ecancermedicalscience最新文献

{"title":"Enhancing bladder cancer awareness and knowledge through multifaceted community engagement in Egypt: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Ahmed A Hammad, Osama Ezzat, Alex Filicevas, Sara A Hammad, Mostafa M Elkady, Mohamed E Eladl, Karim Mosaad, Mohammed M Shalaby, Ahmed A Barakat, Karim Y El-Deeb, Basma A Eldawody, Ghada Elkanishy, Muhammed A Moukhtar Hammad, Ahmed Mosbah","doi":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1886","DOIUrl":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1886","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Bladder cancer (BC) poses a significant health challenge in Egypt, constituting 16% of male cancers and resulting in over 7,900 deaths annually. Globally, BC stands as the tenth most prevalent cancer with an anticipated 72.8% rise in new cases by 2040. As BC is an important health problem, early detection and prevention are crucial for improving outcomes. This could be done by increasing the disease's awareness through structured campaigns for the community, increasing their insights about the risk factors of the disease; most commonly, smoking as well as other risk factors as exposure to certain chemicals, alcohol consumption, diet, obesity and schistosomiasis. The awareness includes not only the risk factors but also the most common early symptoms for detection.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To compare the effect of our awareness campaign about BC in Mansoura, Egypt on the index of awareness measured by our locality-generated simplified questionnaire.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The campaign featured symposiums, awareness booths and online initiatives that gathered substantial participation. We administered a purpose-designed survey (in either Arabic or English) comprising questions regarding the following: perception of BC as common cancer, BC's risk factors acknowledgement, knowledge about screening and diagnosis, perception of the methods of treatment and the importance of screening. We used face-to-face surveys targeting the public in Mansoura to compare between the index of awareness about BC pre-awareness and post-awareness. In addition, online surveys targeting Egyptian medical students and medical staff were conducted to evaluate their knowledge about BC.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>This study was conducted on 1,673 people (<i>n</i> = 304 in-person surveys and <i>n</i> = 1,369 online surveys). Of the 1,673 participants, 52.45% were females; the age of the responders ranged from 18 to 40 years. The mean index of awareness before our awareness in the campaign in the face-to-face phase was 58.52% while the index of awareness after our campaign increased to 94.28%.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The public's post-awareness survey responses revealed an enhancement in awareness of BC and highlighted the campaign's effectiveness in disseminating critical information. Prospective long-term research is proposed to assess such awareness campaigns' impact on patient survival and community burden.</p>","PeriodicalId":11460,"journal":{"name":"ecancermedicalscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1886"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12149234/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144265691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Addressing health disparities and equitable representation in cancer research through the initiative, 'The Patient and Public Involvement Cancer Research Group for Diverse Backgrounds'.","authors":"Saran Green, Aida Santaolalla, Beth Russell, Gincy George, Harriet Wylie, Maria Monroy-Iglesias, Ailbhe Lawlor, Mark Minott, Annette Carty, Vernon Bailey, Tene Green, Zhane Peterson, Charlene Young, Mieke Van Hemelrijck","doi":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1885","DOIUrl":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1885","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper addresses the persistent underrepresentation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities in health research, particularly in the context of prostate cancer. Despite the disproportionately higher burden of cancer in Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, their representation in research remains inadequate. This paper highlights the efforts of The Patient and Public Involvement Cancer Research Group for Diverse Backgrounds (Diverse PPI), a PPI group established to address this disparity. We describe the rationale behind Diverse PPI's formation, emphasising the need for targeted outreach and culturally competent practices. The group's activities include organising public engagement events, developing resources such as ARUARES (a tool designed to foster inclusive research) and collaborating with researchers on various projects. The paper illustrates how Diverse PPI has made a positive impact through collaborative working, empowering diverse ethnic communities and advocating for inclusive research practices. We conclude by emphasising the importance of similar initiatives in addressing health disparities and achieving equitable representation in cancer research.</p>","PeriodicalId":11460,"journal":{"name":"ecancermedicalscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1885"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12149224/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144265686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors in addition to first-line chemotherapy for endometrial cancer: an extracted individual patient data meta-analysis.","authors":"Mariana Carvalho Gouveia, Renata Colombo Bonadio, Felippe Lazar Neto, Maísa Maria Spagnol Trento, Mateus Trinconi Cunha, Mariana Scaranti","doi":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1884","DOIUrl":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1884","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To assess the impact of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in first-line treatment of advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer (EC) through individual patient data (IPD) Meta-analysis, providing insights by integrated survival curves.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and meetings up to April 2024 for randomised phase II or III trials (randomised controlled trials) investigating immunotherapy plus chemotherapy for EC. IPD was reconstructed from Kaplan-Meier plots using WebPlotDigitizer and the R package IPDfromKM, and then combined.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>NRG-GY018, RUBY, MITO END-3, AtTEnd/ENGOT-en7 and DUO-E were included. 2,436 patients were analysed for progression-free survival (PFS) and 2,317 for overall survival (OS). Among these, 621 patients had deficient DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) and 1,815 had the proficient disease (pMMR).The IPD analysis highlighted the significant benefit of adding immunotherapy to chemotherapy in dMMR patients, with 3-year absolute gains of 36% in PFS (HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.28-0.45) and 28% in OS (HR 0.41, 95% CI 0.30-0.48).For pMMR, a smaller benefit was observed in PFS, with a 3-year absolute gain of 6% (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.69-0.88). Notably, a significant benefit occurred only with PD-1 inhibitors (PFS HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.55-0.79; OS: HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.62-0.96). No significant benefit was seen with PD-L1 inhibitors (PFS: 0.87, 95% CI 0.75-1.03; OS: HR: 0.93, 95% CI 0.75-1.16).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This meta-analysis validated the benefit of adding immunotherapy to platinum-based chemotherapy with respect to PFS. dMMR patients gain advantages from the inclusion of either anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 agents, whereas pMMR patients only experience this benefit when treated with anti-PD-1 agents.</p>","PeriodicalId":11460,"journal":{"name":"ecancermedicalscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1884"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12149239/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144265709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Locally advanced and metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Morocco: from diagnosis to treatment.","authors":"Anass Baladi, Hassan Abdelilah Tafenzi, Fatim-Zahra Megzar, Ibrahima Kalil Cisse, Othmane Zouiten, Leila Afani, Ismail Essaadi, Mohammed El Fadli, Rhizlane Belbaraka","doi":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1882","DOIUrl":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1882","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the most common subtype of esophageal cancer (EC) worldwide, with significant geographic variability in its incidence and outcomes. This study aims to analyse the characteristics of Moroccan ESCC patients, identify independent prognostic factors for mortality and assess access to surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy (RT) and targeted therapies.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective study analysed data from the Marrakesh-Safi regional cancer registry. Between 2014 and 2019, a total of 78 patients were histologically confirmed to have locally advanced or metastatic ESCC. Demographic, clinical and treatment data were evaluated to determine prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) using Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox regression analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The median age was 56 years (IQR: 48-66), with a slight female predominance in stage III (59%). Dysphagia was the most frequent symptom (92%), and the thoracic esophagus was the most common tumour site (53%). Performance status was significantly worse in stage IV (31% with PS 4, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Chemotherapy was administered to 72% of patients, with cisplatin being the most used drug. RT was more common in stage III (57% versus 33%, <i>p</i> = 0.035), while surgery was rare (2 cases). Multivariate analysis identified performance status as a key prognostic factor (HR = 27.2, <i>p</i> = 0.015), while RT significantly reduced mortality risk (HR = 0.07, <i>p</i> = 0.038). Stage III patients had a median OS of 46 months, with 1- and 3-year OS rates of 84% and 78%, respectively. In contrast, stage IV patients had a median OS of 8.6 months, with 1-year and 3-year OS rates of 34% and 22%, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Patients with locally advanced or metastatic EC face poor survival outcomes. RT and performance status are key factors that significantly influence prognosis. These findings underscore the urgent need for early detection, enhanced access to multimodal treatments and improved healthcare infrastructure to improve survival outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":11460,"journal":{"name":"ecancermedicalscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1882"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12155241/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144274374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage as a clinical manifestation of cardiac angiosarcoma in a pregnant woman with antiphospholipid syndrome: case report and review of the literature.","authors":"R Hermosilla, S Martínez, A Perez, E López, R Granell","doi":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1881","DOIUrl":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1881","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Primary cardiac angiosarcoma is a very rare and fast-growing tumour, where the coincidence of pregnancy and primary cardiac angiosarcoma is extremely rare. This makes diagnosis difficult and sometimes late, resulting in a poor prognosis from the moment of detection. We present the case of a 38-year-old pregnant woman in the 16th week of gestation diagnosed with obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome who came to the emergency department with asthenia, dyspnea, tachycardia and hypotension. A transthoracic ultrasound was performed with a diagnosis of pericardial tamponade. She was admitted to the intensive care unit for extrinsic cardiogenic shock. Transesophageal echography was performed, showing a large variegated mass in the right atrium, raising the differential diagnosis between atrial thrombus and myocardial tumour. Elective cesarean section was performed at 22 weeks of gestation. Months later, the patient was readmitted with a very unfavorable clinical evolution, experiencing diffuse alveolar hemorrhage/vasculitis refractory to life support measures. It was agreed to limit the therapeutic effort while awaiting the anatomopathological report of intracardiac biposia, subsequently confirming the histological nature of cardiac angiosarcoma. This case report highlights its rarity, showing a non-specific clinical presentation, which directed us towards a thrombosis in the right atrium and the fatal prognosis of angiosarcoma, mainly related to the progression of the disease due to a late diagnosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":11460,"journal":{"name":"ecancermedicalscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1881"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12149227/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144265690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acute toxicity profile and treatment response of image guided hybrid brachytherapy using Venezia applicators in locally advanced cervical cancer: a single-centre experience in Pakistan.","authors":"Javeria Haider, Humera Mahmood, Muhammad Faheem","doi":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1883","DOIUrl":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1883","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To evaluate the efficacy and acute toxicity of hybrid brachytherapy using Venezia applicators in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This prospective study involved 41 patients treated with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) followed by brachytherapy. Patients received EBRT doses of 45-50.4 Gy with or without simultaneous integrated boost and concurrent chemotherapy. Brachytherapy was administered using Venezia applicators, delivering high-risk clinical target volume (HRCTV) doses of 80-90 Gy or >90 Gy. Treatment responses and toxicities were assessed using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours Criteria 1.1, Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events Version 5.0, respectively.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After five visits, 65.9% of patients achieved complete response, 29.3% partial response and 4.9% stable disease. Acute toxicities were primarily Grade 0-1, with no Grade III or IV toxicities observed. Complete responders exhibited higher rates of Grade 0 toxicities across various parameters, including urination frequency and abdominal pain. Middle-class patients showed higher response rates, although this was not statistically significant. 46.3% Human Papillomavirus positive patients converted to negative status after treatment. There was no significant correlation of response rate with disease stage, EBRT dosage or duration of treatment.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Hybrid brachytherapy using Venezia applicators allowed for high-dose delivery to HRCTV without exceeding organ tolerance limits, resulting in effective local control (LC) and minimal acute toxicities. The study underscores the potential of hybrid brachytherapy in improving outcomes for cervical cancer patients, particularly in low-middle-income countries. Challenges included small sample size and patient follow-up limitations.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Hybrid brachytherapy with Venezia applicators is effective and safe for locally advanced cervical cancer, providing high LC with minimal acute toxicity.</p>","PeriodicalId":11460,"journal":{"name":"ecancermedicalscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1883"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12149238/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144265676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Relationship between Khat chewing and upper digestive tract cancers among male patients in Hargeisa: case control study.","authors":"Abdiwahab M Ali, Mirriam N Mutuku, Abdiwahab Hashi, Omar M Muhumed","doi":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1880","DOIUrl":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1880","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Khat chewing is a common cultural practice in countries bordering the Red Sea and the east coast of Africa. Despite some indications in the literature, its association with upper digestive tract (UDT) cancers is under-researched. This study investigated the relationship between khat chewing and UDT cancers among male patients in Hargeisa using a case-control design. A total of 97 respondents were included, 36 cases and 61 controls from the only two cancer clinics in Somaliland, Nageeye Cancer Clinic and Needle Hospital. The study used non-probability purposive sampling, data collection was conducted using a structured questionnaire, and data entry and cleaning were performed using SPSS version 22. Analysis was carried out using Stata MP 16. The findings revealed an association between duration, frequency and amount of khat chewing and the risk of developing UDT cancers. Specifically, individuals who chewed khat for more than 20 years had a 7.05 times higher risk (<i>p</i> < 0.05), those who chewed daily had a 6.89 times higher risk (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and heavy chewers (>600 g) had a 6.60 times higher risk (<i>p</i> < 0.05) of developing UDT cancers. The associations found in this study between khat chewing and UDT cancers suggest an urgent need for public health strategies, including education and policy reforms, to address and reduce the health risks posed by khat chewing in Somaliland. The study also highlighted the importance of community education and awareness programs to mitigate the adverse health effects of khat.</p>","PeriodicalId":11460,"journal":{"name":"ecancermedicalscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1880"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12146567/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144257563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Factors predicting cosmesis, late effects (LEs) and patient reported measures (PROMs) in high-risk breast cancer (BC) treated with hypo-fractionated whole breast radiotherapy (HF-WBI): real world outcomes from a developing country.","authors":"Chandrashekhar Mishra, Sushma Agrawal, Punita Lal, Gyan Chand, Gaurav Agarwal","doi":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1877","DOIUrl":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1877","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Breast cancer (BC) in low-middle income country commonly presents as large operable/locally advanced BC (LO/LABC). Advances in treatment have gradually increased the probability of breast conservation in this population. Hypo-fractionated whole breast radiotherapy (HF-WBI) has become the standard of care. Literature on cosmesis in high-risk BC after HF-WBI is sparse. Hence, we evaluated the cosmesis, late effects (LE) and patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) and factors affecting it in women with high-risk BC.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>Patients who underwent upfront breast-conserving surgery (BCS) or after neoadjuvant chemotherapy underwent physical cosmetic assessment (CA), LEs evaluation and PROM using European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and BR23 questionnaire, respectively. Patient, tumour and treatment-related factors were correlated with CA, LE and PROM by univariate and multivariate analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>186 women underwent BCS, but only 82 could participate due to COVID-19 pandemic. Prevalence of high-risk features were: >3 cm tumour in 37%, 50% node positive, 100% received chemotherapy (CT), grade 3 in 57% and Her-2 (enriched)/TNBC in 70%. At a median follow-up of 5 years, we found 56% of patients had adverse global cosmesis. Factors responsible for adverse cosmesis were tumour size [>3 cm, HR 2.3], node positivity [HR 0.3], receipt of CT [HR 6.5], large resection volumes [HR 4.6], large breast volume [HR 1] and supraclavicular radiotherapy in 43% [HR 0.7]. Dosimetric factors found significant for adverse cosmesis were breast volume receiving 107% dose (> than 10 cubic centimetres (cc), HR 5) and breast volume receiving 100% dose (> than 120 cc, HR 5). The incidence of arm oedema was 6%, shoulder stiffness 20%, brachial plexopathy 4% and factors significant for LE were tumour size > 3cm [HR 9], breast volume receiving 107% [HR 6] and co-morbidity [HR 3]. PROM revealed that 69% had poor body image, 35% had breast pain and 47% were sexually active. Arm score had a correlation with positive nodal status (HR 4.3), and breast score with large breast volume (HR 5.4) and premenopausal status (HR 7.3).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our data reveals that 75% of our population have large breast, the presence of high-risk features in 50% women, which resulted in a high incidence of adverse global cosmesis, (56%), LE and PROM (poor body image, breast pain and low sexually activity).</p>","PeriodicalId":11460,"journal":{"name":"ecancermedicalscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1877"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12146566/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144257557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Post treatment lower limb lymphedema in carcinoma cervix.","authors":"Shreekant Dadheech, Kaustubh Burde, Pariseema Dave, Ruchi Arora, Chetna Parekh","doi":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1879","DOIUrl":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1879","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>To determine the incidence of post-treatment lower limb lymphedema in cases of carcinoma cervix and its correlation with demographic and treatment-related factors.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A retrospective observational study conducted over a duration of 2 years.</p><p><strong>Inclusion criteria: </strong>Patients with carcinoma cervix who have completed their primary treatment, which included surgery followed by radiotherapy (RT) or concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT) or CCRT + Brachytherapy. All patients of carcinoma cervix were screened in the OPD during 3-monthly follow-ups post-completion of their treatment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In our study, we analysed 100 patients, of whom 15 developed lymphedema. The odds ratio was greater than 1 for external beam RT (OR-1.03), age of the patient (OR- 1.04) and stage of the disease (OR- 1.4). Thus, an association was found between lymphedema and the age of the patient, stage of the disease and external beam RT. No association was found between lymphedema and surgery or body mass index (BMI) of the patient.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our study found an association between lower extremity lymphedema post-treatment in cervical cancer with age, International federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics stage and method of treatment. However, BMI was not associated with lower limb lymphedema post-treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":11460,"journal":{"name":"ecancermedicalscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1879"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12146564/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144257559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cancer awareness through school curriculum: evidence and recommendations from a quasi-experimental study among school children in the State of Kerala, India.","authors":"Phinse Mappalakayil Philip, Neethu Ambali Parambil, Maya Padmanabhan, Satheesan Balasubramanian","doi":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1876","DOIUrl":"10.3332/ecancer.2025.1876","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Cancer is emerging as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in India and other countries worldwide. Preventable risk factors for cancer, such as the use of tobacco and alcohol, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity, are often initiated and established during adolescence. Identifying effective strategies for engaging adolescents in cancer-protective behaviours is essential. The current study investigates the potential of schools as settings and school curricula as tools for raising cancer awareness among teenagers.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Consultative meetings and workshops were conducted with education, health and social services experts to develop a primer for cancer control in the school curriculum. Textbooks were scanned to determine the extent of cancer-related topics for standards five to ten. The study participants' awareness at baseline was assessed using the Cancer Awareness Measure toolkit (version 2.1). Based on these findings, a study package was developed and implemented through trained teachers. A quasi-experimental study design was used to assess the impact of the study package in improving cancer awareness.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In the post-intervention survey, the participants from the intervention schools demonstrated significant improvements in their understanding of cancer warning signs (unexplained lump or swelling (<i>p</i> = 0.0001), unexplained bleeding (<i>p</i> = 0.007), persistent cough or hoarseness (<i>p</i> = 0.0001), non-healing ulcers (<i>p</i> = 0.0001) and risk factors (consumption of fewer quantities of fruit and vegetables (<i>p</i> = 0.010), eating red or processed meat (<i>p</i> = 0.0001) and physical inactivity (<i>p</i> = 0.01)).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Implementing the cancer awareness study package through classroom teaching improved students' understanding of warning signs and risk factors for cancer. The study emphasised the role of the school as a setting, the school curriculum as a tool and teachers as promoters of cancer prevention education. However, there is no guarantee that this program will work if the learners' environment is not improved through the concurrent teaching of parents. Children learn what they live.</p>","PeriodicalId":11460,"journal":{"name":"ecancermedicalscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1876"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12146569/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144257529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}