Personal and parental acceptance of human papillomavirus vaccination prior to and during the economic crisis among women in Greece.

PURPOSE: To assess personal and parental human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination acceptance and how it is influenced by demographic factors prior to (2005-2010) and during (2011-2016) the economic crisis in Greece. METHODS: During 2005-2016, 6,401 women aged 18-65 years, living in different areas of Greece filled in a questionnaire covering demographic characteristics, knowledge of HPV infection's natural history and its consequences and assessing their intention to receive the HPV vaccine for themselves and their children. RESULTS: Women's intention to get vaccinated before the economic crisis was higher (86.2%) than during it (82.8%). In addition, the intention of women to vaccinate their children was higher for girls during 2005-2010 (78.3%), while there was no statistically significant difference concerning boys. HPV vaccination acceptance per year showed a statistically significant variation. The initially high acceptance decreased following vaccine's release, mainly due to fear of side effects, increased following objective public education, and declined again. Demographic characteristics affected HPV vaccination acceptance at the time period before the economic crisis in Greece, but not during it. CONCLUSION: Demographic factors affecting a woman's attitude towards vaccination prior to the economic crisis in Greece, stopped playing a significant role during the crisis, reflecting its devastating effect on most parts of the population.

Distinct demographic factors influence the acceptance of vaccination against HPV.

PURPOSE: To investigate the possible effect of demographic factors on HPV vaccination acceptance in Greece. METHODS: Analysis was performed on data from the "LYSISTRATA" project, a prospective, cross-sectional study, focusing on questions regarding the acceptance of HPV vaccination among Greek women for themselves, and their 13-year-old daughter or son. In total, 5,379 women participated in the study, between 2005 and 2011. RESULTS: Women born and raised in Greece were more likely to accept HPV vaccination for themselves (aOR = 4.1, 95 % CI 2.9-5.8), their daughter (aOR = 3.3, 95 % CI 2.3-4.7) and son (aOR = 3.3, 95 % CI 2.3-4.8), compared with immigrants. Similarly, women who had a Papanicolaou's test were more likely to accept vaccination for themselves (aOR = 1.8, 95 % CI 1.4-2.3), their daughter (aOR = 1.5, 95 % CI 1.2-1.9) and son (aOR = 1.4, 95 % CI 1.1-1.7) than those never tested. Smokers were less likely to accept HPV vaccination for themselves (aOR = 0.8, 95 % CI 0.6-0.9); however, such an association was not documented concerning their children. Educational level had a rather inconsistent impact on HPV vaccination acceptance. The effect of womens' age, monthly income, residence, profession and marital status on HPV vaccination acceptance for themselves was different than that for their daughters, and even more for their sons. CONCLUSIONS: There are distinct demographic factors that influence HPV vaccination acceptance. Women's perception that male vaccination is not as necessary may lead to lower acceptance of HPV vaccination for young boys and men.

Epidemiology of HPV infection and current status of cervical cancer prevention in Greece: final results of the LYSISTRATA cross-sectional study.

The objective of this study was to assess the overall prevalence of the human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and distribution of high-risk HPV (hrHPV) types in Greece and evaluate the participation of women in primary and secondary cervical cancer prevention. This was a prospective, cross-sectional study carried out between October 2005 and January 2011 in Greece; 5379 women filled out the study questionnaire anonymously. 5107 women underwent cervical HPV-DNA testing, either by Hybrid Capture 2, followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism-PCR, or by the Abbott Real-Time High-Risk HPV test. Overall, 5.8% (295/5107) of women were positive for hrHPV infection. The most common hrHPV type was HPV-16 (24.8% among infected women; 1.4% overall), followed by HPV types 31, 35, 53, 18, 51, 56, 58, 52, 39, 66, 45, 33, 59, and 68. In respect to primary prevention of cervical cancer, acceptance of anti-HPV vaccination appeared to decrease over time (from 85-89.9% annually during 2005-2008 to 64.4-60.5% during 2009-2010, P<0.001). In respect to secondary prevention, only 30.3% of women had regular (annually for more than 5 years) Pap smears; regular gynecologic examinations, Papanicolaou testing, and knowledge of HPV were all associated with various demographic parameters (age, education, place of residence, occupation, and income). The prevalence of hrHPV infection in Greece is similar to that in other European countries; the most common type is HPV-16. The initially relatively high acceptance of HPV vaccination decreased after licensing of the vaccine. Demographic parameters appear to influence participation in cervical cancer screening.

Elucidation of the transmission of a novel mutation in BRCA1 (1125delCT) in a family with multiple cases of breast cancer.

In a family with multiple members affected by breast cancer we identified the novel mutation 1125delCT (exon 11) in BRCA1. Three out of three offsprings have the novel mutation while the mother affected by breast cancer does not carry the mutation. Linkage analysis revealed the transmission of the healthy haplotype from the mother to the three offsprings while the children inherited the mutated haplotype from the father. Our data document in an unquestionable way where the mutated haplotype was inherited from. In some families, although the transmission pathway seems obvious, the molecular analysis yields surprising results.