Each year, more than 2 million women are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer, yet where a woman lives, her socioeconomic status and agency largely determines whether she will develop one of these cancers and will ultimately survive. In regions with limited resources, fragile or fragmented health systems, cancer contributes to the cycle of poverty. There are proven and cost-effective interventions for both these common cancers, yet for so many women access to these is beyond reach. These inequities highlight the urgent need for sustainable investments in the entire spectrum of cancer control, from prevention to palliative care, and in the development of high-quality population-based cancer registries, in low-and middle-income countries. In this first Series paper we describe the burden of breast and cervical cancer with an emphasis on global and regional trends in incidence, mortality and survival, and the impact, particularly among socioeconomically disadvantaged women in different settings.

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BackgroundFamily-based intervention is essential for adolescents with behavioral problems. However, limited data are available on the relationship between family-based factors and adolescent internet addiction (AIA). We aimed to examine this relationship using a representative sample of Shanghai adolescents.MethodsIn October 2007, a total of 5122 adolescents were investigated from 16 high schools via stratified-random sampling in Shanghai. Self-reported and anonymous questionnaires were used to assess parent-adolescent interaction and family environments. AIA was assessed by DRM-52 Scale, developed from Young’s Internet-addiction Scale, using seven subscales to evaluate psychological symptoms of AIA.ResultsAdjusting for adolescents’ ages, genders, socio-economic status, school performances and levels of the consumption expenditure, strong parental disapproval of internet-use was associated with AIA (vs. parental approval, OR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.24-3.91). Worse mother-adolescent relationships were more significantly associated with AIA (OR = 3.79, 95% CI: 2.22-6.48) than worse father-adolescent relationships (OR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.10-2.80). Marital status of “married-but-separated” and family structure of “left-behind adolescents” were associated with symptoms of some subscales. When having high monthly allowance, resident students tended to develop AIA but commuter students did not. Family social-economic status was not associated with the development of AIA.ConclusionsThe quality of parent-adolescent relationship/communication was closely associated with the development of AIA, and maternal factors were more significantly associated with development of AIA than paternal factors. Family social-economic status moderated adolescent internet-use levels but not the development of AIA.