• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1419-1422
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• 2014

Objective: To summarize the endoscopic screening findings in high-risk population of esophageal and gastric carcinoma and analyze influential factors related to screening. Methods: In seven selected cities and counties with high incidences of esophageal carcinoma, people at age of 40-69 were set as the target population. Those with gastroscopy contradictions were excluded, and all who were voluntary and willing to comply with the medical requirements were subjected to endoscopic screening and histological examination for esophageal, gastric cardia and gastric carcinoma in accordance with national technical manual for early detection and treatment of cancer. Results: In three years, 36,154 people were screened, and 16,847 (46.60%) cases were found to have precancerous lesions. A total of 875 cases were found to have cancers (2.42%), and among them 739 cases had early stage with an early diagnosis rate is 84.5%. Some 715 patients underwent prompt treatment and the success rate was 81.8%. Conclusions: In a high-risk population of esophageal and gastric carcinoma, it is feasible to implement early detection and treatment by endoscopic screening. Screening can identify potential invasive carcinoma, early stage carcinoma and precancerous lesions, improving efficacy through early detection and treatment. The exploratory analysis of related influential factors will help broad implementation of early detection and treatment for esophageal and gastric carcinoma.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.26-30
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• 2016

Purpose: Genetic disorders can be prevented by basic public health measures and activities that focus primarily on education and approaches in Primary Health Care. Premarital screening is one such approach that can identify asymptomatic carriers of hemoglobinopathies and provide genetic counseling to couples for a healthy reproductive life. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of beta thalassemia and sickle cell disorders in the adult population screened as a part of the United Arab Emirates Premarital Screening Program and to measure the effectiveness of the program in decreasing high-risk marriages in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK). Materials and Methods: A retrospective, population-based study was conducted at the RAK Primary Health Care Center, where the National Premarital Screening Program is implemented. The study included data collected from the premarital screening records of all couples who had applied for a marriage license during 2008-2015. Results: Of the 17,826 individuals screened during the studied period, 4.02% (717) were diagnosed as positive for hemoglobinopathies. The prevalence of beta thalassemia and sickle cell disorders among the total study population was 2.98% and 1.05%, respectively. The hemoglobinopathy trait was more prevalent than the disease. Among these 8,913 couples who were issued certificates for compatibility based on screening tests, 28 (0.31%) couples were declared high-risk (unmatched). Seventy percent of these unmatched couples reported consanguineous marriages. Conclusion: The program was successful in achieving its objective of identifying high-risk marriages. In spite of the counseling, however, all of the high-risk couples still married each other.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.36-49
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• 2000

Evaluation of nutritional status is an essential element in providing appropriate intervention strategies to achieve the highest level of health, Nutritional assessment of the older population is complicated by many factors which do not significantly affect the nutritional status in young adults, therefore, it should be considered in two ways; community-dwelling elders group and hospitalized or institutionalized elderly group. To sort out the individuals with nutritional problems in a community efficiently, nutrition screening tools must be simple, relatively inexpensive, and applicable to a large number of subjects. Combination of tools and indicators such as 24-hour food recall, body weight and height, and questionnaires on eating practices, and the presence of chronic diseases is practically applicable as basic tools of nutritional screening of older age group. However, the lack of validated screening techniques remains a barrier in improving nutrition. Validation is only limited to energy, BMI, protein intake of the older populations living in western countries. Further refinement of nutritional assessment tools is demanded to figure out whether those are practically applicable to community-living older adults in Asian Society. A careful and systematic evaluation of nutritional assessment tools should be carried out prior to implementation of stepwise nutrition service to the heterogeneous older population. For an in-depth nutritional assessment at the individual level, we need to extend research efforts to clarify the requirements of nutrients due to aging and diseases. More cost-effective method that will allow rapid analysis of survey results are needed so that information can be readily available to policymakers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1135-1139
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• 2016

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is one of the deadliest cancers worldwide. Early detection is a key determinant of HNC prognosis. Hence, raising awareness of this disease may improve survival rates. The present study evaluated the level of awareness and screening status for HNC in the general population of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: An e-questionnaire was distributed during our HNC awareness campaign at the Red Sea Mall in Jeddah. The questions assessed HNC knowledge and screening status among participants. Results: Of the 112 respondents, 68% indicated that they had no knowledge of HNC. Social media was the major source of information (39%) for respondents. The majority (40%) believed that it was the joint responsibility of dentists, dental hygienists, and general physicians to screen for HNC; 82% had never been screened. Conclusions: Knowledge and awareness of HNC must be increased in the general population and among dental health professionals.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2533-2540
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• 2013

Background: Although screening is necessary where gastric cancer is particularly common in Asia, the performance outcomes of mass screening programs have remained unclear. This study was conducted to evaluate cost-effectiveness outcomes of the national cancer screening program (NCSP) for gastric cancer in South Korea. Materials and Methods: People aged 40 years or over during 2002-2003 (baseline) were the target population. Screening recipients and patients diagnosed with gastric cancers were identified using the NCSP and Korea Central Cancer Registry databases. Clinical outcomes were measured in terms of mortality and life-years saved (LYS) of gastric cancer patients during 7 years based on merged data from the Korean National Health Insurance Corporation and National Statistical Office. We considered direct, indirect, and productivity-loss costs associated with screening attendance. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) estimates were produced according to screening method, sex, and age group compared to non-screening. Results: The age-adjusted ICER for survival was 260,201,000-371,011,000 Korean Won (KW; 1USD=1,088 KW) for the upper-gastrointestinal (UGI) tract over non-screening. Endoscopy ICERs were lower (119,099,000-178,700,000 KW/survival) than UGI. To increase 1 life-year, additional costs of approximately 14,466,000-15,014,000 KW and 8,817,000-9,755,000 KW were required for UGI and endoscopy, respectively. Endoscopy was the most cost-effective strategy for males and females. With regard to sensitivity analyses varying based on the upper age limit, endoscopy NCSP was dominant for both males and females. For males, an upper limit of age 75 or 80 years could be considered. ICER estimates for LYS indicate that the gastric cancer screening program in Korea is cost-effective. Conclusion: Endoscopy should be recommended as a first-line method in Korea because it is beneficial among the Korean population.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.272-279
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• 2021

Background: Korea's health screening program has been faced the need for changes as the population and diseases structure are changing. In addition to Korea, many countries operate state-led health check-up programs to improve the health level of the people, and the operating methods of the program appear in various forms according to each country's health insurance system. This study examines other state-led health screening programs and proposes a direction for the development of Korea's health screening program. Methods: The study was conducted using the literature review method, and the "country" was set as a unit for the case analysis. The operating method of the health screening programs and the financial resources were compared according to the health insurance system. Five countries were selected as Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Taiwan. Results: The analyzed countries mainly operate the health screening program as a management method for chronic diseases, but there were differences in the operating method, financing, and targeted subjects and examination items. In most countries, a risk assessment was performed prior to the examination (screening), and the subjects who needed the examination were first selected, and a follow-up management service was provided in accordance with the risk each individual exposed. Conclusion: Rather than applying the same screening method to populations with different risk levels, a health screening program will be constructed in consideration of the individual's health level and exposure risk, and the healthcare delivery system will be reorganized so that screening and treatment services can be linked.

• 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.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1693-1697
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• 2014

Background: The Bahcesehir Breast Cancer Screening Project is the first organized population based breast cancer mammographic screening project in Turkey. The objective of this prospective observational study was to demonstrate the feasibility of a screening program in a developing country and to determine the appropriate age (40 or 50 years old) to start with screening in Turkish women. Materials and Methods: Between January 2009 to December 2010, a total of 3,758 women aged 40-69 years were recruited in this prospective study. Screening was conducted biannually, and five rounds were planned. After clinical breast examination (CBE), two-view mammograms were obtained. True positivity, false positivity, positive predictive values (PPV) according to ACR, cancer detection rate, minimal cancer detection rate, axillary node positivity and recall rate were calculated. Breast ultrasound and biopsy were performed in suspicious cases. Results: Breast biopsy was performed in 55 patients, and 18 cancers were detected in the first round. The overall cancer detection rate was 4.8 per 1,000 women. Most of the screened women (54%) and detected cancers (56%) were in women aged 40-49. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and stage I cancer and axillary node positivity rates were 22%, 61%, and 16.6%, respectively. The positive predictivity for biopsy was 32.7%, whereas the overall recall rate was 18.4 %. Conclusions: Preliminary results of the study suggest that population based organized screening are feasible and age of onset of mammographic screening should be 40 years in Turkey.

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
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• v.33 no.46
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• pp.304.1-304.7
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• 2018

Background: The Republic of Korea has a very low prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, but the number of new HIV diagnoses has steadily risen, strongly indicating a large number of undetected HIV infections. Thus, it is important for Korean public health authorities to adopt and encourage cost-effective HIV detection tools, such as rapid HIV screening tests. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and rapid tests in a public health center (PHC) setting. Methods: We developed a decision analytic model to assess the per-examinee cost and the cost-effectiveness of identifying HIV patients in a PHC setting using two HIV testing strategies: conventional HIV screening by ELISA versus rapid HIV testing. Analysis was performed in two scenarios: HIV testing in an average-risk population and in a high-risk population. Results: Compared to the ELISA, the rapid test was cost-saving and cost-effective. The per-examinee cost was USD 1.61 with rapid testing versus USD 3.38 with ELISA in an average-risk population, and USD 4.77 with rapid testing versus USD 7.62 with ELISA in a high-risk population. The cost of identifying a previously undiagnosed HIV case was USD 26,974 with rapid testing versus USD 42,237 with ELISA in an average-risk population, and USD 153 with rapid testing versus USD 183 with ELISA in a high-risk population. Conclusion: Rapid testing would be more cost-effective than using conventional ELISA testing for identifying previously undiagnosed HIV-infected cases in Korea, a country with extremely low HIV prevalence.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.74-80
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• 2013

Purpose: There are no detailed reports on the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in pelvic and acetabular fractures in the Asian population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of VTE in pelvic and acetabular fractures in the Korean population. Methods: The cases of 67 Korean patients with pelvic and acetabular fractures treated at our hospital from January 2009 to February 2012 were analyzed retrospectively. Until May 2010, VTE screening was performed by contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) or ultrasonography (US) when the D-dimer value did not decline predictably, still exceeded $20{\mu}g/ml$ at 5 days after trauma and surgery, or increased to greater than $20{\mu}g/ml$ after a period of decline. After May 2010, contrast-enhanced CT and US were performed routinely irrespective of the D-dimer value. Physical prophylaxis was performed on all patients. The effects of the presence of a pelvic and/or acetabular fracture, and the effects of fracture type, accompanying injuries, and screening strategies on the incidences of VTE were investigated. Results: Overall, 26 patients(38.8%) were diagnosed with VTE and PTE in 14(20.9%). All were asymptomatic. Significantly higher incidences of VTE and PTE were observed in trauma patients with pelvic and acetabular fractures than in trauma patients without pelvic and acetabula fractures treated during the same period. No significant differences were observed in the incidences of VTE and PTE between patients with pelvic fractures, and patients with acetabular fractures or between patients with and without accompanying injuries. Compared with the previous screening strategy, the detection rates for VTE and PTE were higher for the newer screening strategy; however, the difference did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion: In the Korean population, we should be vigilant for a high incidence of VTE, especially PTE, in patients with pelvic and acetabular fractures.