Assessment of Knowledge and Screening in Oral, Breast, and Cervical Cancer in the Population of the Northeast Region of India

PURPOSE The burden of cancer is increasing globally, with poor outcomes in terms of morbidity and mortality in patients, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Lack of awareness of the risk factors, symptoms, and signs of common cancers in addition to inadequate cancer prevention programs at the community level are a major hindrance to the early detection of cancer. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in the North East Region (NER) of India, with a sample population of 1,400 participants from Assam (n = 1,000), Meghalaya (n = 200), and Nagaland (n = 200). The questionnaire developed for the study consisted of sociodemographic profile, knowledge about cancer (oral, breast, and cervical), its warning signs, risk factors, and attitude toward cancer screening. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA version 13.0. RESULTS Among all the participants, 59% had heard about oral cancer, 50% about breast cancer, and 31% about cervical cancer. A limited understanding of risk factors, symptoms, and signs was reported for oral cancer (45%), breast cancer (54%), and cervical cancer (63%). A total of 34% of participants were aware of cancer screening. Among those who were aware of cancer screening, only six people had undergone any form of cancer screening, and 71% cited media as the major source of information. CONCLUSION The level of cancer awareness is low in the NER. A multipronged approach is needed with assistance from government and nongovernment organizations for training, providing adequate human resources and equipment, and developing cancer screening infrastructure. This needs to be coupled with mass media communication and interpersonal communication through frontline health workers.

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Association of metabolic NCD risk factors with oral, breast and cervical precancers and cancers in India

Family Medicine and Community Health ◽

10.1136/fmch-2019-000180 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. e000180 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ashwini Kedar ◽

Roopa Hariprasad ◽

Vipin Kumar ◽

Kavitha Dhanasekaran ◽

Ravi Mehrotra

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Cervical Cancer ◽

Oral Cancer ◽

Tobacco Use ◽

Strong Association ◽

Metabolic Risk ◽

Cervical Cancers ◽

Potentially Malignant ◽

Current Tobacco

ObjectiveTo find an association between metabolic non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors (high blood pressure (BP), high random blood sugar (RBS) and overweight /obesity) and oral, breast, cervical cancers/precancerous or potentially malignant conditions.DesignThis is an observational study using convenience sampling. The participants were screened through opportunistic or population-based screening.SettingThe study was conducted at a health promotion clinic (HPC) located in Northern India under the Indian Council of Medical Research. HPC is a screening clinic where screening is done for hypertension (HT), diabetes mellitus (DM), obesity, and oral, breast and cervical cancers. The study was conducted between December 2016 and January 2019.ParticipantThe number of participants screened was 8352 (6712 women and 1640 men). All consenting men and women above 18 years were included. All participants were screened for oral cancer, DM, HT and obesity. All women were also screened for breast and cervical cancers. Cervical screening was done for non-pregnant women 21 years and above with history of sexual activity.ResultOral potentially malignant disease (OPMD) was the most prevalent, followed by breast cancer, oral cancer, cervical cancer and cervical precancer. High RBS had a strong association with oral cancer (OR=2.29, 95% CI 1.09 to 4.82, p=0.03) and breast cancer (OR=1.95, 95% CI 1.01 to 3.76, p=0.05). High BP had a strong association with breast cancer (OR=2.50, 95% CI 1.43 to 4.35, p<0.0001). An inverse association was noted between oral cancer and overweight/obesity (OR=0.20, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.48, p<0.0001). Current tobacco use was strongly associated with oral cancer (OR=6.51, 95% CI 3.63 to 11.67, p<0.0001) and OPMD (OR=9.82, 95% CI 8.13 to 11.86, p<0.0001). No association was elicited between the metabolic NCD risk factors and cervical cancer/precancer.ConclusionsThe study reaffirms that NCD metabolic risk factors determine oral and breast cancers. Besides NCD risk factors, current tobacco use was a strong determinant of OPMD and oral cancer. Hence, primary and primordial prevention measures to control NCD metabolic risk factors and tobacco use should move along with secondary prevention of breast and oral cancers.

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Contextual factors affecting older Vietnamese Canadian women's breast cancer and cervical cancer screening practices: Implication for immigrants' health promotion and disease prevention

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e508992013-006 ◽

2005 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tam Truong Donnelly

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cervical Cancer ◽

Health Promotion ◽

Cancer Screening ◽

Disease Prevention ◽

Cervical Cancer Screening ◽

Contextual Factors ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Screening Practices

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Cancer screening. Current state of the problem

Spravočnik vrača obŝej praktiki (Journal of Family Medicine) ◽

10.33920/med-10-2004-01 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 4-12

Author(s):

Marina Kochiyeva

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cervical Cancer ◽

Colon Cancer ◽

Cancer Screening ◽

Target Population ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Screening Programs ◽

Current State ◽

Methodological Approaches ◽

Based Medicine

Data on modern methodological approaches that are used in screening for cancer are summarized. General principles of organizing screening studies are examined from the perspective of evidence-based medicine, target population, research methods, and effectiveness of the implemented screening programs for breast cancer, cervical cancer, and colon cancer are determined.

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Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Health Workers Toward Cervical Cancer Screening

Depiction of Health ◽

10.34172/doh.2020.34 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 272-280

Author(s):

maryam baradaran binazir ◽

Leila Ghotasloo ◽

Fariba Heidari

Keyword(s):

Cervical Cancer ◽

Cancer Screening ◽

Cervical Cancer Screening ◽

Health Workers ◽

Attitude And Practice ◽

Knowledge Attitude And Practice

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Cervical Cancer: Assessment of Its Knowledge, Utilization of Services and Its Determinant Among Female Undergraduate Students in a Low Resource Setting

International Quarterly of Community Health Education ◽

10.1177/0272684x211006608 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0272684X2110066

Author(s):

Chidebe Christian Anikwe ◽

Philip Chidubem Osuagwu ◽

Cyril Chijioke Ikeoha ◽

Okechukwu B Ikechukwu Dimejesi ◽

Bartholomew Chukwunonye Okorochukwu

Keyword(s):

Cervical Cancer ◽

Cancer Screening ◽

Cervical Cancer Screening ◽

Pap Smear ◽

Health Workers ◽

P Value ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Resource Setting ◽

Study Population

Background Cervical cancer is a preventable disease that contributes significantly to the death of women. This study is aimed at determining the level of knowledge and utilization of cervical cancer screening and its determinants among female undergraduates of Ebonyi State University. Methods A structured questionnaire was used for a cross-sectional survey of the study population between January 1 and March 3, 2018. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. Data were represented with frequency table, simple percentage, mode, range, Chi square and pie chart. The level of significance is at P-value < 0.05. Results Majority (74.8%) of the respondents were aware of cervical cancer and it could be prevented (70.8%). More than three-fifths (68.30%) were informed via health workers, and 86.8% were aware that post-coital vaginal bleeding is a symptom. Less than half (49.8%) knew that HPV is the primary cause, and only 32.9% were aware of the HPV vaccine. One-quarter of the respondent were aware that early coitarche is a risk factor for cervical cancer. Only 41.8% of the women were aware of Pap smear, 9.2% had undergone screening, and 97.6% were willing to be screened. Marital status was the significant determinant of being screened while class level did not significantly influence uptake of cervical cancer screening. The most common reason (20.6%) for not being screened was lack of awareness of the test. Conclusion Our study population had a good knowledge of cervical cancer, but utilization of cervical cancer screening was poor. Awareness creation through the mass media and provision of affordable screening services can promote the use of cervical cancer screening in the study area.

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