Breast cancer screening: How knowledgeable are female staff of a public university?

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide and in Malaysia. It has better cure rate if detected early. However, the practice of breast cancer screening in Malaysia is still low. The objective of this study is to determine the knowledge and its associated factors as well as sources of information on breast cancer and breast cancer screening among female staff in a public university in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted in 2005 involving 394 female staff including academic and non-academic staff, which was selected by cluster sampling. A self-administered questionnaire on socioeconomic characteristics and family history of breast cancer was used for data collection. Chi-square Test and Fisher’s Exact Test was used for testing an association using SPSS 12.0. Results: The response rate was 84.3%. Only 50.9% had high knowledge on breast cancer and breast cancer screening and this was significantly associated with occupational status, monthly family income and educational level (p<0.05). The usual source of information was mass media (92.2%) while the most preferred source is the health team (71.4%). Conclusion: As mass media was a major source of information, all types of mass media could efficiently be utilized to disseminate knowledge by presenting specific programmes associated with breast cancer and breast cancer screening.

Genetic variations of hepatitis B virus.

The emergence of hepatitis B virus genetic variants occurs under the influence of host immunity, immunization, the use of immune globulin or antiviral chemotherapy. Most of these are probably the result of the 'immune escape' phenomenon. Some variants, in particular those in the precore and core promoter regions, have been associated with disease severity and progression. Surface antigen variants have implications for the accuracy of laboratory diagnosis and may reduce the effectiveness of vaccination. Polymerase variants are selected as a result of the use of antiviral chemotherapeutic agents. It is important to monitor the occurrence of these variants.