• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.165-170
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• 2016

Background: Nurses are the most visible, frontline personnel providing health education to patients. In particular, nurse experience with Pap examinations have the potential to influence women's attitudes toward screening for cervical cancer. However, nurses in Taiwan have lower rates of Pap testing than the general population. Understanding the factors predicting nurse intent to have a Pap exam and Pap exam status would inform interventions and policies to increase their Pap exam uptake. Therefore, the present study was undertaken. Materials and Methods: Data were collected by questionnaire from a convenient sample of 504 nurses at a regional hospital in central Taiwan between August and October 2011 and analyzed by descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, and logistic regression. Results: Nurse intention to have a Pap exam was predicted by younger age, less negative attitudes toward Pap exams, and greater influence of others recommendations. However, nurses were more likely to actually have had a Pap exam if they were older, married, had sexual experience, and had a high intention to have a Pap exam. Conclusions: Nurses who are younger than 34 years old, unmarried, sexually inexperienced, and with low intention to have a Pap exam should be targeted with interventions to educate them not only about the importance of Pap exams in detecting cervical cancer, but also about strategies to decrease pain and embarrassment during exams. Nurses with less negative attitudes and experiences related to Pap exams would serve as role models to persuade women to have Pap exams, thus increasing the uptake rate of Pap exams in Taiwan.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.4895-4900
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• 2015

Physician recommendation is an important predictor of HPV vaccine acceptance; however, physician willingness and preferences regarding HPV vaccination may be influenced by factors including patient age, vaccine type, and cost. A cross-sectional survey was administered to a convenience sample of health care providers in Da Nang, Vietnam, to evaluate awareness, perceptions about HPV and HPV vaccines, and willingness to vaccinate a female patient. Willingness to vaccinate was evaluated using a full-factorial presentation of scenarios featuring the following factors: vaccine cost (free vs 1,000,000 VND), patient age (12, 16, or 22 years), and HPV vaccine type (bivalent vs quadrivalent). Responses from 244 providers were analyzed; providers had a mean age of $34{\pm}11.9$ years; a majority were female, married, and had children of their own. Thirty-six percent specialized in obstetrics/gynecology and 24% were providers in family medicine. Of the three factors considered in conjoint analysis, vaccine cost was the most important factor in willingness to vaccinate, followed by patient age, and vaccine type. The most favorable scenario for vaccinating a female patient was when the vaccine was free, the patient was 22 years of age, and the HPV4 vaccine was described. In multivariable analysis, older age, being a physician, being married, and having children were all associated with increased willingness to recommend HPV vaccination (p<0.05). Provider willingness is an important aspect of successful HPV vaccination programs; identifying preferences and biases in recommendation patterns will highlight potential areas for education and intervention.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6425-6428
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• 2014

Background: Prostatic adenocarcinoma is one of the main causes of cancer death, and its timely diagnosis and preventing its progression dramatically helps improve life indexes. Given the high disease recurrence rate, today, research is more inclined toward exploring causes of recurrence and development, and innovation of modern treatment methods. Several studies have explored over-expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2/neu) in prostatic cancer so far, with different results. Thus, it was decided to investigate HER-2/neu overexpression in patients with prostatic adenocarcinoma in Iran. Materials and Methods: A sample size of 40 patients with prostate cancer entered the study, using a cross-sectional, non-randomized sampling method. Parameters studied included patient age at surgery, Gleason score, serum prostatic specific antigen (PSA) before surgery, and positive sample rate after immunohistochemical staining to investigate HER-2/neu overexpression. Results: In terms of HER-2/neu receptor staining rate, of 40 slides, 16 (40%) scored 0, 13 (32.5%) 1+, 7 (17.5%) 2+, and 4 (10%) 3+. In total 27.5% of slides showed HER-2/neu overexpression. In terms of age, an inverse correlation was found (-0.181), but without significance (p=0.263). In terms of serum PSA, the correlation coefficient was 0.449 (p=0.004). With respect to Gleason score, the coefficient was 0.190 (p=0.240). Conclusions: In this study, HER-2/neu overexpression occurred in 27.5% of prostate cancer cases, which is a relatively high figure, compared to similar studies elsewhere. While, we failed to reveal any relationship between HER-2/neu expression status with progression and prognosis of disease, it was demonstrated that the serum PSA level was significantly higher in cases with increased receptor expression.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1971-1975
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• 2014

Background: Tongue cancer is still a major health problem in most developing countries around the world. Statistics shown the number of tongue cancers, especially in early age, to be increasing, with poor survival. Objective: To analyze the characteristic profile of tongue cancer patients in Indonesia as well as the survival rate. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Dharmais National Cancer Hospital by collecting general, clinical, and survival data of tongue cancer patients from medical records for January 2009 to April 2012. Results: Tongue cancer incidence increased year by year. The average age of tongue cancer patients was 47.5 years, and males predominated, accounting for 64.5% of cases. Most patients presented at an advanced stage (69.6%). The histopathology type was squamous cell carcinoma in the vast majoriy (96.8%). The therapies applied were surgery (45.6%), radiation (63.6%) and chemotherapy (57.6%). The survival rate after one year is 60.6% and after two years was 12.1%. In addition, median survival of tongue cancer patients was 20 months (95% confidence interval 9.07-30.9). The significant factor affecting survival was size of tumor with a hazard ratio of 3.18 (95% CI, 1.02-9.93; p 0.046) for largest versus smallest categories. Conclusions: In each year, the number of tongue cancer incidents in Indonesia is increasing. The age of tongue cancer patients in Indonesia is younger compared to other countries. Moreover, the survival rates are not high.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.210-216
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• 2020

Background: Among the different aims of medical education, the provision of society with skilled, professional, and knowledgeable healthcare workers who maintain and develop their expertise over a lifetime career is important. The achievement of this goal is linked with the professional development of both faculty members and healthcare workers. This study aims to measure the perception of faculty members regarding their views about the goals of faculty development programs, practices and activities, and factors that determine their achievement. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in multiple universities in the Western region of Saudi Arabia. The participants were given a pre-designed self-administered questionnaire generated from literature. The survey questionnaire consisted of three sections that were designed to assess the faculty members' perception on the faculty development program. Results: A total of 210 faculty members participated in the study. The most important perceived goal was to motivate teachers to become better teachers. The most important perceived practice was establishing a positive climate for teaching and learning. The most important perceived factor was skilled and dedicated staff support. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that faculty members have positive perceptions regarding all aspects of faculty development programs. This study will raise awareness regarding the importance of faculty development programs in sustaining educational vitality. We recommend the implementation and maintenance of comprehensive faculty development programs in Saudi universities.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1251-1254
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• 2015

Background: To compare prevalence of anxiety in ovarian cancer patients following primary treatment to that of normal women and to examine predicting factor. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 56 ovarian cancer patients who had primary surgical treatment within the past five years (cancer group) and 56 age-matched women who attended an outpatient clinic for check-ups (non-cancer group) were recruited from June 2013 to January 2014. The hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), was used to determine anxiety level of the participants with the score of ${\geq}11$ suggestive of anxiety. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms and mean HADS scores for anxiety were compared between the study groups. For those with ovarian cancer, associations of demographic and clinical factors with anxiety was examined. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Participants in the non-cancer group had higher rate of medical comorbidity, higher salary, and more frequent university education. The prevalence of anxiety was not different between the groups, at 7.1% each. The mean HADS scores for anxiety subscale were not significantly different between the groups, 5.0 in the cancer group vs 6.1 in the non-cancer group (p=0.09). On multivariable analysis, no demographic or clinical factors significantly associated with anxiety were identified. For the cancer group, no association between any particular factors and anxiety was demonstrated. Conclusions: The prevalence of anxiety in women with ovarian cancer following primary treatment was comparable to that of normal women seeking routine check-up.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1117-1122
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• 2015

Background: Cisplatin is still used as a first-line medication for solid tumors. Nephrotoxicity is a serious side effect that can decrease renal function and restrict applicable doses. This research aimed to obtain the profile of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and its associated factors in adult cancer patients at Dharmais National Cancer Hospital (DNCH). Materials and Methods: The design was cross-sectional with data obtained from patient medical records. We retrospectively reviewed adult cancer patients treated with cisplatin ${\geq}60mg/m^2$ for at least four consecutive chemotherapy cycles from August 2011 to November 2013. The nephrotoxicity criterion was renal function decline characterized by creatinine clearance <60 ml/min using the Cockroft-Gault (CG) equation. Results: Eighty-eight subjects received at least four chemotherapy cycles of cisplatin. The prevalence of cisplatin nephrotoxicity was 34.1%. Symptoms could be observed after the first cycle of chemotherapy, and the degree of renal impairment was higher with increased numbers of cycles (r=-0.946, $r^2=89.5%$). Factors that affected the decline of renal function were patient age (p=0.008, OR=3.433, 95%CI= 1.363-8.645) and hypertension (p=0.026, OR=2.931, 95%CI=1.120-7.670). Conclusions: Cisplatin nephrotoxicity occurred in more than one-third of patients after the fourth cycle of chemotherapy and worsened after each cycle despite preventive strategies such as hydration. The decline of renal function induced by cisplatin ${\geq}60mg/m^2$ was affected by age and hypertension.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.4173-4176
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• 2015

The aim of this cross-sectional analytic study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for Opisthorchis viverrini (OV) infection in an urban area of Northeastern Thailand. The participants were 254 household representatives aged 15 years or older living in the most urbanised part of Chiang Yuen municipality in Mahasarakham Province. All participants provided stool samples which were examined using the modified Kato-Katz procedure, and a structured interview questionnaire was used to collection demographic information, knowledge about OV infection, and the consumption of unsafely prepared freshwater fish. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. The overall prevalence of OV infection was 15.0%, and in the multivariate analysis male gender was found to be significantly and positively associated with OV infection ($OR_{adj}=9.75$, 95%CI: 34.03-23.58) while education to secondary school level or above was a significant protective factor ($OR_{adj}=0.30$, 95%CI: 0.12-0.74). The eating of unsafely prepared fish and knowledge about OV were not significantly related to infection status. The findings were discussed in terms of issues for future research, especially the need to consider the possibility of higher rates of OV infection in urban areas than might be expected and to investigate the sources of infected fish products which may well be different from those in rural villages.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.1767-1770
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• 2012

Background: The Asia Pacific consensus for colorectal cancer (CRC) recommends that screening programs should begin by the age of 50. However, there have been reports about increasing incidence of CRC at a younger age (i.e. early-onset CRC). Little is known about the features of early-onset CRC in the Vietnamese population. Aim: To describe the clinical, endoscopic and pathological characteristics of early-onset CRC in Vietnamese. Method: A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at the University Medical Center from March 2009 to March 2011. All patients with definite pathological diagnosis of CRC were recruited. The early-onset CRC group were analyzed in comparison with the late-onset (i.e. ${\geq}$ 50-year-old) CRC group. Results: The rate of early-onset CRC was 28% (112/400) with a male-to-female ratio of 1.3. Some 22.3% (25/112) of the patients only experienced abdominal pain and/or change in bowel habit without alarming symptoms, 42.9% (48/112) considering their symptoms intermittent. The rate of familial history of CRC in early-onset group was significantly higher that of the late-onset group (21.4% versus 7.6%, p<0.001). The distribution of CRC lesions in rectum, distal and proximal colon were 51.8% (58/112), 26.8% (30/112) and 21.4% (24/112), respectively; which was not different from that in the late-onset group (${\chi}2$, p = 0.29). The rates for poorly differentiated tumors were also not significantly different between the two groups: 12.4% (14/112) versus 8.3% (24/288) (${\chi}2$, p = 0.25). Conclusion: A high proportion of CRC in Viet Nam appear at an earlier age than that recommended for screening by the Asia Pacific consensus. Family history was a risk factor of early-onset CRC. Diagnosis of early-onset CRC needs more attention because of the lack of alarming symptoms and their intermittent patterns as described by the patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3391-3394
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• 2016

Background: Helicobacter pylori is now recognized as a causative factor of chronic gastritis, gastroduodenal ulcers, gastric cancer and mucosa-associated lymphatic tissue lymphoma. Toll-like receptors are important bacterial receptors in gastric epithelial cell signaling transduction and play critical roles in gastric carcinogenesis. Materials and Methods: A total of 400 patients undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy for investigation of chronic abdominal pain were genotyped for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TLR1 (rs4833095) using TagMan SNPs genotyping assay by real-time PCR hybridization. Relationships with susceptibility to H. pylori infection and pre-malignant gastric mucosa morphological patterns, classified by magnifying NBI endoscopy, were investigated. Results: The percentages of TLR1 rs4833095, CC homozygous, CT heterozygous and TT homozygous cases were 34, 46.5 and 19%, respectively. CC showed statistical differences between H. pylori positive and negative cases (P<0.001). CT and TT correlated with type 1 and type 2 gastric mucosal morphological patterns (P <0.01) whereas CC correlated with types 3 and 4 (P<0.01). Conclusions: This study demonstrated good correlation of TLR1 rs4833095 genotype with severity of inflammation in H. pylori infected gastric mucosa according to gastric mucosal morphologic patterns with magnifying NBI endoscopy.