Association between Health Behaviors and a Family History of Cancer among Korean Women

The Effect of the Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Program on Women With High Breast Cancer Risk in Terms of Their Participation in Screening and Their Health Beliefs and Behavior: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

First-degree biological relatives of individuals with breast cancer have a higher risk of breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to create a protocol for evaluating the effect of the Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Program (BrCaRRP) on the participation of women at risk in screening and on their health beliefs and risk reduction behaviors.

METHODS

The research was planned as a single-site, single-blind randomized controlled experimental study with a parallel group. Participants will be assigned to intervention and control groups using the Stratified Permuted Block Randomization method. The BrCaRRP will be applied to the intervention group within the theoretical framework of the Health Belief Model and the Health Promotion Model. The BrCaRRP is a 12-week program that encompasses 6 meetings, the first being face-to-face and the others via phone. Multidisciplinary experts calculated the content validity index of BrCaRRP as being 0.954 (high); its weighted kappa statistic is 0.70 (high).

RESULTS

The difference in the likelihood of participation in breast cancer screening between the BrCaRRP and control groups will be evaluated after the interventions. Findings will be presented in terms of our hypotheses.

CONCLUSIONS

The BrCaRRP is a nurse-led program based on the Health Belief Model and the Health Promotion Model. The BrCaRRP has high content validity and interrater reliability.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

This protocol can be tested as an intervention in a randomized controlled study.

Association between having a family member with dementia and perceptions of dementia preventability

BACKGROUND

One's experience with dementia may affect their perceptions about dementia preventability, which in turn could influence preventive health behaviors. We aimed to examine how having a family history of dementia and caregiving experience are associated with perceptions about and self-efficacy for dementia preventability.

METHODS

Cross-sectional, self-administered survey. Participants reported whether they have had a family member with dementia and, among those who reported having a family member with dementia, whether they served as a caregiver. Outcomes were perceptions about the likelihood of dementia preventability, self-efficacy for dementia prevention, and benefits of specific dementia prevention strategies. Associations were assessed via partial proportional odds model for ordinal outcome variables and logistic regression for binary outcome variables.

RESULTS

Of 1,575 respondents, 71% had a family member with dementia, of which 42% served as a caregiver. People with a family member with dementia were less likely to believe that dementia is preventable (aOR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.58, 0.96) and had lower self-efficacy for dementia prevention (aOR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.56, 0.90). The subgroup analysis among those with caregiving experience was consistent with the primary findings, showing less belief in the likelihood of dementia preventability (aOR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.46, 1.03) and self-efficacy (aOR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.56, 1.00).

CONCLUSION

Having a family member with dementia is associated with unfavorable perceptions about dementia preventability. Incorporating family history of dementia into communication efforts about dementia risk reduction may help address potential barriers to preventive health behaviors.

Association Between Health Behaviors and Family History of Cancer According to Sex in the General Population

INTRODUCTION

Family history of cancer and modifiable risk factors are each associated with cancer development, but no studies have assessed their association with each other by sex. This study aimed to examine modifiable risk factors in individuals with a family history of cancer compared with those without a family history of cancer, according to sex.

METHODS

This study recruited 166,810 participants aged 40-79 years from Korea's Health Examinee Study cohort between 2004 and 2014. Results were calculated as AORs and 95% CIs to determine the relationship between family history of cancer in first-degree relatives and modifiable risk factors. Data analyses were performed in 2018.

RESULTS

The prevalence of modifiable cancer risk factors, including current smoking, drinking alcohol, physical inactivity, obesity, and abdominal obesity, were different according to the presence of a family history of cancer, cancer type of such a family history, and sex. Male participants with a family history of cancer were less likely to be current smokers or obese (AOR=0.95, 95% CI=0.91, 0.99 and AOR=0.95, 95% CI=0.92, 0.99, respectively) than those without a family history of cancer, whereas female participants with a family history of cancer were more likely to be current smokers but less likely to be physically inactive (AOR=1.13, 95% CI=1.03, 1.23 and AOR=0.96, 95% CI=0.93, 0.98, respectively) than those without a family history of cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

This study's findings suggest that, in general, males with a family history of cancer show better health behaviors, whereas females with a family history of cancer demonstrate worse health behaviors.

Association Between Health Behaviors and Family History of Cancer in Cancer Survivors: Data From the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study

BACKGROUND

We compared health behaviors, including current smoking, alcohol drinking, regular exercise, obesity, and abdominal obesity, among Korean cancer survivors with and without family history of cancer.

METHODS

This study included 5,247 cancer survivors with family history of cancer (1,894 with and 3,353 without), who were recruited from the Health Examinee cohort. Health behaviors were identified using questionnaire. Adjusted ORs (aORs) between health behaviors and family history of cancer were estimated by multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for sociodemographic factors. All analyses were conducted separately according to sex.

RESULTS

Prevalence of current smoking, alcohol drinking, no regular exercise, obesity, and abdominal obesity was 16.3%, 48.3%, 36.0%, 31.3%, and 42.3% in male cancer survivors and 1.7%, 20.6%, 43.8%, 28.5%, and 72.5% in female, respectively. Health behaviors in male cancer survivors with and without family history of cancer were not significantly different after being adjusted for other covariates (aOR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.75-1.44 for current smoking; aOR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.76-1.22 for current drinking; aOR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.66-1.10 for regular exercise; aOR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.73-1.25 for obesity; aOR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.75-1.25 for abdominal obesity). In female cancer survivors, there were no significant differences in health behaviors according to family history of cancer (aOR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.44-1.32; aOR = 1.11, 95% CI = 0.94-1.31; aOR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.87-1.14; aOR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.85-1.16; aOR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.80-1.10, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

We identified no significant differences in health behaviors according to family history of cancer in cancer survivors. More studies should be conducted to identify correlations between family history of cancer and prognosis in cancer survivors.

Targeting cellular and molecular drivers of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: current options and emerging perspectives

Despite improvements in functional outcomes attributable to advances in radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgical techniques, and imaging techniques, survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients has improved only marginally during the last couple of decades, and optimal therapy has yet to be devised. Genomic complexity and intratumoral genetic heterogeneity may contribute to treatment resistance and the propensity for locoregional recurrence. Countering this, it demands a significant effort from both basic and clinical scientists in the search for more effective targeted therapies. Recent genomewide studies have provided valuable insights into the genetic basis of HNSCC, uncovering potential new therapeutic opportunities. In addition, several studies have elucidated how inflammatory, immune, and stromal cells contribute to the particular properties of these neoplasms. In the present review, we introduce recent findings on genomic aberrations resulting from whole-genome sequencing of HNSCC, we discuss how the particular microenvironment affects the pathogenesis of this disease, and we describe clinical trials exploring new perspectives on the use of combined genetic and cellular targeted therapies.