Investigating Cervical Risk Factors that Lead to Cytological and Biopsy Examination

Impact of gender and education on cervical cancer knowledge amongst students: implications for health policies and public health strategies in Wiesbaden, Germany

Introduction

Cervical cancer is a global health concern primarily caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). It has a significant impact in Germany, with thousands of new diagnoses and deaths annually. Despite advancements in screening and treatment leading to improved survival rates of 65% for invasive cervical tumors, the financial burden remains substantial.

Aims

The study aims to assess the impact of gender and education of Wiesbaden students towards cervical cancer and its associated health policies. Data was collected through an online questionnaire distributed with 54 students in Wiesbaden, Germany participating in the study. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS, including one-way ANOVA, t-tests, Kruskal-Wallis, and chi-square tests. The respondents' average age was 28.24 years, with a higher female participation.

Results

Education level did not significantly influence perceptions of ideal vaccination age (p < 0.581). Females and males perceived a lower number of vaccine doses (< 3) required compared to the standard. Education level showed a moderate association with knowledge of long-term complications, and gender had a moderate correlation with information sources (rho = 27, p = 0.090).

Conclusion

Gender disparities did not significantly impact knowledge of cervical cancer. Public health programs should consider education levels and tailor interventions to all age groups and genders.

High Expression of TMEM33 Predicts Poor Prognosis and Promotes Cell Proliferation in Cervical Cancer

Background: The prognosis of patients with advanced cervical cancer remains unsatisfactory. A study indicated that transmembrane protein 33 (TMEM33) was implicated in tumor recurrence, while its role in cervical cancer has not been elucidated.

Methods: TMEM33 expression in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) was primarily screened in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and further validated in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The Kaplan–Meier plotter analysis and Cox regression were constructed to evaluate the prognostic value of TMEM33 in CESC. Functional enrichment analysis was performed with GO, KEGG and GSEA tools. CCK-8 assay and colony formation assay were performed to investigate the carcinogenesis role of TMEM33 in cervical cancer cell proliferation.

Results: TMEM33 expression was significantly elevated in CESC compared with normal tissues. High expression of TMEM33 was associated with poor prognostic clinical characteristics in CESC patients. KM-plotter analysis revealed that patients with increased TMEM33 had shorter overall survival (OS), progress free interval (PFI), and disease specific survival (DSS). Moreover, Multivariate Cox analysis confirmed that high TMEM33 expression was an independent risk factor for OS in patients with CESC. TMEM33 was associated with immune infiltrates, and its expression was correlated with tumorigenesis-related genes RNF4, OCIAD1, TMED5, DHX15, MED28 and LETM1. More importantly, knockdown of TMEM33 in cervical cancer cells decreased the expression of those genes and inhibited cell proliferation.

Conclusion: Increased TMEM33 in cervical cancer can serve as an independent prognostic marker and might play a role in tumorigenesis by promoting cell proliferation.