Shanxi Province cervical cancer screening study II: self-sampling for high-risk human papillomavirus compared to direct sampling for human papillomavirus and liquid based cervical cytology.

The objective of this study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of a new method for self-sampling for high risk human papillomavirus (HPV) with direct sampling and liquid based cervical cytology. In Shanxi Province, China, 8,497 women (ages 27-56) underwent a self-sample for HPV using a conical-shaped brush placed into the upper vagina and rotated. Three to sixteen months later the women were screened with liquid-based cytology and direct HPV tests. Subjects with any abnormal test underwent colposcopy and multiple biopsies. Mean age was 40.9 years. 4.4 percent of subjects had >or=CIN II, 26% a positive self-sample and 24% a positive direct test for HPV. The sensitivity for detection of >or=CIN II was 87.5% for self-sampling, and 96.8% for the direct test (P < 0.001). The specificity was 77.2% for the self-sample and 79.7% for the direct test. With an abnormal Pap defined as ASCUS or greater the sensitivity of the Pap for the detection of >CIN II was 88.3% and the specificity was 81.2%. We conclude that self-sampling for HPV is less sensitive for >CIN II than the direct test, but similar to liquid based cytology.

[Status of screening tests for cervical cancer and its precancerous lesion].

Several screening methods for cervical cancer and its precancerous lesion are reviewed. Cervical cancer screening using visual inspection, colposcopy, oncogenic human papillomavirus DNA testing, liquid-based monolayers and automated Pap smear screening instruments are all potentially valuable when used alone or in combination. Newly developed techniques provide an opportunity to extend practical cervical cancer screening to large population in limited resource areas, and help do more cost-effectiveness of screening tests in high risk population.

Risk factors for penile cancer: results from a case-control study in China.

An epidemiologic study of penile cancer involving 141 cases and 150 community controls was undertaken in a high-risk area in China. Personal interviews, as well as physical examinations among the prospectively ascertained subjects, enabled evaluation of a variety of potential risk factors. Strongly related to risk were conditions restricting the motility of the foreskin, including phimosis or paraphimosis, particularly when so severe that circumcision was used for treatment. Poor hygiene practices also appeared to increase risk, particularly as evidenced by detection of smegma on physical examination, although it was difficult to decipher whether this association was etiologic or merely a consequence of disease. A sexual relationship outside of marriage was associated with a RR of 1.7, and appeared to be a more important discriminator than number of lifetime sexual partners. Risk was increased among subjects reporting previous genital conditions, particularly sexually transmitted diseases, and physical examinations revealed the appearance of genital warts among 13 cases vs. I control. Interviews with wives of study subjects failed to provide evidence of a "female factor" in the etiology of penile cancer. This study supports the need for further evaluation of the role of hygiene and sexually transmitted agents in the etiology of penile cancer.

Atlas of cancer mortality in the People's Republic of China. An aid for cancer control and research.

A set of maps which display the patterns of cancer mortality in China has been prepared and published by the China Map Press. The 200 page atlas was edited by the National Cancer Control Office of the Ministry of Health and the Nanjing Institute of Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on the basis of a nation-wide cancer mortality survey. The Cancer Institute of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences with related Colleges, Universities and Institutes provided the data and took part in the preparation of the atlas, which is published both in Chinese and English. 58 maps and several dozen charts depict, in seven colours, the mortality distribution in this 2392 countries and county-level administrative units of 9 types of cancer common in China--stomach, oesophagus, liver, cervix, lung, colon and rectum, breast, nasopharynx, and leukaemia as well as 5 less common cancers--brain tumours, malignant lymphoma, cancer of the bladder, of the penis, and choriocarcinoma. The Atlas of Cancer Mortality will be an important new aid for cancer control and research in the People's Republic of China.

PIP: This is a description of the atlas of cancer mortality in China, published recently in Chinese and English. The atlas includes 58 maps and several charts depicting the mortality distribution of 14 different types of cancer in the 2,392 counties and county-level administrative units.