scholarly journals Mobile Applications: Breaking Barriers to Early Breast and Cervical Cancer Detection in Underserved Communities

2021 ◽  
pp. OP.20.00665
Author(s):  
Carlos A. Munoz-Zuluaga ◽  
José David Gallo-Pérez ◽  
Andrés Pérez-Bustos ◽  
Mavalynne Orozco-Urdaneta ◽  
Karen Druffel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervical Cancer ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Cancer Detection ◽  
Screening Test ◽  
Early Cancer ◽  
Healthcare Facility ◽  
Early Cancer Detection ◽  
Screening Tests ◽  
Underserved Communities ◽  
Vaginal Pain

BACKGROUND: Although potentially curable with early detection and timely treatment, breast cancer (BC) and cervical cancer (CC) remain leading causes of death for Colombian women. Lack of education, complicated administrative processes, and geographic limitations hinder early cancer detection. Today, technological tools permeate the society and could assess user risk, deliver customized information, and provide care coordination. We evaluated the effectiveness of a free mobile application (mApp) to reach women, understand misconceptions, identify users at risk for BC and/or CC, and coordinate screening tests in Cali, Colombia. METHODS: The mApp was developed and advertised in four healthcare facility waiting rooms. It used educational, evaluative, and risk factor questions followed by brief explanations to assess the population's knowledge, educate on BC and/or CC, and identify users in need of screening test(s). Women who required screening were navigated and enrolled in the national cancer program. RESULTS: From August 2017 to August 2019, 1,043 women downloaded the mApp. BC misconceptions included beliefs that BC can be prevented (87%), obesity does not increase the risk of BC (49%), and deodorant causes BC (17%). CC misconceptions included that pap smears should not be performed while sexually active (64%), vaginal pain is an early sign of CC (44%), and only women contract human papilloma virus (33%). Overall, 29% (303) were identified as at risk and needed a screening test, with 32% (98) successfully screened. DISCUSSION: mApps can identify women at risk for BC and/or CC, detect barriers to early cancer detection, and help coordinate screening test(s). This technology has widespread applications and may be useful in other underserved communities.

scholarly journals Amate: A Mobile Application To Improve Access To Early Breast And Cervical Cancer Detection

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement 3) ◽  
pp. 26s-26s
Author(s):  
Carlos Munoz-Zuluaga ◽  
Armando Sardi ◽  
Mavalynne Orozco-Urdaneta ◽  
Luis Gabriel Parra-Lara ◽  
Andres Perez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Cervical Cancer ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Early Detection ◽  
Cancer Detection ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Early Cancer ◽  
Early Cancer Detection ◽  
Screening Tests ◽  
Breast And Cervical Cancer

Purpose For Colombian women, breast and cervical cancer are the leading causes of mortality, despite being potentially curable through early detection and timely treatment. Tedious administrative processes and a lack of cancer screening education and awareness hinders early detection. Mobile applications (mApps) have permeated all levels of society and are potential tools by which to deliver personalized information and identify high-risk patients in need of screening tests thereby improving early cancer detection. The aim of this work is to create a free mApp that educates and guides patients to the national screening programs for breast and cervical cancer. Methods An mApp Amate was advertised to women (age ≥ 14 years) in the waiting rooms of a health care facility of a community hospital during a period of 9 months. Amate used educational, evaluative, and risk factor questions to measure the population’s knowledge of breast and cervical cancer. Each question was followed by an explanation. Correct answers yielded points that were redeemable for cellular data. Risk assessment questions identified women who required screening who were subsequently contacted by a health care provider and enrolled in the national cancer care program. Results A total of 4,553 women were contacted from August 2017 to May 2018. Of this group, 830 downloaded Amate and answered all of the questions. On the basis of the risk factor questions, 16% of patients (n = 131) were identified as being at risk for breast and/or cervical cancer and needed to be enrolled in the national screening program. Thus far, 24% of patients (n = 32) have successfully completed their recommended screening tests—mammogram, Papanicolau smear, or both. We also identified specific barriers to enrolling patients in these programs, including an unwillingness to be enrolled, limited available appointments at health care centers, and denied access as a result of health care coverage. Conclusion Amate is a low-cost, accessible tool that identifies women who are at risk for breast and cervical cancer and detects access barriers to early cancer detection. Administrative obstacles still exist and must be addressed to improve early cancer detection and screening. Amate has the potential to reach people from rural areas of Colombia and other underserved countries. AUTHORS' DISCLOSURES OF POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The following represents disclosure information provided by authors of this manuscript. All relationships are considered compensated. Relationships are self-held unless noted. I = Immediate Family Member, Inst = My Institution. Relationships may not relate to the subject matter of this manuscript. For more information about ASCO's conflict of interest policy, please refer to www.asco.org/rwc or ascopubs.org/jco/site/ifc . Armando Sardi Stock or Other Ownership: Celgene, Johnson & Johnson Mavalynne Orozco-Urdaneta Employment: Partners For Cancer Care And Prevention Foundation, Stamina-in-Action Stock or Other Ownership: Celgene, Johnson & Johnson Luis Gabriel Parra-Lara Research Funding: Merk & Co

Mobile apps: Breaking barriers to early cancer detection in underserved communities.

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 2065-2065
Author(s):  
Carlos A. Munoz-Zuluaga ◽  
José David Gallo-Perez ◽  
Andres Perez-Bustos ◽  
Mavalynne Orozco-Urdaneta ◽  
Karen Druffel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Cancer Screening ◽  
Cancer Detection ◽  
Pap Smear ◽  
Early Cancer ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Early Cancer Detection ◽  
Screening Tests ◽  
Financial Barriers ◽  
Healthcare Facilities

2065 Background: Despite being potentially curable with early detection and timely treatment, breast (BC) and cervical cancers (CC) remain leading causes of death for Colombian women. Lack of cancer screening education, tedious administrative processes, and geographical limitations hinder early cancer detection. Today, technological tools permeate all levels of society and could gather data for user risk stratification, deliver clear and customized information, and help with care coordination, tracking, and addressing communication, transportation, and financial barriers. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of a free mobile application (mApp) to reach women, understand misconceptions about cancer screening, identify users at risk for BC and CC, and coordinate screening tests in Cali, Colombia. Methods: The mApp, Ámate, was developed over 4 months and advertised to women (≥14 years) in waiting rooms of 4 healthcare facilities in Cali, Colombia for 23 months. Ámate used educational, evaluative, and risk factor questions followed by brief explanations to assess the population’s knowledge, educate users on BC and CC, and identify users in need of BC and/or CC screenings. Correct answers yielded points redeemable for cellular data. Women who required screening were subsequently navigated to a healthcare provider and enrolled in the national cancer program. Results: From August 2017-August 2019, 1,043 women from Cali downloaded Ámate and answered all questions. Misconceptions about BC included beliefs that BC can be prevented (87%), obesity does not increase the risk of BC (49%), deodorant causes BC (17%), and only women with a relative with BC can get BC (16%). For CC, misconceptions included that pap smears should not be performed while sexually active (64%), vaginal pain is an early sign of CC (44%), and only women contract HPV (33%). Overall, 31.5% (329) were identified as at-risk and needed a mammogram and/or pap smear. So far, 30% (98) were successfully navigated and completed their recommended screening test(s). Barriers to enrollment in these programs included patient unwillingness, using fake contact information, limited available appointments, and denied access due to healthcare coverage. Conclusions: Ámate is an accessible tool that identifies women at-risk for breast and cervical cancer and detects barriers to early cancer detection. Administrative obstacles exist and must be addressed to improve early cancer detection/screening. Ámate is currently being tested in other areas of Colombia and may be useful in other underserved countries.

Problems and Progress in Translation of Health Survey Questions: The Pathways Experience

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 28-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rena J. Pasick ◽  
Fabio Sabogal ◽  
Joyce Adair Bird ◽  
Carol N. D'onofrio ◽  
Christopher N. H. Jenkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervical Cancer ◽  
Cancer Detection ◽  
Early Cancer ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Early Cancer Detection ◽  
English Version ◽  
Breast And Cervical Cancer ◽  
Survey Questions ◽  
Vietnamese Women

Pathways to Early Cancer Detection in Four Ethnic Groups is a program project funded by the National Cancer Institute aimed at increasing the use of breast and cervical cancer screening among underserved African American, Chinese, Hispanic, and Vietnamese women. The program project core is dedicated to cross-cultural studies including development of survey questions that are comparable in four languages. This article describes the Pathways surveys, summarizes the challenges encountered in question translation, and presents an adapted approach to translation. Concurrent, multilingual, decentered translation was the process through which an English version of each question was selected only when it could be directly and meaningfully translated into Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Examples of challenges and how these were addressed in the Pathways surveys are presented, along with lessons learned throughout this process.

scholarly journals Small-area data on socioeconomic status and immigrant groups for evaluating equity of early cancer detection and care

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Ulf Strömberg ◽  
Brandon L. Parkes ◽  
Amir Baigi ◽  
Carl Bonander ◽  
Anders Holmén ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Cancer Detection ◽  
Small Area ◽  
Early Cancer ◽  
Early Cancer Detection ◽  
Area Data

Dying To Be Men: Masculinity and Early Cancer Detection Among Nigerian Men

2021 ◽  
pp. 0272684X2110049
Author(s):  
Darlingtina Esiaka ◽  
Candidus Nwakasi ◽  
Kelsey Brodie ◽  
Aaron Philip ◽  
Kalu Ogba
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Cancer Detection ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Early Cancer ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Early Cancer Detection ◽  
Anxious Attachment ◽  
Incidence And Mortality ◽  
Nigerian Men ◽  
Sub Saharan

Cancer incidence and mortality in Nigeria are increasing at an alarming rate, especially among Nigerian men. Despite the numerous public health campaigns and education on the importance of early cancer detection in Nigeria, there exist high rate of fatal/advanced stage cancer diagnoses among Nigerian men, even among affluent Nigerian men. However, there is limited information on patterns of cancer screening and psychosocial predictors of early cancer detection behaviors among Nigerian men. In this cross-sectional study, we examined demographic and psychosocial factors influencing early cancer detection behaviors among Nigerian men. Participants (N = 143; Mage = 44.73) responded to survey assessing: masculinity, attachment styles, current and future cancer detection behaviors, and sociodemographic characteristics. We found that among the participants studied, education, masculinity and anxious attachment were significantly associated with current cancer detection behaviors. Additionally, education and anxious attachment were significantly associated with future cancer detection behaviors. Our finding is best served for clinicians and public health professionals, especially those in the field of oncology in Sub-Saharan Africa. Also, the study may be used as a groundwork for future research and health intervention programs targeting men in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Machine learning of serum metabolic patterns encodes early-stage lung adenocarcinoma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Huang ◽  
Kun Qian
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Lung Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Cancer Detection ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Early Cancer ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Early Cancer Detection ◽  
Ionization Mass ◽  
Efficient Test

Abstract Early cancer detection greatly increases the chances for successful treatment, but available diagnostics for some tumours, including lung adenocarcinoma (LA), are limited. An ideal early-stage diagnosis of LA for large-scale clinical use must address quick detection, low invasiveness, and high performance. Here, we conduct machine learning of serum metabolic patterns to detect early-stage LA. We extract direct metabolic patterns by the optimized ferric particle-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry within 1 second using only 50 nL of serum. We define a metabolic range of 100-400 Da with 143 m/z features. We diagnose early-stage LA with sensitivity~70-90% and specificity~90-93% through the sparse regression machine learning of patterns. We identify a biomarker panel of seven metabolites and relevant pathways to distinguish early-stage LA from controls (p < 0.05). Our approach advances the design of metabolic analysis for early cancer detection and holds promise as an efficient test for low-cost rollout to clinics.

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