Qualitative study of barriers to cervical cancer screening among Nigerian women.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the barriers to cervical cancer screening, focusing on religious and cultural factors, in order to inform group-specific interventions that may improve uptake of cervical cancer screening programmes. DESIGN: We conducted four focus group discussions among Muslim and Christian women in Nigeria. SETTING: Discussions were conducted in two hospitals, one in the South West and the other in the North Central region of Nigeria. PARTICIPANTS: 27 Christian and 22 Muslim women over the age of 18, with no diagnosis of cancer. RESULTS: Most participants in the focus group discussions had heard about cervical cancer except Muslim women in the South Western region who had never heard about cervical cancer. Participants believed that wizardry, multiple sexual partners and inserting herbs into the vagina cause cervical cancer. Only one participant knew about the human papillomavirus. Among the Christian women, the majority of respondents had heard about cervical cancer screening and believed that it could be used to prevent cervical cancer. Participants mentioned religious and cultural obligations of modesty, gender of healthcare providers, fear of disclosure of results, fear of nosocomial infections, lack of awareness, discrimination at hospitals, and need for spousal approval as barriers to uptake of screening. These barriers varied by religion across the geographical regions. CONCLUSIONS: Barriers to cervical cancer screening vary by religious affiliations. Interventions to increase cervical cancer awareness and screening uptake in multicultural and multireligious communities need to take into consideration the varying cultural and religious beliefs in order to design and implement effective cervical cancer screening intervention programmes

Test-Retest Reliability of Self-Reported Sexual Behavior History in Urbanized Nigerian Women.

BACKGROUND: Studies assessing risk of sexual behavior and disease are often plagued by questions about the reliability of self-reported sexual behavior. In this study, we evaluated the reliability of self-reported sexual history among urbanized women in a prospective study of cervical HPV infections in Nigeria. METHODS: We examined test-retest reliability of sexual practices using questionnaires administered at study entry and at follow-up visits. We used the root mean squared approach to calculate within-person coefficient of variation (CVw) and calculated the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) using two way, mixed effects models for continuous variables and [Formula: see text] statistics for discrete variables. To evaluate the potential predictors of reliability, we used linear regression and log binomial regression models for the continuous and categorical variables, respectively. RESULTS: We found that self-reported sexual history was generally reliable, with overall ICC ranging from 0.7 to 0.9; however, the reliability varied by nature of sexual behavior evaluated. Frequency reports of non-vaginal sex (agreement = 63.9%, 95% CI: 47.5-77.6%) were more reliable than those of vaginal sex (agreement = 59.1%, 95% CI: 55.2-62.8%). Reports of time-invariant behaviors were also more reliable than frequency reports. The CVw for age at sexual debut was 10.7 (95% CI: 10.6-10.7) compared with the CVw for lifetime number of vaginal sex partners, which was 35.2 (95% CI: 35.1-35.3). The test-retest interval was an important predictor of reliability of responses, with longer intervals resulting in increased inconsistency (average change in unreliability for each 1 month increase = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.07-0.38, p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that overall, the self-reported sexual history among urbanized Nigeran women is reliable

Age, HIV status, and research context determined attrition in a longitudinal cohort in Nigeria

Objectives: We explored determinants of attrition in a longitudinal cohort study in Nigeria. Study Design and Setting: We enrolled 1,020 women into a prospective study. Of these, 973 were eligible to return for follow-up. We investigated the determinants of attrition among eligible women using a sequential mixed methods design. We used logistic regression models to compare the baseline characteristics of responders and nonresponders. At the end of the parent study, we conducted four focus group discussions and eight key informant interviews with nonresponders. Results: Of the 973 women included in the quantitative analysis, 26% were nonresponders. From quantitative analysis, older women were less likely to drop out than younger women (reference: women ≤30 years; OR 0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.30–0.70, P < 0.001 women 31–44 years; and OR 0.31; 95% CI 0.17–0.56, P < 0.001 women ≥45 years). HIV-positive women were also less likely to drop out of the study (OR 0.45; 95% CI 0.33–0.63, P < 0.001). From qualitative analysis, contextual factors that influenced attrition were high cost of participation, therapeutic misconceptions, inaccurate expectations, spousal disapproval, unpleasant side effects, challenges in maintaining contact with participants, and participant difficulties in locating the study clinic. Conclusion: Several participant-, research-, and environment-related factors influence attrition. Retention strategies that address these barriers are important to minimize attrition

Polygenic risk modeling for prediction of epithelial ovarian cancer risk

Funding Information: ADF has received a research grant from AstraZeneca, not directly related to the content of this manuscript. MWB conducts research funded by Amgen, Novartis and Pfizer. PAF conducts research funded by Amgen, Novartis and Pfizer. He received Honoraria from Roche, Novartis and Pfizer. AWK reports research funding to her institution from Myriad Genetics for an unrelated project. UM owns stocks in Abcodia Ltd. Rachel A. Murphy is a consultant for Pharmavite. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).Polygenic risk scores (PRS) for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) have the potential to improve risk stratification. Joint estimation of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) effects in models could improve predictive performance over standard approaches of PRS construction. Here, we implemented computationally efficient, penalized, logistic regression models (lasso, elastic net, stepwise) to individual level genotype data and a Bayesian framework with continuous shrinkage, “select and shrink for summary statistics” (S4), to summary level data for epithelial non-mucinous ovarian cancer risk prediction. We developed the models in a dataset consisting of 23,564 non-mucinous EOC cases and 40,138 controls participating in the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC) and validated the best models in three populations of different ancestries: prospective data from 198,101 women of European ancestries; 7,669 women of East Asian ancestries; 1,072 women of African ancestries, and in 18,915 BRCA1 and 12,337 BRCA2 pathogenic variant carriers of European ancestries. In the external validation data, the model with the strongest association for non-mucinous EOC risk derived from the OCAC model development data was the S4 model (27,240 SNPs) with odds ratios (OR) of 1.38 (95% CI: 1.28–1.48, AUC: 0.588) per unit standard deviation, in women of European ancestries; 1.14 (95% CI: 1.08–1.19, AUC: 0.538) in women of East Asian ancestries; 1.38 (95% CI: 1.21–1.58, AUC: 0.593) in women of African ancestries; hazard ratios of 1.36 (95% CI: 1.29–1.43, AUC: 0.592) in BRCA1 pathogenic variant carriers and 1.49 (95% CI: 1.35–1.64, AUC: 0.624) in BRCA2 pathogenic variant carriers. Incorporation of the S4 PRS in risk prediction models for ovarian cancer may have clinical utility in ovarian cancer prevention programs.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Polygenic risk modeling for prediction of epithelial ovarian cancer risk

Clinical genetics; Genetic markers; Risk factorsGenética clínica; Marcadores genéticos; Factores de riesgoGenètica clínica; Marcadors genètics; Factors de riscPolygenic risk scores (PRS) for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) have the potential to improve risk stratification. Joint estimation of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) effects in models could improve predictive performance over standard approaches of PRS construction. Here, we implemented computationally efficient, penalized, logistic regression models (lasso, elastic net, stepwise) to individual level genotype data and a Bayesian framework with continuous shrinkage, “select and shrink for summary statistics” (S4), to summary level data for epithelial non-mucinous ovarian cancer risk prediction. We developed the models in a dataset consisting of 23,564 non-mucinous EOC cases and 40,138 controls participating in the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC) and validated the best models in three populations of different ancestries: prospective data from 198,101 women of European ancestries; 7,669 women of East Asian ancestries; 1,072 women of African ancestries, and in 18,915 BRCA1 and 12,337 BRCA2 pathogenic variant carriers of European ancestries. In the external validation data, the model with the strongest association for non-mucinous EOC risk derived from the OCAC model development data was the S4 model (27,240 SNPs) with odds ratios (OR) of 1.38 (95% CI: 1.28–1.48, AUC: 0.588) per unit standard deviation, in women of European ancestries; 1.14 (95% CI: 1.08–1.19, AUC: 0.538) in women of East Asian ancestries; 1.38 (95% CI: 1.21–1.58, AUC: 0.593) in women of African ancestries; hazard ratios of 1.36 (95% CI: 1.29–1.43, AUC: 0.592) in BRCA1 pathogenic variant carriers and 1.49 (95% CI: 1.35–1.64, AUC: 0.624) in BRCA2 pathogenic variant carriers. Incorporation of the S4 PRS in risk prediction models for ovarian cancer may have clinical utility in ovarian cancer prevention programs

Age-specific prevalence of human papilloma virus infection among Nigerian women

Background: Inconsistent trends in HPV prevalence by age have been described in Africa. We examined the age prevalence pattern and distribution of 37 HPV-DNA types among urban Nigerian women. Methods: The study population was a sample of 278 women who presented to cervical cancer screening programs in Abuja, Nigeria, between April and August 2012. Using a nurse administered questionnaire, information on demographic characteristics and risk factors of cervical cancer was collected and samples of cervical exfoliated cells were obtained from all participants. Roche Linear Array HPV Genotyping Test® was used to characterize prevalent HPV and log-binomial regression models were used to examine the association between potential correlates and the prevalence of HPV infection. Results: The mean age (SD) of the women enrolled was 38 (8) years. The overall prevalence of HPV was 37%. HPV 35 was the most prevalent HPV type in the study population. Among women age ≤ 30 years, 52% had HPV infection compared to 23% of those women who were older than 45 years (p = 0.006). We observed a significant linear association between age and the prevalence of HPV infections. The prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) was 2.26 (1.17, 4.34) for any HPV infection, 3.83 (1.23, 11.94) for Group 1 HPV (definite carcinogens), and 2.19 (0.99, 4.84) for Group 2a or 2b HPV (probable or possible carcinogens) types, among women aged 18–30 years, compared to women who were older than 45 years. Conclusion: The prevalence of HPV infection was highest among younger women and decreased steadily with age among this population of urban Nigerian women

Vaginal microbiota diversity and paucity of Lactobacillus species are associated with persistent hrHPV infection in HIV negative but not in HIV positive women.

Funder: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100006671The vaginal microbiota is thought to play a role in modulating risk of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection. We examined the relationship between the vaginal microbiota and persistent hrHPV infection in HIV-negative and HIV-positive women. We used 16S-rRNA sequencing to characterize the vaginal microbiota of two serial samples taken six months apart from 211 Nigerian women (67%, 142/211 HIV-positive and 33%, 69/211 HIV-negative) and evaluated the association between the vaginal microbiota and persistent hrHPV infection using generalized estimating equation logistic regression models and linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) algorithm to identify phylotypic biomarkers of persistent hrHPV infection. The high diversity microbiota, Community State Type IV-B, was the most prevalent in both HIV-negative (38% at baseline, 30% at the follow-up visit) and HIV-positive (27% at baseline, 35% at the follow-up visit) women. The relationship between the vaginal microbiota and persistent hrHPV was modified by HIV status. In HIV-negative women, women with Lactobacillus dominant microbiota had lower odds (OR: 0.35, 95% CI 0.14-0.89, p = 0.03) of persistent hrHPV compared to women with Lactobacillus deficient microbiota. While among HIV-positive women, the odds of being persistently infected with hrHPV was higher in women with Lactobacillus dominant microbiota (OR: 1.25, 95% CI 0.73-2.14 p = 0.41). This difference in effect estimates by HIV was statistically significant (p = 0.02). A high diversity vaginal microbial community with paucity of Lactobacillus species was associated with persistent hrHPV infection in HIV-negative women but not in HIV-positive women

Genome-wide association study of prevalent and persistent cervical high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection

Background: Genetic factors may influence the susceptibility to high-risk (hr) human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and persistence. We conducted the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify variants associated with cervical hrHPV infection and persistence. Methods: Participants were 517 Nigerian women evaluated at baseline and 6 months follow-up visits for HPV. HPV was characterized using SPF10/LiPA25. hrHPV infection was positive if at least one carcinogenic HPV genotype was detected in a sample provided at the baseline visit and persistent if at least one carcinogenic HPV genotype was detected in each of the samples provided at the baseline and follow-up visits. Genotyping was done using the Illumina Multi-Ethnic Genotyping Array (MEGA) and imputation was done using the African Genome Resources Haplotype Reference Panel. Association analysis was done for hrHPV infection (125 cases/392 controls) and for persistent hrHPV infection (51 cases/355 controls) under additive genetic models adjusted for age, HIV status and the first principal component (PC) of the genotypes. Results: The mean (±SD) age of the study participants was 38 (±8) years, 48% were HIV negative, 24% were hrHPV positive and 10% had persistent hrHPV infections. No single variant reached genome-wide significance (p < 5 X 10− 8). The top three variants associated with hrHPV infections were intronic variants clustered in KLF12 (all OR: 7.06, p = 1.43 × 10− 6). The top variants associated with cervical hrHPV persistence were in DAP (OR: 6.86, p = 7.15 × 10− 8), NR5A2 (OR: 3.65, p = 2.03 × 10− 7) and MIR365–2 (OR: 7.71, p = 2.63 × 10− 7) gene regions. Conclusions: This exploratory GWAS yielded suggestive candidate risk loci for cervical hrHPV infection and persistence. The identified loci have biological annotation and functional data supporting their role in hrHPV infection and persistence. Given our limited sample size, larger discovery and replication studies are warranted to further characterize the reported associations

HIV associated high-risk HPV infection among Nigerian women

Background: In developed countries, the incidence of cervical cancer has remained stable in HIV+ women but the prevalence and multiplicity of high-risk HPV (hrHPV) infection, a necessary cause of cervical cancer, appears different comparing HIV+ to HIV- women. Little is known about HIV and HPV co-infection in Africa. Methods: We enrolled women presenting at our cervical cancer screening program in Abuja, Nigeria between April and August 2012, and collected information on demographic characteristics, risk factors of HPV infection and samples of exfoliated cervical cells. We used Roche Linear Array HPV Genotyping Test® to characterize prevalent HPV and logistic regression models to estimate the association between HIV and the risk of hrHPV infection. Results: There were 278 participants, 54% (151) were HIV+, 40% (111) were HIV-, and 6% (16) had unknown HIV status. Of these, data from 149 HIV+ and 108 HIV- women were available for analysis. The mean ages (±SD) were 37.6 (±7.7) years for HIV+ and 36.6 (±7.9) years for HIV- women (p-value = 0.34). Among the HIV+ women, HPV35 (8.7%) and HPV56 (7.4%) were the most prevalent hrHPV, while HPV52 and HPV68 (2.8%, each) were the most prevalent hrHPV types among HIV- women. The multivariate prevalence ratio for any hrHPV and multiple hrHPV infections were 4.18 (95% CI 2.05 – 8.49, p-value <0.0001) and 6.6 (95% CI 1.49 – 29.64, p-value 0.01) respectively, comparing HIV + to HIV- women, adjusted for age, and educational level. Conclusions: HIV infection was associated with increased risk of any HPV, hrHPV and multiple HPV infections. Oncogenic HPV types 35, 52, 56 and 68 may be more important risk factors for cervical pre-cancer and cancer among women in Africa. Polyvalent hrHPV vaccines meant for African populations should protect against other hrHPV types, in addition to 16 and 18