OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to review and analyse literature related to the detection and classification of acute leukaemia. The factors that were considered to improve understanding on the field's various contextual aspects in published studies and characteristics were motivation, open challenges that confronted researchers and recommendations presented to researchers to enhance this vital research area.
METHODS: We systematically searched all articles about the classification and detection of acute leukaemia, as well as their evaluation and benchmarking, in three main databases: ScienceDirect, Web of Science and IEEE Xplore from 2007 to 2017. These indices were considered to be sufficiently extensive to encompass our field of literature.
RESULTS: Based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria, 89 articles were selected. Most studies (58/89) focused on the methods or algorithms of acute leukaemia classification, a number of papers (22/89) covered the developed systems for the detection or diagnosis of acute leukaemia and few papers (5/89) presented evaluation and comparative studies. The smallest portion (4/89) of articles comprised reviews and surveys.
DISCUSSION: Acute leukaemia diagnosis, which is a field requiring automated solutions, tools and methods, entails the ability to facilitate early detection or even prediction. Many studies have been performed on the automatic detection and classification of acute leukaemia and their subtypes to promote accurate diagnosis.
CONCLUSIONS: Research areas on medical-image classification vary, but they are all equally vital. We expect this systematic review to help emphasise current research opportunities and thus extend and create additional research fields.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 370 Yemeni women in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Data on the awareness of symptoms/signs, risk factors, and screening programme were collected using Cervical Cancer Awareness Measurement (Cervical CAM) questionnaire.
RESULTS: More than 74% of the study participants were unable to recall any warning symptoms/signs, and 73% were unable to recall any risk factors. The factors associated with the awareness of symptoms and risk factors were age (95% CI 4.22-5.22, p = 0.039), marital status (95% CI 4.05-7.87, p = 0.021), employment (95% CI 3.89-5.77, p = 0.046) and the number of children (95% CI 5.33-6.54, p = 0.041).
CONCLUSION: The findings underline the need for public awareness campaigns to improve public awareness of cancer symptoms and risk factors among underserved communities.
METHODS: Using a subset of survey data from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019, a secondary data analysis was performed. Trained research assistants collected data through face-to-face method using a mobile tablet questionnaire system application. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between sociodemographic factors, physical activity, and cervical cancer screening. The analyses were conducted using STATA version 14 (Stata Corp, College Station, Texas, USA), accounting for sample weighs and complex sampling design.
RESULTS: The analysis included 5,650 female respondents, representing an estimated 10.3 million Malaysian female adults aged 18 and above. Overall, 35.2% (95%CI 33.2, 37.4) respondents had a Pap smear test within the past three years. Respondents who were physically active were 1.41 times more likely to have a Pap smear test. Similarly, respondents aged 35-59 (OR 1.84; 95%CI 1.46, 2.34) and those living in rural localities (OR 1.38; 95%CI 1.13, 1.70) had higher odds of receiving a Pap smear test. Compared to married respondents, single respondents (OR 0.04; 95%CI 0.02, 0.07) and widowed/divorcee respondents (OR 0.72; 95%CI 0.56, 0.82) were less likely to receive a Pap smear test. Educated respondents were more likely to have had a Pap smear test.
CONCLUSIONS: The overall prevalence of cervical cancer screening in Malaysia remains low (35.2%). Efforts should be made to strengthen health promotion programs and policies in increasing awareness on the significance of cervical cancer screening. These initiatives should specifically target younger women, single women, and widowed/divorced individuals. The higher cervical screening uptake among rural women should be studied further, and the enabling factors in the rural setup should be emulated in urban areas whenever possible.
DESIGN: An anonymous, cross-sectional survey was conducted between October 2021 and March 2022.
SETTING: A self-administered online survey was conducted in Fujian Province in Southeastern China.
PARTICIPANTS: People aged 40 years living in five selected cities in Fujian Province with no history of cancer.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Gastric cancer screening attendance was measured with the question 'Have you ever been screened for gastric cancer in the past'.
RESULTS: In total, 2547 complete responses were obtained. The mean age of respondents was 47.72±7.20 years, and 59.8% were men. A total of 42.6% of participants reported that they had undergone gastric cancer screening. The result of multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that participants with a first-degree relative affected with gastric cancer (OR=2.02, 95% CI: 1.58 to 2.59) and high perceived susceptibility of gastric cancer (OR=2.03, 95% CI: 1.58 to 2.59) were the strongest facilitators for screening attendance. Other factors positively associated with screening attendance were age 51-60 years (OR=1.69, 95% CI: 1.31 to 2.18), living in urban regions (OR=1.27, 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.55), friends/neighbours/colleagues with gastric cancer (OR=1.30, 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.58), history of chronic gastric disease (OR=1.90, 95% CI: 1.57 to 2.30), perceived high cost (OR=1.28, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.61) and physician recommendation (OR=1.71, 95% CI: 1.36 to 2.16). On the other hand, factors negatively associated with screening attendance included perceived barriers, namely screening is only necessary when symptoms present (OR=0.71, 95% CI: 0.58 to 0.87) and perceived appointment for gastroscopy screening is difficult and time-consuming (OR=0.75, 95% CI: 0.60 to 0.94). No significant association was found between knowledge level and participation in screening.
CONCLUSION: This study highlights important individual-level factors and barriers to gastric cancer screening. Strategies targeting under-screened populations and eliminating patient-perceived barriers to gastric cancer screening are essential.
METHODS: A survey was conducted among 103 female teachers from 10 schools. SPSS version 22.0 was utilized in analyzing the data. Descriptive statistics were computed for the socio-demographic characteristics. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients were used in assessing the internal reliability. The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to analyze the factor structure of the translated items. Parallel analysis was performed to determine the number of factors accurately.
RESULTS: The alpha coefficients of the factors had acceptable values ranging between 0.76 and 0.87. The factor analysis yielded six and five factors for breast self-examination (BSE) and mammography (MMG), with a total explained variance of 47.69% and 52.63%, respectively. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) index values of 0.64 and 0.72, and the Bartlett's Test of Sphericity (P = 0.0001) for BSE and MMG, respectively, verified the normality distribution and the adequacy of the sample size for EFA. All the items on each factor were from the same construct that were consistent with the number of factors obtained in the scale development study. The items achieved adequate factor loadings that ranged between 0.47 and 0.88.
CONCLUSIONS: The translated version of the CHBMS is a validated scale used in assessing the beliefs related to BC and BCS among Yemeni women living in Malaysia. Healthcare workers could use the scales to assess women's beliefs on BC and BCS. This instrument could be used to test the effectiveness of the intervention programs.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the M2PK Quick Stool Test (ScheBo®) in detecting colorectal adenoma and adenocarcinoma in high-risk Malaysian populations using colonoscopy as the comparison.
METHODS: A prospective, cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted from December 2017 to December 2019 in four hospitals in Malaysia. Participants were eligible if they met any of the following criteria: personal or family history of colorectal polyps or cancer, inherited syndromes, altered bowel habits, rectal bleeding, unintended weight loss, loss of appetite, abdominal pain or cramps, or unexplained iron deficiency, or an Asia-Pacific Colorectal Screening score of 4-7. Participants provided a stool sample that was tested for M2PK using the M2PK Quick Test. Participants then underwent a colonoscopy, and any lesions found were biopsied and sent for histopathological examination.
RESULTS: A total of 562 participants were included in the study, of whom 89 had a positive M2PK test. Presence of adenoma and/or dysplastic lesions were confirmed in 14.4% and adenocarcinoma in 3.0% of the participants. The M2PK Quick Stool Test showed a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 58.8%, 85.5%, 11.2% and 98.5%, respectively in detecting colorectal adenocarcinoma. For detection of colorectal adenoma, this test yielded a sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of 27.3%, 86.3%, 27.0% and 86.5%, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: The M2PK Quick Stool Test showed a moderate accuracy in detecting colorectal adenocarcinoma and adenomas in the studied population.
Methods: A combination of top-down approach and activity-based costing was applied. The standard operating procedure (SOP) for CRC was developed for each stage according to national data and guidelines at the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). The unit cost was calculated and incorporated into the treatment pathway in order to obtain the total cost of managing a single CRC patient according to the stage of illness. The cost data were represented by means and standard deviation and the results were demonstrated by tabulation. All cost data are presented in Malaysian Ringgit (RM). The cost difference between early stage (Stage I) and late stage (Stage II-IV) was analysed using independent t-test.
Results: The cost per patient increased with stage of CRC, from RM13,672 (USD4,410.30) for stage I, to RM27,972 (USD9,023.20) for Stage IV. The early stage had statistically significant lower cost compared to late stage t(2) = -4.729, P = 0.042. The highest fraction of the cost was related to surgery for Stage I, but was superseded by oncology day care treatment for Stages II-IV. CRC is a costly illness. From a provider perspective, the highest cost was found in Stages III and IV. The early stages conserved more resources than did the advanced stages of cancer.
Conclusion: Early diagnosis and management of CRC, therefore, not only affects oncologic prognosis, but has implications for health care costs. This adds further justification to develop and implement CRC screening programmes in Malaysia.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct a scoping review according to the framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley (2005). We will search MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and Google Scholar using a combination of terms such as "colorectal cancer", "screening" and "low-middle-income countries". Studies of CRC screening interventions/programmes conducted in the general adult population in LMICs as well as policy reviews (of interventions in LMICs) and commentaries on challenges and opportunities of delivering CRC screening in LMICs, published in the English language before February 2020 will be included in this review. The title and abstract screen will be conducted by one reviewer and two reviewers will screen full-texts and extract data from included papers, independently, into a data charting template that will include criteria from an adapted template for intervention description and replication checklist and implementation considerations. The presentation of the scoping review will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews guidance.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: There are no ethical concerns. The results will be used to inform colorectal screening interventions in LMICs. We will publish the findings in a peer-reviewed journal and present them at relevant conferences.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The questionnaires were distributed in the Umra Private Hospital in Selangor. The questionnaire had four parts and covered social-demographic questions, respondent knowledge about CRC and colorectal tests, attitude towards CRC and respondentaction regarding CRC. More than half of Malay participants (total n=187) were female (57.2%) and 36.9% of them were working as professionals.
RESULTS: The majority of the participants (93.6%) never had a CRC screening test. The study found that only 10.2% of the study participants did not consider that their chances of getting CRC were high. A high percentage of the participants (43.3%) believed that they would have good chance of survival if the cancer would be found early. About one third of the respondents did not want to do screening because of fear of cancer, and concerns of embarrassment during the procedure adversely affected attitude to CRC screening as well. Age, gender, income, family history of CRC, vegetable intake and physical activity were found to be significant determinants of knowledge on CRC.
CONCLUSIONS: The major barriers identified towards CRC screening identified in our study were fear of pain and embarrassment. The findings have implications for understanding of similarities and differences in attitude to CRC amongst elderly patients in other cultural/ geographic regions.