Background: Gastric and colorectal cancers are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Japan. In an attempt to control such cancer-related deaths, gastric and colorectal cancer screenings (GCSs) are readily available in Japan. Despite this, the rate of participation has been lower than expected. Previous studies have reported that some intervention tools can improve participation in cancer screenings and others cannot. Such studies conducted in rural areas are quite rare.
Methods: The subjects were residents of Kozu Island. All subjects were aged 40 and over. In the clinical setting, primary care physicians (PCPs) handed their patients a screening invitation, in an attempt to improve participation in GCSs. We examined participation trends before and after this intervention. In addition, we administered questionnaires to examine subjects' reasons for attendance and relevant characteristics of the subjects.
Results: Following the intervention, participation in GCSs did not significantly improve in the short term. In 2011, the number of participants in gastric cancer screening was 173 (22.1%) and was not significantly different from the 2010 results (P=0.80). Furthermore, the number of participants from year to year (2005-2011) was not significantly different (P=0.07). In addition, the number of participants in colorectal cancer screening was 145 (16.5%) and was not significantly different from the 2010 results (P=0.65). Moreover, the number of participants from year to year (2005-2011) was not significantly different (P=0.17). 172 out of 211 (82%) participants submitted the questionnaire. Results taken from the questionnaires showed that our screening invitation influenced non-elderly people (49.5±3.9 vs. 56.4±6.5, P=0.04) and first-attendance people showed a significant tendency for more gastrointestinal symptoms (4 vs. 2, P=0.03).
Conclusion: On the whole, the screening of invitations from PCPs did not improve participation rates in GCSs in the short term. However, we believe that screening invitations can influence non-elderly people, and this intervention can be effective in increasing the numbers of gastrointestinal-symptomatic people attending for the first time (first-attendance people).

Six 1-month-old piglets were intravenously injected with deoxynivalenol (DON) at the concentration of 1 mg/kg body weight, with three pigs each necropsied at 6 and 24 h post-injection (PI) for investigation of hepatotoxicity and immunotoxicity with special attention to apoptotic changes and cytokine mRNA expression. Histopathological examination of the DON-injected pigs revealed systemic apoptosis of lymphocytes in lymphoid tissues and hepatocytes. Apoptosis of lymphocytes and hepatocytes was confirmed by the TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL) method and immunohistochemical staining against single-stranded DNA and cleaved caspase-3. The number of TUNEL-positive cells in the thymus and Peyer's patches of the ileum was increased at 24 h PI compared to 6 h PI, but the peak was at 6 h PI in the liver. The mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, IL-18, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha in the spleen, thymus and mesenteric lymph nodes were determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, and elevated expression of IL-1beta mRNA at 6 h PI and a decrease of IL-18 mRNA at 24 h PI were observed in the spleen. IL-1beta and IL-6 mRNA expressions increased significantly at 6 h PI in the thymus, but TNF-alpha decreased at 6 h PI in the mesenteric lymph nodes. These results show the apoptosis of hepatocytes suggesting the hepatotoxic potential of DON, in addition to an immunotoxic effect on the modulation of proinflammatory cytokine genes in lymphoid organs with extensive apoptosis of lymphocytes induced by acute exposure to DON in pigs.
Animals ; Apoptosis/*drug effects/immunology ; Cytokines/*biosynthesis/genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects ; Histocytochemistry/veterinary ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling/veterinary ; Liver/*drug effects/immunology ; Lymphoid Tissue/*drug effects/immunology ; RNA, Messenger/*biosynthesis/genetics/immunology ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary ; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms ; Swine/*immunology ; Trichothecenes/*toxicity