Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection, Cervical Cancer, and HPV Vaccine and its Correlates among Medical Students in Southwest China: a Multi-center Cross-sectional Survey

Abstract

Background: Since cervical cancer can be prevented and controlled through human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, it is important to train health care providers and provide them with appropriate knowledge. This study aimed to understand the level of HPV related knowledge among medical students and correlates in Southwest China in order to address any potential gap in their knowledge base. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among medical students in six selected universities across Southwest China based on a pretested questionnaire regarding HPV infection, cervical cancer, and HPV vaccines. Results: We successfully surveyed 1, 878 medical students, of whom 32.1% were males and 67.9% were females. Their mean age was 20.8 (standard deviation: 1.3) years. 91.8% of them were ethnic Han Chinese, and 43.8% were students in clinical medicine. While 76.5% had heard of HPV only 48.8% knew that the prevention of cervical cancer was possible through HPV vaccination. Only 42.9% of the male and 49.2% of the female students correctly answered over 10 out of 22 questions on HPV related knowledge. Female students appeared to know more about HPV and HPV vaccination (OR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.11-1.75). In addition, the student knowledge improved with the grade (p<0.001). University courses were the most selected source of knowledge about HPV vaccination (66.4%). 83.6% of males and 91.4% of females were willing to have more HPV related education by experts (p<0.001). Only 10.1% of the students acknowledged that people had asked for their advice regarding HPV vaccination. Conclusions: Our survey indicates that medical students from Southwest China have poor knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccination, but are willing to receive more relevant information. Targeted education should be incorporated into school courses to inform these future health care providers and ensure success of programs for cervical cancer control and prevention.

MicroRNA-10b inhibits proliferation, migration and invasion in cervical cancer cells via direct targeting of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor

“…The initiation and progression of cervical cancer is a multi-step process, involving multiple factors and the transformation of normal cervical epithelium into cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, which subsequently transforms into invasive cervical cancer (2,3). A number of studies have demonstrated that persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) serves an important role in the initiation and progression of cervical cancer (4)(5)(6). However, previous studies have shown that HPV infection alone is insufficient to induce malignant changes and that other factors must contribute to cervical carcinogenesis and progression (7,8).…”

Acceptability and Correlates of Primary and Secondary Prevention of Cervical Cancer among Medical Students in Southwest China: Implications for Cancer Education

“…Clinical studies are underway among Chinese women: Gardasil and Cervarix have already been studied in trials for over four years, while a new HPV 16/18 vaccine by Xiamen Innovax Biotech (Xiamen, China) began the phase III clinical stage in 2013 [22]. An earlier systematic review showed that 69.7% of cervical cancer cases were attributed to HPV 16/18 in China [23], which is similar to the estimate (about 70%) at the global scale [24]. Given these estimates, the efficacy of HPV vaccines in Chinese trials may hopefully not be very much different from those from international studies [13].…”

Conhecimento Dos Acadêmicos De Medicina Acerca Do HPV E Do Câncer De Colo Uterino

“…No que diz respeito ao desempenho geral dos acadêmicos da PUC-Goiás, a porcentagem geral de acerto foi de 80,0%, superior a todos os outros estudos 19,22,27,28,29 , metodologicamente comparáveis, identificados na literatura especializada. Avaliando o desempenho de acordo com o grupo de conhecimentos, verifica-se um comprometimento maior das questões relacionadas aos sinais e sintomas e diagnóstico do câncer de colo uterino.…”

“…Estudos semelhantes apresentam resultados heterogêneos. Enquanto um estudo32 obteve um nível de conhecimento significativo com 305 acadêmicos na Universidade Kebangsaan da Malásia e Universidade Malaya, nos demais estudos não conseguiram uma conclusão tão esperançosa 19,22,27,28,29 . Na Universidade de Chongqing (China) a média de acerto dentre os 878 estudantes de Medicina participantes foi 45,4%, apesar do conhecimento melhorar com o tempo de estudo na Universidade 19 .…”