Search

Purpose: Prostate cancer is the second most common malignancy among men worldwide, and it poses a significant public health burden that has traditionally been limited mostly to developed countries. However, the burden of the disease is expected to increase, affecting developing countries, including Thailand. We undertook an analysis to investigate current and future trends of prostate cancer in the province of Songkhla, Thailand, using data from the Songkhla Cancer Registry from 1990 to 2013. Methods: Joinpoint regression analysis was used to examine trends in age-adjusted incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer and provide estimated annual percent change (EAPC) with 95% CIs. Age-period-cohort (APC) models were used to assess the effect of age, calendar year, and birth cohort on incidence and mortality rates. Three different methods (Joinpoint, Nordpred, and APC) were used to project trends from 2013 to 2030. Results: Eight hundred fifty-five cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed from 1990 to 2013 in Songkhla, Thailand. The incidence rates of prostate cancer significantly increased since 1990 at an EAPC of 4.8% (95% CI, 3.6% to 5.9%). Similarly, mortality rates increased at an EAPC of 5.3% (95% CI, 3.4% to 7.2%). The APC models suggest that birth cohort is the most important factor driving the increased incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer. Future incidence and mortality of prostate cancer are projected to continue to increase, doubling the rates observed in 2013 by 2030. Conclusion: It is critical to allocate resources to provide care for the men who will be affected by this increase in prostate cancer incidence in Songkhla, Thailand, and to design context-appropriate interventions to prevent its increasing burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study aimed to investigate the effect of Pap smear screening on stage at diagnosis of cervical cancer in a heterogeneous population of Thai women. Data was merged from the population-based cancer registry and screening registry based on unique identification numbers from 2006 to 2014. Patients being screened had lower odds to be diagnosed at late stage. After adjustment, married women had reduced risk of late stage cancer compared to single women. Muslim women had almost twice the risk of being diagnosed late stage compared to Buddhist women. The odds of being diagnosed at late stage decreased with increased number of screening. The probability of being diagnosed at late stage increased rapidly among females aged 40 to 55 years. Pap smear screening is a protective factor in diagnosis of late stage cervical cancer. Patients were more likely to be diagnosed at early stage with more frequent screening. For future screening programs, it will be beneficial to shorten screening intervals and take more concern for vulnerable population: women aged between 40 and 55 years, and women who are single or Muslim.

Background: Cervical cancer rates are higher in low-resourced countries than high, partly due to lower rates of screening. Incidence in Thailand is nearly three times higher than in the USA (16.2 vs 6.5 age-standardised incidence), even with Thailand's universal health coverage, which includes screening, suggesting that alternative methods are needed to reduce the burden. We investigated barriers to screening, as well as acceptability of self-collection human papillomavirus (HPV) testing as a primary form of cervical cancer screening among Buddhist and Muslim communities in Southern Thailand., Methods: 267 women from the Buddhist district of Ranot and Muslim district of Na Thawi, Songkhla were recruited to complete a survey assessing knowledge and risk factors of HPV and cervical cancer. Participants were offered an HPV self-collection test with a follow-up survey assessing acceptability. Samples were processed at Prince of Songkhla University and results were returned to participants., Results: 267 women participated in the study (132 Buddhist, 135 Muslim), 264 (99%) self-collecting. 98% reported comfort and ease, and 70% preferred it to doctor-facilitated cytology. The main predictor of prior screening was religion (92% Buddhist vs 73% Muslim reporting prior Pap). After adjustment with multivariate logistic models, Muslim women had an OR of prior Pap of 0.30 compared with Buddhist (95% CI: 0.12 to 0.66)., Conclusions: Self-collection HPV testing was highly acceptable across religious groups, suggesting that it could be beneficial for cervical cancer reduction in this region. Focus should be put into educating women from all backgrounds about the importance of screening to further improve screening rates among Thai women., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Purpose: Prostate cancer is the second most common malignancy among men worldwide, and it poses a significant public health burden that has traditionally been limited mostly to developed countries. However, the burden of the disease is expected to increase, affecting developing countries, including Thailand. We undertook an analysis to investigate current and future trends of prostate cancer in the province of Songkhla, Thailand, using data from the Songkhla Cancer Registry from 1990 to 2013., Methods: Joinpoint regression analysis was used to examine trends in age-adjusted incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer and provide estimated annual percent change (EAPC) with 95% CIs. Age-period-cohort (APC) models were used to assess the effect of age, calendar year, and birth cohort on incidence and mortality rates. Three different methods (Joinpoint, Nordpred, and APC) were used to project trends from 2013 to 2030., Results: Eight hundred fifty-five cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed from 1990 to 2013 in Songkhla, Thailand. The incidence rates of prostate cancer significantly increased since 1990 at an EAPC of 4.8% (95% CI, 3.6% to 5.9%). Similarly, mortality rates increased at an EAPC of 5.3% (95% CI, 3.4% to 7.2%). The APC models suggest that birth cohort is the most important factor driving the increased incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer. Future incidence and mortality of prostate cancer are projected to continue to increase, doubling the rates observed in 2013 by 2030., Conclusion: It is critical to allocate resources to provide care for the men who will be affected by this increase in prostate cancer incidence in Songkhla, Thailand, and to design context-appropriate interventions to prevent its increasing burden.

Background: Breast cancer has the highest incidence in women of all cancers and its burden is expected to continue to increase worldwide, especially in middle-income countries such as Thailand. The southern region of Thailand is unique in that it is comprised of 30% Muslims, whereas the rest of Thailand is 95% Buddhist. Breast cancer incidence and survival differ between these religious groups, but the association between clinical subtype of breast cancer and survival has not yet been assessed., Methods: Here we characterized differences in breast cancer survival with consideration to clinical subtype by religious group (Muslim Thai and Buddhist Thai women). We compared distributions of age, stage and clinical subtype and assessed overall survival by religion., Results: Our findings show that Muslim Thai women with breast cancer are diagnosed at a younger age, at later stages and have shorter overall survival times compared to Buddhist Thai women with breast cancer. We also observe a higher proportion of triple negative tumors characterized in Muslim Thai women., Conclusions: Our findings confirm previous studies that have shown lower survival rates in Muslim Thai women compared to Buddhist women with breast cancer and offer novel information on subtype distribution. To date, this is the first study assessing clinical subtypes in southern Thailand by religious status., Impact: Our findings are critical in providing information on the role of clinical subtype in cancer disparities and provide evidence from the Southeast Asian region for global studies on breast cancer survival., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Thailand is undergoing an epidemiologic transition, with decreasing incidence of infectious diseases and increasing rates of chronic conditions, including cancer. Breast cancer has the highest incidence rates among females both in the southern region Thailand and throughout Thailand. However, there is a lack of research on the epidemiology of this and other cancers., Methods: Here we use cancer incidence data from the Songkhla Cancer Registry to characterize and analyze the incidence of breast cancer in Southern Thailand. We use joinpoint analysis, age-period-cohort models and nordpred analysis to investigate the incidence of breast cancer in Southern Thailand from 1990 to 2010 and project future trends from 2010 to 2029., Results: We found that age-adjusted breast cancer incidence rates in Southern Thailand increased by almost 300% from 1990 to 2010 going from 10.0 to 27.8 cases per 100,000 person-years. Both period and cohort effects played a role in shaping the increase in incidence. Three distinct incidence projection methods consistently suggested that incidence rates will continue to increase in the future with incidence for women age 50 and above increasing at a higher rate than for women below 50., Conclusions: To date, this is the first study to examine Thai breast cancer incidence from a regional registry. This study provides a basis for future planning strategies in breast cancer prevention and to guide hypotheses for population-based epidemiologic research in Thailand., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)