotion lifestyle was 2.62 and the order of subcategories of health promotion lifestyle was interpersonal relationship, spiritual growth, nutrition, stress management, physical activities, and health responsibilities. The subcategories of health promotion lifestyle differed significantly by age, sex, job, and smoking. Conclusions: It is important to encourage adults to participate actively in health promotion. In addition, health promotion programs should be developed and implemented based on group differences.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.455-467
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• 2013

Purpose: This study investigated some extent of nurses' knowledge level of sepsis in the intensive care units (ICUs). Methods: A total of 178 nurses from 5 ICUs at one hospital were asked to complete a structured questionnaire from September 10, 2012 to September 17, 2012. The questionnaire was composed of 30 items invented by Robson and colleagues and based on the guidelines published by Dellinger and colleagues. Independent t-test and ANOVA with post-hoc test were used for statistical analyses. Results: The mean score about sepsis of ICU nurses was $25.1{\pm}3.3$, and the average percentage who got correct answers was 83.8%. Of the participants, 25.3% thought they knew about understood sepsis well, and 89.1% wanted to have a sepsis screening tool. Conclusion: The ICU nurses' knowledge level on sepsis was low. Continuing education for ICU nurses is, therefore, required. For this, the development of educational programs and screening tools about sepsis should be preceded.