Tag: pubmed

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2025 Feb 1;26(2):515-524. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.515.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Despite a range of clinical practice guidelines and public health advisories promoting the use of colorectal cancer screening in the general population, screening rates remain less than ideal in many countries.

AIM: This study evaluated the health beliefs regarding colorectal cancer and factors affecting the participation of men aged 50-75 in colorectal cancer screening in three selected Muslim countries (Turkey (TR), Saudi Arabia (SA), and Malaysia (MY)).

METHODS: This study employed a descriptive comparative design with stratified sampling, with the sample size of 540 participants. The Colorectal Cancer Health Belief Model (HBM) Scale and the Fatalism Tendency scale were used to evaluate men’s health beliefs about colorectal cancer. The scales were in a 5-point Likert scale. The SPSS 22.0 statistical package program evaluated the data using descriptive statistics and ANOVA tests.

RESULTS: The average self-report risk in terms of cancer was 3.9 ± 2.20 (TR), 2.6 ± 2.69 (SA), and 3.9 ± 2.20 (MY), 75% don’t know how to prevent colorectal cancer (TR) 84% (SA) and 82.2% (MY). The HBM Scale and sub-dimensions and Fatalism Tendency scale average scores of Malaysian participants were higher than Turkish and Saudi participants. A positive, statistically significant relationship existed between the scales and sub-scales mean score (p < .01).

CONCLUSION: Interventions can be designed to address specific components of the HBM, such as promoting awareness campaigns, addressing cultural and psychological barriers, incorporating cues to action, and culture-sensitive colorectal cancer screening guides that should be prepared for Muslim men to increase participation in colorectal cancer screening.

PMID:40022696 | DOI:10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.515

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2025 Feb 1;26(2):505-513. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.505.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, however the majority of them visit hospitals at the advanced stage. Knowledge of the pathway of care will aid in timely intervention and better prognosis.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A mixed method cross-sectional study was conducted at AIIMS Patna among breast cancer patients. A total of 171 breast cancer patients were enrolled in this study. Piloted study tools were used. Descriptive analysis for quantitative part and manual thematic analysis for the qualitative part were performed.

RESULTS: Out of total 171 participants, the majority 88.9% (83.3-92.77%) had visited AIIMS Patna indirectly. About 60(20.6%) visited informal providers/quacks and 60(39.5%) of the study participants visited more than one hospital before arriving at AIIMS Patna. The place of residence, treatment delay, and stage of cancer were found to be the independent predictor for the pathway of healthcare for breast cancer. The reasons behind seeking delayed definitive care were identified under two major themes: presentation delay (Misunderstanding/difficulty in identifying symptoms, neglect of disease, lack of awareness about the disease, family support, financial constraints) and treatment delay (misdiagnosis, multiple referrals, dissatisfaction with the treatment, COVID-19 lockdown, informal providers/quacks).

CONCLUSION: 9 out of 10 breast cancer patients had not come directly for definitive care and among them, 3 out of 5 had visited multiple healthcare providers. So, it is important to educate the public on breast cancer, make systematized referral pathways, to orient private sectors, and to have trained manpower for screening purposes.

PMID:40022695 | DOI:10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.505

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2025 Feb 1;26(2):489-495. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.489.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study strives to look for the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of areca nut use among health care workers in a tertiary hospital in North-East India.

METHODS: A prospective, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted among all health care and allied workers at a public sector teaching hospital in Meghalaya, Northeast India. A questionnaire, which was validated for content, was administered to the target population. Three domains of learned behavior towards areca nut viz. knowledge (cognitive), attitude (affective) and practice (psychomotor) were assessed. Data was analyzed using SPSS V21.0. Descriptive statistics were used.

RESULT: A total of 434 participants completed the questionnaire. Majority of the respondents [52.8% (229)] had consumed Kwai (Areca nut) in the past 12 months. Kwai was perceived to have beneficial effects by 17.9% (78) of respondents. A total of 76.3% (331), 72.8% (316) and 62.2% (210) of respondents thought that Kwai consumption caused throat, oral and esophageal cancers respectively.48.0% (110) of the respondents swallowed the kwai juice in contrast to 32.4% (69) who spit the kwai juice. 61.6% (141) Kwai chewers tried quitting, out of which 41.8% (59) managed to stay away from Kwai for more than a year but eventually ended consuming Kwai again.62.4% (143) of the respondents claimed that the children in their family/neighbor consumed Kwai.

CONCLUSION: Among our study population, the knowledge about harmful effects of areca nut is good. However, this knowledge has not translated into change in practices.

PMID:40022693 | DOI:10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.489

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2025 Feb 1;26(2):435-441. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.435.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Liver cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in Peru, and some reports have indicated an increase in mortality rates among the largest cities. To our knowledge, no study has been carried out at a national level or by geographic area in recent years. Thus, our objective was to examine overall, regional and sex-specific liver cancer mortality rates in Peru between 2003-2017.

METHODS: We retrieved data on liver cancer deaths between 2003 and 2017 from the mortality database of the Peruvian Ministry of Health. Age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) were estimated per 100,000 person-years using the world standard SEGI population. We analyzed mortality trends using Joinpoint regression Program Version 4.7.0. To examine the spatial distribution of the mortality rates, we used GeoDa software.

RESULTS: Between 2003 and 2017, 31,473 deaths from liver cancer were reported in Peru. Overall, liver cancer mortality rates have decreased significantly among Peruvian women since 2005 (-3.1% annually) with decreases in the coastal and highland regions ranging from 2.8% to 3.5%. In Arequipa, Cusco, La Libertad, Lima, and Moquegua, rates decreased bewteen 2003 and 2017. Among men in Ancash a significant increase (+12.5 annually) was observed from 2003-2011, followed by a sharpdecline (-10.5 annually) between 2011 and 2017. In contrast, rates in Cajamarca, Junin, and Ucayali decreased between 2003 and 2017.

CONCLUSIONS: Although decreases in liver cancer mortality rates were observed in some regions of Peru, these trends were not statistically significant. In addition, some provinces experienced increases in rates. Effective interventions, such as expanding access to healthcare and controlling the various risk factors for liver cancer, remains a key challenge for the country.

PMID:40022687 | DOI:10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.435

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2025 Feb 1;26(2):405-410. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.405.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is classified into germinal center B-cell-like (GCB) and non-GCB subtypes. This study aimed to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of CTLA-4 in these subtypes and its association with prognostic factors.

METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed 50 cases of DLBCL. Clinical and histopathological data were collected, and CTLA-4 expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry. Statistical significance was determined using an unpaired t-test.

RESULT: The average CTLA-4 expression in DLBCL was 50.46 cells per high-power field. Higher CTLA-4 expression was observed in the non-GCB subtype, patients younger than 60 years, females, those with stage III-IV disease, involvement of more than one extranodal site, and a low International Prognostic Index (IPI) score (0-2). A significant association was found between CTLA-4 expression and age (p = 0.045, 95% CI: 44.67-75.86).

CONCLUSION: CTLA-4 expression was present in the tumor microenvironment of DLBCL. Higher expression was significantly associated with patients younger than 60 years.

PMID:40022684 | DOI:10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.405

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2025 Feb 1;26(2):391-398. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.391.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal cancer (GI) is one of the most common cancer worldwide rapidly increasing in India too. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) family comprise a group of phase I metabolizing enzymes which are important in xenobiotics and carcinogen metabolism. Several studies revealed the association of metabolic genes with risk of cancers, but the results were ambiguous to support the evidences in case of GI cancer risk. These differences in earlier studies directed us to review the association of polymorphisms of metabolic genes including CYP17 and CYP2C19 (CYP2C19*2, CYP2C19*3) with GI cancer susceptibility in rural population of Maharashtra.

METHODS: Genetic polymorphism of CYP17 and CYP2C19 (CYP2C19*2, CYP2C19*3) genes among two hundred histologically confirmed gastrointestinal cancer cases and equal number of age and sex matched controls was studied by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval and p-value were evaluated to get the level of association of polymorphisms with risk of GI cancer, where p ≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

RESULTS: After the regression analysis the results of genetic polymorphisms of CYP17 and CYP2C19 showed significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for variant genotype of CYP2C19*2 (rs4244285) (OR=3.37 95% CI: 1.74-6.53; p=0.0003) which indicated functional association of CYP2C19*2 with GI cancer risk in the studied population. Similarly when we studied the association of CYP2C19*3 and CYP17 polymorphism, the variant genotypes did not show association with development of GI cancer among rural population of south-western Maharashtra.

CONCLUSION: The findings obtained from this study signified evident association of rs4244285 SNP of CYP2C19*2 with GI cancer risk in the studied rural population.

PMID:40022682 | DOI:10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.391

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2025 Feb 1;26(2):361-369. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.361.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Childhood cancers are a leading cause of death among children worldwide. Maternal alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy has been suggested as a potential risk factor for childhood cancers. However, the evidence to support this association is inconsistent. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to clarify this association.

METHODS: We performed a systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases until May 2023 to identify observational studies reporting associations between maternal alcohol consumption and childhood cancers. Heterogeneity between studies was evaluated using the χ2, τ2, and I2 statistics. Publication bias was assessed using Begg and Egger tests. We calculated the odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) using a random-effects model.

RESULTS: Out of 18,583 studies retrieved from the search, 31 studies involving 47,277 participants met the eligibility criteria. Our meta-analysis found that maternal alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of childhood cancers with OR of 1.15 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.33) and 1.11 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.20), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis found evidence of a positive association between maternal alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy and the risk of childhood cancers. These findings suggest a need for public health interventions aimed at reducing alcohol consumption during pregnancy to potentially prevent childhood cancers.

PMID:40022678 | DOI:10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.2.361

Aging Male. 2025 Dec;28(1):2469614. doi: 10.1080/13685538.2025.2469614. Epub 2025 Mar 1.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a common chronic disease in the elderly. Comorbidities, especially neuropathy and retinopathy, significantly increase fall risk in this group. This study aimed to identify fall risk factors in older adults with T2DM.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January to June 2024, 242 T2DM patients aged 65 and older were followed at the internal medicine outpatient clinic. Fall risk was assessed using the Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA), Hendrich II Fall Risk Model (HIIFRM), Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index, and Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS).

RESULTS: Among the patients (median age = 70 years), 41.3% had experienced at least one fall in the previous year. Factors, such as age and diabetes duration were associated with falls. Notably, hypoglycemia (aPR: 1.90, p = 0.017), polypharmacy (aPR: 2.39, p = 0.004), osteoarthritis (aPR: 2.48, p = 0.017), (aPR: 1.70, p = 0.025), and malnutrition (aPR: 1.90, p = 0.007) were independently associated with fall risk.

CONCLUSIONS: Fall risk in elderly outpatients with T2DM was linked to various factors, including hospitalization, malnutrition, osteoarthritis, polypharmacy, neuropathy, and hypoglycemia. To mitigate this risk, patient-specific care plans are recommended.

PMID:40022664 | DOI:10.1080/13685538.2025.2469614

Ann Biol Clin (Paris). 2025 Feb 1;83(1):9-19. doi: 10.1684/abc.2025.1943.

ABSTRACT

Nosocomial infections (NI) are a major concern of healthcare professionals. To propose targeted awareness-raising campaigns, we put in place NI monitoring of laboratory data. The positive bacteriological results after 48 hours hospitalisation are subject of a report via the Infection Control Team, to the physician corresponding in the department, for the clinical validation of diagnostic of NI. At hospital level and specialty activity, we measured NI incidence rates for 1 000 hospital days and for 100 admissions every month since October 1, 2016. Results were then declined by specialties and by infected anatomical site and investigation allowed to describe the microbial flora responsible for these infections. The request began in october 2016. Average results were stable over the year despite monthly fluctuations. For 2023, incidence rates are IAS 2,8 for 1 000 JH and IAS 1,2 for 100 admissions. The detail of the results is transmitted to the physicians and is the subject of internal communications. They will be allowed to follow up more closely with the NI epidemiology and propose targeted corrective measures as appropriate.

PMID:40022632 | DOI:10.1684/abc.2025.1943

Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics. 2025 Feb 19;55:101448. doi: 10.1016/j.cbd.2025.101448. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Understanding metabolic adaptations to seasonal fluctuations in ectothermic organisms is challenging, especially in tropical species where physiological responses are more pronounced than in temperate or polar counterparts. Traditional analytical methods often fail to account for the complex metabolic adjustments that are present in these substantial responses, and the high-dimensional characteristics of metabolomic data complicate the interpretation process when using conventional statistical methods. We utilized Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF), an unsupervised machine learning algorithm, to analyze monthly serum metabolomics data from tilapia over a year in order to overcome these limits. A deeper analysis using NMF demonstrated that carbohydrates gained prominence during warmer months, as evidenced by consistently elevated weights of glycolysis intermediates in our quantitative analysis. Furthermore, fatty acids remained an important factor in both warm and cold seasons. Amino acids emerged as particularly versatile metabolites, exhibiting adaptability during seasonal transitions. This flexibility suggests their crucial role in coordinating energy-related adaptations and potentially facilitating epigenetic and reproductive responses to changing environments. Serum aspartate composition during the warm-cold transition indicated sex-specific metabolic strategies, as sexual dimorphism was observed in the seasonal utilization of fatty acids and aspartate. Collectively, NMF objectively assesses the metabolic tactics of tropical fish and reveals latent patterns in real-world metabolic dynamics. Consequently, it possesses the potential to facilitate metabolomics-driven species conservation in response to environmental changes.

PMID:40020271 | DOI:10.1016/j.cbd.2025.101448