Cancer prevention programmes in Mexico: are we doing enough?

Cancer has increased in all the countries of the world and Mexico is no exception. The recognised risk factors for the main types of cancer are reviewed and searched through the Mexican government web pages and cancer prevention programmes to tackle the risk factors in the population. The Mexican government, a member of the World Health Organization, shows that the main approach is an early diagnosis rather than prevention, forgetting that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Effective public programmes should be promoted to reduce preventable risk factors in the population (smoking, nutrition, obesity, diet, environmental toxicity, sedentary lifestyle) and control the non-preventable factors (genetics) if we really want to control the incidence of different types of cancer.

Evaluation of micronuclei in oral mucosa of individuals exposed to ionizing radiation: a pilot study from Celaya, México.

INTRODUCTION: Occupational exposure to ionizing radiation can potentially lead to adverse health effects, including cancer and genetic defects. Genetic damage caused by radiation can be detected if micronuclei are observed. The objective of this pilot study was to detect the presence of micronuclei in cells of the oral mucosa in inidividuals occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation. METHODS: We implemented a pilot case-control study in which we compared oral mucosa micronuclei in 30 medical and nursing personnel in radiology centers in Celaya, Mexico, with 30 volunteers not exposed to ionizing radiation recruited from a public University. The oral mucosa was brushed and the amount of micronuclei was quantified. Chi-square test or t-test for two proportions were used to compared ionizing radiation and genetic damage between exposed and non-exposed groups. RESULTS: The exposed group had an average of 5.37 ± 3.49 micronuclei and the non-exposed had 0.37 ± 0.61 (P<0.01). In the exposed group, 90% of participants exhibited genetic damage compared to 6.67% in the unexposed group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: In this pilot study, medical and nursing staff from radiology centers presented with higher genetic damage compared to control group. Further studies are needed to identify the prevalence of genetic damage due to occupational radiation exposure in Mexico.

Validity and reliability of electroacoustic probe for diagnosis of developmental dysplasia of the hip.

BACKGROUND: Sound transmission is used in the diagnosis of hip dysplasia since the end of the 80's. Aim of this study is to quantify the validity and reliability of electroacoustic probe for the diagnosis of hip dysplasia in neonates. METHODS: Diagnostic study included neonates aged 4-28 days, whose parents signed an informed consent. The probe was used three times for comparative sound transmission and with extension/flexion; hip ultrasound was performed with Graf technique as gold standard. Kappa was determined for intraobserver and interobserver reliability; validity was calculated with sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values. RESULTS: 100 neonates were included. For the comparative sound transmission, 0.80 and 0.81 Kappa were obtained for the intraobserver and interobserver respectively; with extension/flexion, Kappa 0.98 and 0.95 were obtained for the intraobserver and interobserver respectively. With comparative sound transmission, 44.8%, 97.7%, 76.5% and 91.3% for sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, respectively; with extension/flexion test, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values: 82.8%, 99.4%, 96.0%, and 97.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The electroacoustic probe is moderate valid and reliable for the diagnosis of developmental dysplasia of the hip. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Open Science framework https://osf.io/kpf5s/?view_only=0a9682c6w1c842ad8e1d9a66e8dcf038.