• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.3067-3072
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• 2015

Cervical cancer is the most common malignant cancer of the female reproductive organs worldwide. Currently, cervical cancer can be prevented by vaccination and detected at an early stage via various screening methods. Malaysia, as a developing country faces a heavy disease burden of cervical cancer as it is the second most common cancer among Malaysian women. This population based study was carried out to fulfil the primary aim of determining the survival rates of Malaysian women with cervical cancer and associated factors. Data were obtained from two different sources namely, the Malaysian National Cancer Registry (MNCR) and National Health Informatics Centre (NHIC) from 1st January 2000 to 31st December 2005. Kaplan Meier analyses were conducted to identify the overall survival rates and median survival time. Differences in survival among different ethnic and age group were compared using the log-rank test. A total of 5,859 patients were included. The median survival time for cervical cancer in this study was 65.8 months and the 5-year survival rate was 71.1%. The overall observed survival rates at 1, 3 and 5 years were 94.1%, 79.3% and 71.1% respectively. The log-rank test finding also showed that there were significant differences in the 5-year survival rate among different ethnic groups. Malays had the lowest survival rate of 59.2% followed by Indians (69.5%) and Chinese (73.8%). The overall 5-year survival rate among patients with cervical cancer in Malaysia is relatively good. Age and ethnic groups remain as significant determining factors for cervical cancer survival rate.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.4163-4167
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• 2016

Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common in Thailand, but the mortality rate may be rising yearly. It is a cancer that can be prevented by early screening for precancerous lesions, several methods being available. Objective: To identify the prevalence of abnormal Papanicolaou (Pap) smears and lesions with visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) in pregnant women and assess risk factors for this group. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was performed at Prapokklao Hospital, Thailand during April-July 2016. All pregnant women of gestational age between 12-36 weeks who attended an antenatal clinic were recruited. All participants were screened for cervical cancer by Pap smear and VIA. If results of one or both were abnormal, colposcopic examination was evaluated by gynecologic oncologist. Results: A total of 414 pregnant women were recruited. Prevalence of abnormal Pap smear and VIA were 6.0 and 6.7 percent, respectively. The most common abnormal Pap smear was low grade intraepithelial lesion (LSIL, 44%). Factors associated with abnormal Pap smear in pregnant women were low BMI, multiple partners and being a government officer. In pregnancy, Pap smear had higher sensitivity and specificity than VIA for detection of precancerous cervical lesion. Patients with young coitarche or more than 25 years of active sexual activity were high risk groups. Conclusions: Prevalence of abnormal Pap smear and VIA in pregnant women was 6.0 and 6.7 percent, respectively. Factors associated with abnormal Pap smear were coitarche, years of sexual activity, low BMI, multiple partners and being a government officer.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.368-378
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the association between breastfeeding and the prevalence of breast, thyroid, and cervical cancer among Korean adult women. Methods: The study was a secondary analysis of data from the Korea Genome and Epidemiology Study. The final samples were 113,944 Korean women among 173,205 urban-based cohort participants collected between 2004 and 2013 for adults aged forty and over. To determine the association between female cancers and breastfeeding experience, the number of childbirth, and total breastfeeding duration, logistic regression analysis was done. The demographic characteristics, health behavior, and female history were adjusted. Results: The prevalence of breast cancer was 1.37 times higher in the non-breastfeeding group than in the breastfeeding group. Compared to having breastfed for more than 36 months, the prevalence of thyroid cancer was 1.68 times higher at breastfeeding for 13 to 36 months, 1.67 times higher at breastfeeding for 6 to 12 months, and 2.06 times higher at breastfeeding less than 6 months. Also, the prevalence of cervical cancer was 1.54 times higher at breastfeeding for 13 to 36 months, compared to breastfeeding for more than 36 months. Conclusion: The study found that breastfeeding experience and a longer breastfeeding duration are associated with reduced risk of breast, thyroid, and cervical cancer in Korean women. It can be used as a basis for encouraging breastfeeding, and suggests further research on modifiable factors that reduce cancer risks.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.349-356
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• 2019

The purpose of the study is to survey and identify the degree of cognition of women in their 20s in Korea for cervical cancer screening which has been expanded to those aged 20 as the age for the screening since January 2016, and to reveal its correlation with intention of screening. The responses to the questionnaire of the survey conducted on total 353 females in C region were collected for the data from Nov 1, 2017 to Nov 10, 2017. The frequency analysis, chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were conducted by utilizing 353 copies of the questionnaire. According to the result, only 129(36.5%) answered that they recognized the current system of cervical cancer screening. Besides, the intention of screening in case of recognizing the cervical cancer screening project was 1.63 times higher than when it is not the case. Therefore, it is required to raise the participation of screening of women in their 20s by intensifying education and promotion on cervical cancer screening for women who are not yet in their 20s in linkage with health care projects at schools.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7235-7239
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• 2014

Cervical cancer, the third commonest cancer in women worldwide, can be prevented through early detection by cervical screening (Pap smear). The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes and practice of cervical cancer screening among female undergraduate university students from 25 low, middle income and emerging economy countries. Using anonymous questionnaires, data were collected from 9,194 female undergraduate university students aged 18-26 years (mean age 20.9, SD=2.0) from 26 universities in 25 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Overall, 11.6% of the female students indicated that they had conducted one or more times a cervical (Pap) smear test; 8.3% among 18-20 year-olds and 15.6% among 21-26 year-old students. There was considerable country variation on having had a cervical (Pap) smear test among 21-26 year-old female university students, ranging from 59.2% in Colombia and 50.9% in Barbados to 0% in India and 1.0% in Tunesia. Logistic regression showed that cervical cancer screening importance or positive attitude were highly associated with the cervical screening practice. Moreover, risky sexual behaviour and tobacco use, two cervical cancer risk factors, were associated with screening. Cervical cancer screening practices were found to be inadequate and e fforts should be made to develop programmes that can increase the uptake of cervical cancer screening.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5489-5495
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• 2012

Cervical cancer is a serious public health problem in Thailand. We investigated possible risk factors for cervical cancer including HPV infection, p53 polymorphism, smoking and reproductive history among women in Northeast Thailand using a case control study with 177 cases and age-matched controls. Among the HPV carriers, a significantly increased risk for cervical cancer with an OR of 36.97(p<0.001) and an adjusted OR of 38.07(p<0.001) were observed. Early age at first sexual exposure, and multiple sexual partners increased the risk of cervical cancer with ORs ranging between 1.73-2.78(p<0.05). The interval between menarche and first sexual intercourse <6 years resulted in a significant increase in the risk for cervical cancer with ORs ranging between 3.32-4.09 and the respective adjusted OR range for the 4-5 and 2-3 year-old groups were 4.09 and 2.92. A higher risk was observed among subjects whose partner had smoking habits, whether currently or formerly; with respective ORs of 3.36(P<0.001) and 2.17(p<0.05); and respective adjusted ORs of 2.90(p<0.05) and 3.55(p<0.05). Other smoking characteristics of the partners including smoking duration ${\geq}20$ years, number of cigarettes smokes ${\geq}20$ pack-years and exposure time of the subject to passive smoking ${\geq}5$ hrs per day were found to be statistically significant risks for cervical cancer with adjusted ORs of 3.75, 4.04 and 11.8, respectively. Our data suggest that the risk of cervical cancer in Thai women is substantially associated with smoking characteristics of the partner(s), the interval between menarche and first sexual intercourse as well as some other aspects of sexual behavior.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.5091-5096
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• 2012

Background: There is a large amount of evidence that the ABO blood group system may play a role in disease etiology. A relationship between ABO and Rhesus blood groups and cancer risk has been demonstrated in a number of studies. However, in relation to gynecological malignancies, these findings are inconsistent and contradictory. Aim: To perform a case-control study for analysis of the distribution of ABO and Rh blood antigens among women from South-East Siberia who suffered from ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancer, and to assess the potential role of these antigens in carcinogenesis. Design, Subjects and Methods: A total of 1,163 cases with ovarian cancer (n=551), endometrial cancer (n=440) and cervical cancer (n=172) were involved in the study. The control group was formed from 22,581 female blood donors. Blood groups were determined through patients medical records and blood donor records. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. The blood group O was defined as the referent group, as it has the greatest frequency in the populations of Southern Siberia. P values less than 0.05 were regarded as statistically significant. Results: We found that carriage of non-O blood types increased the risk of ovarian cancer by 40-60%, and the magnitude of this relationship was strongest in women with the AB (IV) blood group. Carriage of the A (II) blood group strongly correlated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer in premenopausal, but not in postmenopausal women. No statistically significant correlations were obtained for endometrial cancer and cervical cancer. Additionally, we did not observe a relationship between Rhesus factor and cancer risk. Conclusion: We suggest that carriage of non-O blood groups may elevate risk of ovarian cancer and can play a role in its development.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.4945-4950
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• 2014

Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) could affect genesis of both cervical and esophageal cancers. The type-specific distribution of HPV in cervical cytology abnormalities of women has remained unclear in Shantou, an esophageal cancer high-incidence area of China. Data from 22,617 women who were subjected to cervical HPV DNA testing with simultaneous cervical cytological examination during 2009-2013 were therefore here retrospectively evaluated in a hospital-based study. Overall, 16.2% (3,584/22,114)of women with normal cytology were HR-HPV positive, with HPV-52 (4.07%) as the most common type followed by -16 (3.63%), and -58 (2.46%). Prevalence of HR-HPV was 50.3% (253/503) in women with cervical cytological abnormalities, of which in ASC-H 71.4%, ASC-US 39.1%, HSIL 80.3% and LSIL 73.7%. HPV-58 (14.12%) was the most common type for all cervical cytological abnormalities, followed by HPV-16 (13.72%), and -52 (12.72%), while the more common HPV-16 type in ASC-H (42.9%) and HSIL (36.1%), HPV-52 and -58 were the most common types for ASC-US (10.3%) and LSIL (25%), respectively. Multiple HPV co-infections were identified in 33.2% (84/253) cytology abnormalities with positive HR-HPV, and the highest prevalence of HPV-58/16 combination in HSIL (28.6%, 6/21) was observed. Our data indicated a relative high prevalence of HPV-58 and -52 in women with cervical cytological abnormalities, which should be considered in the development of next-generation vaccines for Shantou.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5101-5105
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• 2013

The incidence and mortality of cervical cancer remains high in India even after sixty years of introduction of the Pap smear (cervical cytology) which is an effective means of identifying preinvasive lesions of carcinoma cervix. The morbidity and mortality due to cervical cancer has come down drastically in countries with well established screening programmes at national level. This study aims at screening women for cervical cancer opportunistically during their visit to hospital and to study various types of neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions of the cervix by cervical smear study (Pap smear study). In the present study, a total of 350 cervical smears were studied. The age of patients ranged from 19 years to 80 years with mean age being 37.5 years. Out of 350 cases, the diagnosis of neoplasia was given in 43 cases and 258 cases were diagnosed as inflammatory smears. Forty-cases were normal and 9 cases were inadequate to evaluate. Forty-three patients who were found to have neoplastic lesions on cytology were referred for further investigations like colposcopy and biopsy to confirm the diagnosis and avail proper treatment. Limitation of the present study was small sample size as all female patients aged between 20 and 60 years visiting hospital were not included in the screening, other screening tests like VIA (visual inspection with acetic acid test) and HPV DNA (human papilloma virus) tests were not done. Until the time centrally organised screening programmes for cervical cancer are established in India, arrangements should be made for hospital based opportunistic screening for all women attending hospital. The cost effectiveness of different screening tests for cervical cancer should be evaluated.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2931-2934
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• 2012

Background: The epidemiological situation regarding cervical carcinoma in Serbia is rather unfavorable and one of contributing factors is the insufficient interest of women concerning the risk factors responsible for occurrence of this disease. The aim of this study was to determine the sources of relevant information for women Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was used for questioning of patients, students and women undergoing systematic examinations. There were 600 women in total in 2006, 2009 and 2010, and the data were statistically processed by the ${\chi}^2$ test with Yates correction and the Fisher test. Results: When observed for certain groups of tested women, and summed up for all three periods, there was a statistically significant difference for the answer "without any knowledge" (p=0.0001). When observed for certain years and summed up for all three tested groups, there was a statistically significant difference in answers regarding the source of information, the "doctor" (p=0.0011), "media" (p=0.0349) and "encyclopedia-internet" (p=0.0136). Conclusion: The media are a dominant source of information for women on risk factors for cervical cancer. The significance of the Internet increased during the three observed periods, while the students considered themselves least informed of all concerning risk factors.