Community stakeholders' views on reducing violence against women in Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Nearly half of the women experience violence across their lifespan in all the provinces of Pakistan at an alarming rate. Despite knowing the prevalence, there has been meager progress in developing strategies to combat violence at individual, family, or community level. Many interventions suggested in other countries have been pilot tested but the effects of those interventions had been limited. Therefore, the aim of this study is to understand the voices of stakeholders to reduce Violence Against Women (VAW) and to explore the possible community-based strategies that could be implemented in Pakistan. METHODS: A total of 14 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and 18 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were held across all four provinces of Pakistan. Participants were purposefully recruited and all the interviews were audio-recorded. Transcriptions were open coded and content analysis was done to emerge codes, categories and themes. Ethical approval was obtained from Aga Khan University Ethics Review Committee. RESULTS: Three major themes emerged on community members and stakeholders' views on VAW: a) community's perception of VAW b) the repercussions of VAW, and c) multiple voices regarding strategies to reduce VAW. Participants voiced the need of standing against the status quo, role of awareness and education: regarding capacity building skills, promotion of women rights and women empowerment through Life Skills Based Education (LSBE) through national health works program, has been proposed as an innovative strategy to reduce VAW. CONCLUSIONS: The responsibility to bring about a substantial change in behavior and attitudes must begin with engaging men in all the interventions that aim to reduce violence. Since, VAW is very much linked with the cultural norms, so, without community stakeholder's involvement and participation it could never be reduced. Keeping the existing socio-cultural dynamics in mind, the need of time is to design and implement innovative interventions that are culturally and contextually appropriate and can be expanded across the country.

Awareness of sexually transmitted diseases among young adults of Karachi; a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the young adults' awareness of sexually transmitted diseases, complications, prevention and management. METHODS: The descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted from September 4, 2017, to September 4, 2018, in Karachi, and comprised residents of the city aged 18-35 years of either gender. Data was collected from January 1 to March 31, 2018, using an online questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. RESULTS: Of the 413 subjects, 245(59.3%) were females. The overall mean age was 24.7±4.76 years, and the mean household income was Rs2,18,294±205434. Of the total, 342(83%) had not heard the term 'sexually transmitted diseases'. Knowledge regarding transmission and complications of common sexually transmitted diseases was also low 293(56.4%). Leading source of sexual health knowledge was media 182(44%). Awareness levels differed significantly by age, educational level, field of study, occupation and educational level of the parents (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There was deficiency in terms of knowledge and awareness regarding sexually transmitted diseases.

Perception on service quality in old age homes: A qualitative study in Karachi, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: The growing number of older people due to demographic transition is paving the way for nongovernmental organizations and the private sector for mushrooming of old age homes (OAHs). These homes function either free or fee for services and the services provided at these OAHs determines the quality of life of older people. The aim of the study was to explore the stakeholders' perception on the quality of services offered to people living in OAHs. METHODS: A descriptive qualitative study design was used to explore stakeholders' perception of elderly living experiences in old age homes. Three OAH were selected through purposive sampling for the study. Data collected from February-March 2015 through the structured interview guide. Participants' for FGDs were recruited through universal sampling, while purposive sampling was used for KIIs selection. Researcher ensured all ethical considerations for the entire study period. RESULTS: Two major themes were drawn including the reasons and experiences of older people living in OAH, secondly the need for caregivers' academic competencies. Majority of KIIs and FGDs reported common responses under the two themes. Also the elderly experiences varied from living comfortably to being depressed. KIIs and caregivers' FGD participants' strongly urged the need for caregivers' training and institutional accreditation. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study on the older people's experiences and challenges of living in OAHs, strongly propose community support system and credentialing of the caregivers for age appropriate care. Moreover the capacity building of academia for offering specialized training in gerontology and geriatrics is also highlighted.

Colorectal dysplasia and adenocarcinoma in patients with ulcerative colitis: an experience from a tertiary care hospital.

BACKGROUND: The rationale behind this study was to find out the frequency of dysplasia and colorectal cancer (CRC) in young patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) using histopathological examination. This facilitated early detection of dysplasia and CRC by regular endoscopic biopsies and also guided physicians on appropriate surveillance and management, thus improved outcome. METHODS: It was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at the Department of Pathology, PIMS, Islamabad. Seventy-six biopsies of already diagnosed cases of UC of young patients aged between 15 and 40 years of either gender were included. Specimens were fixed in 10% buffer formalin, paraffin embedded followed by cutting, slide preparation, and staining with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain, and examined under light microscope. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS 21) was used for data compilation and analysis. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for quantitative variables. Frequency and percentage were calculated for qualitative variables. RESULTS: There were 13 (17.2%) patients who were diagnosed with colorectal dysplasia, 3 (4.0%) with indefinite for dysplasia, 8 (10.5%) with low-grade dysplasia, and 2 (2.6%) with high-grade dysplasia. There were three (3.9%) patients who were diagnosed for colorectal carcinoma, one (1.3%) with grade 1, one (1.3%) with grade 2, and one (1.3%) with grade 3 CRC. CONCLUSION: Routine biopsies can identify dysplastic epithelium, which is an established sign for synchronized carcinoma with ulcerative colitis, and give the rationale for surveillance of the patients.

Immunohistochemical expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in South Asian head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: association with various risk factors and clinico-pathologic and prognostic parameters.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we intend to determine the immunohistochemical expression of EGFR in cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and its association with prognostic clinico-pathologic features. METHODS: A total of 115 cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, were included in the study. Clinico-pathologic features, risk factors, and recurrence status of cases were evaluated, and EGFR immunohistochemistry was performed. RESULTS: In our study, 52 cases (45.2%) of head and neck SCC were positive and 10 cases (8.7%) were focal positive for EGFR expression, while 53 cases (46.1%) were negative for EGFR expression. High EGFR expression (> 70%) was noted in 6.1% (7 cases), while 12.2% (14 cases) and 26.1% (30 cases) revealed 51-70% and 11-50% EGFR expression respectively. On the basis of intensity, strong EGFR expression was noted in 13.9% (16 cases) while 16.5% (19 cases) and 23.5% (27 cases) revealed intermediate and weak EGFR expression respectively. Significant association of EGFR expression was noted with tumor stage and disease-free survival. CONCLUSION: We found a significant association of EGFR expression with tumor stage and disease-free survivals, which are the most important prognostic factors in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; therefore, EGFR expression can help as a prognostic biomarker in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. On the other hand, we suggest that molecular studies should be performed in squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck in our setup to identify patients that can avail response from anti-EGFR therapy.

Prognostic parameters of luminal A and luminal B intrinsic breast cancer subtypes of Pakistani patients.

BACKGROUND: Prognosis of breast cancer and success of therapeutic interventions largely rely on the clinico-pathologic and biological characteristics of the tumor and vary due to the heterogeneous nature of breast cancers. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and prognostic parameters of luminal breast cancers in our population to devise targeted and personalized therapeutic regimens tailored to the needs of the loco-regional population. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study including 1951 cases of primary breast cancer treated at Liaquat National Hospital Karachi was conducted during the year 2011-2016. The clinico-pathologic characteristics were observed and semiquantitative immunohistochemical analysis was performed to study the luminal subtypes A and B. The cross-tabulated statistics of the observed characteristics were performed between the two subtypes. The significance level of each characteristic was estimated utilizing the chi-square test. RESULTS: Luminal cancers comprised 62.7% of the total number of cases diagnosed with breast cancers in the study period. Out of these 1224 cases of luminal cancers, 845 cases (69%) were luminal B, while 379 (31%) cases were of luminal A. Luminal B cancers were significantly more common in younger age groups as compared to luminal A cancers. Comparison of the two subtypes of luminal breast cancers revealed significant differences. Luminal B cancers were associated with higher grade (26% grade III in luminal B compared to 8% in luminal A), micropapillary histology, and high frequency of nodal metastasis (54 vs. 43%). CONCLUSIONS: Luminal B comprised the most frequent subtype of breast cancer in our study and they were found more constantly in a younger age group. Moreover, they were associated with adverse clinico-histologic parameters like higher grade and nodal metastasis. Therefore, we suggest that, despite lack of widespread availability of molecular studies in our setup, IHC-based typing should be done in every case of breast cancer to individualize therapy.

COVID-19 and Women's Health: A Low- and Middle-Income Country Perspective.

Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19), a contagious disease, is a global pandemic affecting the lives and health of individuals across borders, genders and races. Much of what is known about the effects of natural disasters and disease outbreaks on women's health in particular, is based on studies conducted in high-income countries. The evolving evidence suggests that COVID-19 has a profound negative impact on the perinatal mental health of women. It is also clear that global pandemics such as COVID-19 disproportionately affect the less affluent, including individuals living in low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of this review is to summarize and critically discuss extant knowledge on COVID-19 as it relates to the perinatal health of women in low and middle-income countries, using Pakistan as a case example. We specifically highlight the effects on perinatal mental health, preterm birth, and timing of the COVID-19 exposure. Our review suggests that it is essential to consider the effects of COVID-19 within this cultural context and that findings from high-income countries do not necessarily translate to the situation in low and middle-income countries.

Clinicopathologic features of invasive metaplastic and micropapillary breast carcinoma: comparison with invasive ductal carcinoma of breast.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of metaplastic breast carcinoma and invasive micropapillary carcinoma in our population and also to compare the clinico-pathologic features of metaplastic breast carcinoma and invasive micropapillary carcinoma with invasive ductal carcinoma, not otherwise specified (IDC, NOS). RESULTS: 86.9% of the cases were identified as ductal carcinoma, NOS, while 2.2% were metaplastic and 0.76% cases were micropapillary carcinoma. Metaplastic carcinomas were found to be of higher grade as compared to IDC, NOS as 81% of metaplastic carcinoma were grade III compared to 35% IDC, NOS. 79% of metaplastic carcinoma were ER negative and 86% were PR negative, respectively as compared to ductal carcinoma NOS, which were 40% ER negative and 54% were PR. Similarly, 86.7% micropapillary cancers were ER positive and 73.3% were PR positive. Moreover, 66.7% micropapillary carcinoma showed nodal metastasis and 77.8% showed lymphovascular invasion, which was significantly higher than that of IDC, NOS micropapillary and metaplastic carcinomas accounts for less than 2 and 1% of the breast cancer burden in our population and highly correlates with poor prognosis parameters therefore, require more intensive management in our population.

Low p27kip1 expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: association with risk factors and adverse outcomes

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of head and neck is highly prevalent in South-asian countries, owing to high consumption of areca nut/gutka and chewing tobacco. p27kip1 is a tumor suppressor gene, thought to be downregulated in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Therefore, in the present study we used immunohistochemical analysis to investigate an association between low p27kip1 expression in SCC of the head and neck and adverse outcomes/risk factors. Methods: Total 105 cases of SCC of head and neck excision specimens were selected from records of pathology department archives that underwent surgeries at Liaquat National hospital, Karachi from January 2008 till December 2013. Clinical and pathologic characteristics of patients were evaluated and p27kip1 immunohistochemistry was applied on tumor blocks. Results: In our study, low expression of p27kip1 in SCC of head and neck was seen in 39(37.1%) cases while 66(62. 9%) of the cases showed high expression for p27kip1. Significant association of p27kip1 expression with pan/gutka usage (p = 0.004), and recurrence (p = 0.001) was noted; however, no significant association of p27kip1 expression with other clinicopathologic features was seen. Multivariate binary logistic regression showed cases with history of pan/gutka usage were more likely to show low p27kip1 expression. Similarly, we also found that recurrence was more likely to develop in patients with low expression of p27kip1 in comparison to cases showing high p27kip1 expression. Conclusion: Loss of p27kip1 expression is a significant event involved in the pathogenesis of SCC head and neck especially that of oral cavity. Significant association of gutka/areca nut with low p27kip1 expression in our study suggests that loss p27kip1 expression is a major event involved in areca nut induced SCC of head and neck in this part of the world; however, more large scale molecular based studies are required to validate this observation. Moreover, significant association of low p27kip1 expression with tumor recurrence suggests its importance as a prognostic biomarker in SCC of head and neck (AU)