Cervix cancer is the cancer that causes most female deaths in South Africa. Little is known about the sexual and menstrual practices in high-risk communities in South Africa. Knowledge of the risks inherent in these practices might lead to changed behaviour. The purpose of this study was to investigate if there are inherent risk factors for cervix cancer in the Black women’s sexual and menstrual practices that could result in an increased incidence to provide an evidence base for future interventions. The design of the study was an exploratory, descriptive, contextual, quantitative survey. The context of the study was two urban areas in the Tshwane Metropolis. The target population was women from the age of 18 years in Ga-Rankuwa and Soshanguve extension 12. The sampling method used was convenient sampling (n = 279). A structured interview was conducted due to the high rate of illiteracy found amongst the women. The data were summarised using descriptive statistics. The results of the study highlight several risks that could increase the women’s chance to develop cervix cancer. The identified risks are inherent in their socio-economic situation, knowledge and awareness of cervix cancer, and practices during menstruation.

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Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-02-26Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:15:07Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 schaffer_lth_me_botfm.pdf: 988938 bytes, checksum: 1f8c62791bc4df17d18ee5f2ec478bb5 (MD5) / Durante décadas o estudo dos genes supressores de tumor têm alcançado relevância quanto a sua participação nos tumores de modo geral. A etiopatogenia do câncer cervical destaca o papel do p53, gene supressor de tumor, no desenvolvimento da doença. Considerados sítios vulneráveis de lesões críticas do DNA por funcionarem como barreiras fisiológicas contra a expansão clonal ou mutabilidade genômica, são capazes de suspender o crescimento desordenado. Considerado “guardião do genoma”, o p53, previne o acúmulo de erros em células lesadas nos seus DNAS, levando essas células a apoptose. Este gene pode apresentar-se inativado ou mutado fazendo com que, a proteína p53 tenha sua meia vida aumentada acumulando-se nas células tumorais. No presente estudo foram avaliadas retrospectivamente, 120 pacientes com carcinoma epidermóide invasivo de colo uterino, diagnosticadas, tratadas e acompanhadas no serviço de Oncologia ginecológica do HC da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu. Através do levantamento dos prontuários, foram estudados fatores clínicos relacionados como: idade, raça, paridade, coitarca, tabagismo, uso de anticoncepcionais orais, classificação de Papanicolau, estadio e expressão da proteína p53. A expressão da p53 foi realizada através da técnica de imunohistoquimica em lâminas arquivadas das pacientes com câncer invasor de colo uterino, a qual mostrou-se positiva. Foram também avaliados os fatores clínicos correlacionados e prognóstico, analisadas as freqüências de algumas variáveis e realizados teste de Fisher para verificar associações entre p53 e as variáveis. Foram considerados estatisticamente significativos os resultados cujos valores de p foram inferiores a 0,05. A análise dos dados encontrados quanto à expressão positiva do p53 nas pacientes com câncer epidermóide em relação a idade... / For decades the study of tumor suppressor genes has gained relevance because of its participation in tumors in general. The cervix cancer etiopathogeny highlights the role of the tumor suppressor gene p53 in the disease development. It is the vulnerable site of a DNA damage once it works as a physiological barrier inhibiting clonal expansion or genomic mutation, thus being capable of stopping irregular growth. The p53 gene is also considered the “guardian of the genome” for it prevents the accumulation of mistakes in the cells with DNA damage, putting them into apoptosis. The half-life of the p53 protein increases in the tumor cells given its inactive or mutated appearance. This study retrospectively analyzed 120 patients with invasive colon epidermoid carcinoma who were diagnosed, treated, and observed at the Gynecologic Oncolgy Service, HC, Medical School of Botucatu, Brazil. Reading the patients’ data, it was analyzed related clinical factors such as age, race, parity, first sex intercourse, smoking habit, use of oral contraceptive, papanicolau status, staging, and expression of p53. The p53 expression was found through the immunohistochemistry in invasive colon cancer patients’ slides, which happened to be positive. Prognostic and correlated clinical factors were also studied, as well as the frequency of some variants. The Fisher’s test was used to test associations between p53 and variants. The results were considered statistically significant, with p values under 0.05. Regarding the positive expression of p53, the data analysis has shown that 89% of the patients with epidermoid cancer and who were 69 or less had positive p53 expression. This percentage fell to 5% on patients over 70 years old. The p53 expression was positive in 71.7% of caucasians. Regarding smoking habit, 36.7% of smoker and 52.5% of non-smokers presented positive p53 expression... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Orientador: Paulo Traiman / Banca: Eliana Aguiar Petri Nahas / Banca: Carlos Eduardo Bacchi / Resumo: Durante décadas o estudo dos genes supressores de tumor têm alcançado relevância quanto a sua participação nos tumores de modo geral. A etiopatogenia do câncer cervical destaca o papel do p53, gene supressor de tumor, no desenvolvimento da doença. Considerados sítios vulneráveis de lesões críticas do DNA por funcionarem como barreiras fisiológicas contra a expansão clonal ou mutabilidade genômica, são capazes de suspender o crescimento desordenado. Considerado "guardião do genoma", o p53, previne o acúmulo de erros em células lesadas nos seus DNAS, levando essas células a apoptose. Este gene pode apresentar-se inativado ou mutado fazendo com que, a proteína p53 tenha sua meia vida aumentada acumulando-se nas células tumorais. No presente estudo foram avaliadas retrospectivamente, 120 pacientes com carcinoma epidermóide invasivo de colo uterino, diagnosticadas, tratadas e acompanhadas no serviço de Oncologia ginecológica do HC da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu. Através do levantamento dos prontuários, foram estudados fatores clínicos relacionados como: idade, raça, paridade, coitarca, tabagismo, uso de anticoncepcionais orais, classificação de Papanicolau, estadio e expressão da proteína p53. A expressão da p53 foi realizada através da técnica de imunohistoquimica em lâminas arquivadas das pacientes com câncer invasor de colo uterino, a qual mostrou-se positiva. Foram também avaliados os fatores clínicos correlacionados e prognóstico, analisadas as freqüências de algumas variáveis e realizados teste de Fisher para verificar associações entre p53 e as variáveis. Foram considerados estatisticamente significativos os resultados cujos valores de p foram inferiores a 0,05. A análise dos dados encontrados quanto à expressão positiva do p53 nas pacientes com câncer epidermóide em relação a idade... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: For decades the study of tumor suppressor genes has gained relevance because of its participation in tumors in general. The cervix cancer etiopathogeny highlights the role of the tumor suppressor gene p53 in the disease development. It is the vulnerable site of a DNA damage once it works as a physiological barrier inhibiting clonal expansion or genomic mutation, thus being capable of stopping irregular growth. The p53 gene is also considered the "guardian of the genome" for it prevents the accumulation of mistakes in the cells with DNA damage, putting them into apoptosis. The half-life of the p53 protein increases in the tumor cells given its inactive or mutated appearance. This study retrospectively analyzed 120 patients with invasive colon epidermoid carcinoma who were diagnosed, treated, and observed at the Gynecologic Oncolgy Service, HC, Medical School of Botucatu, Brazil. Reading the patients' data, it was analyzed related clinical factors such as age, race, parity, first sex intercourse, smoking habit, use of oral contraceptive, papanicolau status, staging, and expression of p53. The p53 expression was found through the immunohistochemistry in invasive colon cancer patients' slides, which happened to be positive. Prognostic and correlated clinical factors were also studied, as well as the frequency of some variants. The Fisher's test was used to test associations between p53 and variants. The results were considered statistically significant, with p values under 0.05. Regarding the positive expression of p53, the data analysis has shown that 89% of the patients with epidermoid cancer and who were 69 or less had positive p53 expression. This percentage fell to 5% on patients over 70 years old. The p53 expression was positive in 71.7% of caucasians. Regarding smoking habit, 36.7% of smoker and 52.5% of non-smokers presented positive p53 expression... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

published_or_final_version / Medicine / Master / Doctor of Medicine

Cervical Cancer is the second most common type of cancer in women worldwide (500,000 cases/year) and one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality in women in developing countries (230,000 cases/year). The Spectrx LightTouch™ device uses light to detect chemical and structural changes in cervical tissue. Light responds differently when exposed to normal cells and cancerous cells. The purpose of this research is to find the best model that can be used to diagnose the early cervical cancerous conditions. To achieve this goal, we first tried to reduce the number of variables. We use statistical and non-statistical methods to search for useful explanatory variables. Partial Least Square, Logistic Regression, CART, MARS, SVM have been used to build models. Bootstrap was adopted to estimate the threshold of PLS model. Comparison of the results indicates that PLS produces relatively better model in terms of the performances and to control over model threshold.

Submitted by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2014-09-29T21:15:45Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação Mestrado Rossana 28-11-12 3pdf.pdf: 712072 bytes, checksum: e167dad92cf8edd8b25298ca4f1f6951 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jaqueline Silva (jtas29@gmail.com) on 2014-09-29T21:42:41Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação Mestrado Rossana 28-11-12 3pdf.pdf: 712072 bytes, checksum: e167dad92cf8edd8b25298ca4f1f6951 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-09-29T21:42:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação Mestrado Rossana 28-11-12 3pdf.pdf: 712072 bytes, checksum: e167dad92cf8edd8b25298ca4f1f6951 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-08-29 / INTRODUCTION: The cervical cancer is the third most frequent malignant neoplasia among women in Brazil and it is responsible for the fourth cause of death for cancer. It is related among other causes to persistent infection by human papillomavirus. Doubts persist if HPV type could influence the tumor prognosis. OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of HPV 18 and HPV 16 in women presenting cervical cancer in clinic stage Ib, treated by radical hysterectomy with linfadenectomy, establishing prognostic correlation. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study, including 86 pacients with cervical cancer Ec I, submitted to radical hysterectomy, in a single center, in which were analysed the known prognostic factors and the positivity to HPV by PCR. Univariate analysis was performed, with Kaplan-Meir curves, for survival estimative. RESULTS: The prevalence of HPV 16 infection was 65.3% and HPV 18 prevalence was 33.3%. To both virus the prevalence was 26.9%. The overall survival for women presenting HPV 18 infection, in sixty months, was 91% and those women without HPV 18 infection, the overall survival was 96%. The overall survival for women with and without HPV16 infection was 94% and 96%, respectively. The disease free survival was not influenced by the presence of either virus. CONCLUSION: In the present study, in spite of the high prevalence of HPV 18 and HPV 16, the presence of these tipes of HPV have not influenced the prognosis of EcI cervixl cancer in women submitted to radical histerectomy. / INTRODUÇÃO: O câncer do colo uterino é a terceira neoplasia maligna mais frequente entre as mulheres no Brasil e entre elas é responsável pela quarta causa de morte por câncer. Está relacionado, entre outras causas, à infecção persistente pelo papilomavirus humano. Persistem dúvidas se o tipo de HPV exerce influência sobre o prognóstico da doença. OBJETIVO: Estudar a prevalência do HPV 18 e HPV 16 em mulheres com o câncer do colo uterino no estádio clínico Ib, tratadas por histerectomia radical com linfadenectomia pélvica, procurando estabelecer correlação prognóstica. MÉTODOS: Estudo de coorte retrospectivo, incluindo 86 pacientes com câncer do colo uterino Ec I, submetidas à histerectomia radical, em um único centro, no qual foram analisados os fatores prognósticos já conhecidos, além da presença do HPV 16 e 18, pesquisado por PCR. Utilizou-se análise univariada, com curvas de Kaplan-Meir, para estimativa de sobrevida. RESULTADOS: A prevalência do HPV 16 no grupo estudado foi de 65,3% e a prevalência do HPV 18 foi de 33,3%. A prevalência dos casos em que houve infecção por ambos os vírus foi de 26,9%. A sobrevida global para as mulheres portadoras do HPV 18, aos sessenta meses, foi de 91% e nas que não eram portadoras desse vírus foi de 96% (NS). Já para as mulheres portadoras do HPV 16 a sobrevida global foi de 94% e para as não portadoras desse vírus a sobrevida foi 96% (NS). A sobrevida livre de doença também não foi influenciada pela presença do HPV 18 e do HPV 16. CONCLUSÃO: No presente estudo, apesar da alta prevalência do HPV 18 e do HPV 16, a presença desses tipos de HPV não influenciaram o prognóstico das pacientes portadoras de câncer de colo uterino, Ec I, submetidas à histerectomia radical.

Orientador: Agnaldo Lopes da Silva Filho / Resumo: O câncer do colo uterino mantém altas taxas de incidência e mortalidade no Brasil, apesar do Programa Viva Mulher ter ampliado muito o acesso ao teste de Papanicolaou. O rastreamento desta neoplasia através do exame citológico foi responsável por redução significativa da sua ocorrência em países desenvolvidos, que monitoram a qualidade deste método em todos os passos que envolvem sua realização. Entretanto, essa realidade não é observada regularmente nos países em desenvolvimento. Partindo desta constatação, esse trabalho tem como foco as análises da visão do patologista brasileiro sobre o exame citológico e de critérios médicos necessários para melhorar a qualidade do rastreamento. Para tanto, foi realizado estudo descritivo observacional constituído por uma análise qualitativa reunindo entrevistas com patologistas, e pela aplicação de um questionário aos patologistas brasileiros, com perguntas sobre a estrutura de serviços que realizam exames citológicos no país. Os resultados evidenciaram claramente a preocupação deste profissional com seu afastamento do programa de rastreamento e com a necessidade de um controle de qualidade mais criterioso. Também foi observada uma crítica relação entre as falhas do rastreamento citológico, a atuação do patologista e a estrutura dos serviços responsáveis por este exame. Assim, o estudo identificou a imperativa necessidade de educação continuada dos profissionais responsáveis pelo exame citológico do colo uterino, além da implementação de... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The uterine cervix's cancer maintains high rates of incidence and mortality in Brazil, despite of the fact that the Programa Viva Mulher have expanded the access to the Papanicolaou’s test. The screening of this neoplasm by the cytological test was responsible for a significant reduction of events in developed countries, which have well stablished quality control systems. However, this reality cannot be seen in developing countries. Therefore, this study focuses on the analysis of the Brazilian pathologist's view of the cytological test and the medical criteria needed to improve the quality of screening. For this reason, a descriptive observational study was conducted, including a qualitative analysis with interviews with pathologists and the application of a questionnaire, about the structure of services that perform cytological examinations in the country. The results clearly showed the concern of this professional with your gradative removal from the screening program, and the need for a more careful quality control. A critical relationship was also observed between the failures of cytological screening, the performance of the pathologist and the structure of the services responsible for this exam. In this way, the study identified the imperative need for continued education of the professionals responsible for cervical cytological examination, in addition to the implementation of a comprehensive and judicious external quality control. / Doutor

<p>Biological treatment optimization aim at improving radiation therapy by accounting for the radiobiological tumour and normal tissues response properties when optimizing the dose delivery. Generally traditional methods, using only dosimetrical measures, disregard the nonlinear radiation response of different tumours and normal tissues. The accumulated knowledge on tissue response to radiation, in the form of more accurate dose response relations, cell survival models and their associated biological parameters, alongside with the tools for biological treatment plan optimization, has allowed the present investigation on the potential merits of biologically based treatment optimization in radiation therapy.</p><p>With a more widespread implementation of intensity modulated radiation therapy in the clinic, there is an increasing demand for faster and safer treatment delivery techniques. In this thesis biological treatment plan optimization, using the probability to achieve complication free tumour control as the quantifier for treatment outcome, was applied to radiation therapy of early breast cancer and advanced cervix cancer. It is shown that very conformal dose distributions can generally be produced with 3 or 4 optimally orientated coplanar intensity modulated beams, without having clinically significant losses in treatment outcome from the optimal dose distribution.</p><p>By using exhaustive search methods, the optimal coplanar beam directions for intensity modulated photon beams for early breast cancer and the optimal non-coplanar directions for an advanced cervix cancer were investigated. Although time consuming, exhaustive search methods have the advantage of revealing most features involving interactions between a small number of beams and how this may influence the treatment outcome. Thus phase spaces may serve as a general database for selecting an almost optimal treatment configuration for similar patients. Previous knowledge acquired with physically optimized uniform beam radiation therapy may not apply when intensity modulated biological optimization is used. Thus unconventional treatment directions were sometimes found.</p>

Biological treatment optimization aim at improving radiation therapy by accounting for the radiobiological tumour and normal tissues response properties when optimizing the dose delivery. Generally traditional methods, using only dosimetrical measures, disregard the nonlinear radiation response of different tumours and normal tissues. The accumulated knowledge on tissue response to radiation, in the form of more accurate dose response relations, cell survival models and their associated biological parameters, alongside with the tools for biological treatment plan optimization, has allowed the present investigation on the potential merits of biologically based treatment optimization in radiation therapy. With a more widespread implementation of intensity modulated radiation therapy in the clinic, there is an increasing demand for faster and safer treatment delivery techniques. In this thesis biological treatment plan optimization, using the probability to achieve complication free tumour control as the quantifier for treatment outcome, was applied to radiation therapy of early breast cancer and advanced cervix cancer. It is shown that very conformal dose distributions can generally be produced with 3 or 4 optimally orientated coplanar intensity modulated beams, without having clinically significant losses in treatment outcome from the optimal dose distribution. By using exhaustive search methods, the optimal coplanar beam directions for intensity modulated photon beams for early breast cancer and the optimal non-coplanar directions for an advanced cervix cancer were investigated. Although time consuming, exhaustive search methods have the advantage of revealing most features involving interactions between a small number of beams and how this may influence the treatment outcome. Thus phase spaces may serve as a general database for selecting an almost optimal treatment configuration for similar patients. Previous knowledge acquired with physically optimized uniform beam radiation therapy may not apply when intensity modulated biological optimization is used. Thus unconventional treatment directions were sometimes found.