This study involved a population-based survey to provide evidence of public awareness of risk factors of gastric cancer and to investigate attitudes for the screening of gastric cancer in the South Korean population.
Using a nationwide random selection method, 2014 subjects were enrolled in the study between 5 September 2006 and 25 September 2006.
In terms of the awareness of risk factors, awareness was scored as the percentage of the probability of developing gastric cancer when a subject had a particular risk factor. For the risk factors, stress ranked highest with a score of 73.5%, followed by chronic gastritis (score of 72.1%), gastric ulcer (score of 71.2%) and a previous gastrectomy history (score of 68.7%). Other factors included a diet of charred foods (score of 67.3%), alcohol use (score of 65.3%), salty diet (score of 65.1%), history of smoking (score of 64.3%) and
Public education about the risk factors of gastric cancer and of lifestyle modifications and the importance of regular screening regardless of the presence of symptoms should be emphasized to reduce gastric cancer mortality in South Korea.
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The retrospective study was performed to assess the efficacy and toxicity profiles of sunitinib in Korean patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Between January 2005 and December 2008, 76 Korean patients with recurrent/metastatic RCC who received sunitinib were retrospectively reviewed. The primary end point was progression-free survival and the secondary end points were overall survival and response rate. We also assessed the toxicities associated with sunitinib treatment.
Of the 76 patients, 69 (90.1%) were diagnosed with clear cell RCC. The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 7.2 and 22.8 months, respectively in overall patients. Sixty-two patients (81.6%) received 50 mg 4 week and 2 week off schedule, and 14 patients (18.4%) received 37.5 mg daily on a daily continuous schedule. The objective response rate and disease control rate were 27.6% and 84.2%, respectively. A dose reduction or reduction in dose due to adverse events occurred in 76% of the patients, whereas 11% of the patients had discontinued treatment. Other common laboratory abnormalities were increased serum creatinine (75.6%), elevated alanine aminotransferase (71.0%), neutropenia (61.8%), anemia (69.7%), and increased aspartate aminotrasferase (53.3%). Grade 3/4 toxicities occurred as follows: thrombocytopenia (38.2%), fatigue (10.5%), stomatitis (10.5%), and hand-foot syndrome (9.2%).
Our results indicate that sunitinib treatment is effective and tolerable for ecurrent/metastatic RCC patients in Korea. Further studies with prognostic or biochemical factors are needed to clarify the different toxicity profiles of this study.
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The aim of this study was to determine the prognosis of pN3 stage gastric cancer patients after they have undergone curative resection, and we also wanted to identify the prognostic factors according to the clinico-pathologic features.
Between January 2000 and December 2004, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of the patients with histologically confirmed pN3 stage gastric cancer. They underwent both gastrectomy and lymphadenectomy with a curative aim. We categorized the pN3 stage patients into 2 groups; one with pN3 only (pN3M0) and the other with pN3 combined with M1 stage (pN3M1) that included peritoneal seeding, hepatic metastasis or para-aortic LN metastasis.
Out of 467 patients with stage IV gastric adenocarcinoma who received surgery, 260 patients underwent curative resection and they were pathologically staged as N3. Among these 260 patients, 78 patients were classified as the pN3/M1 stage. For all the patients, the median follow-up period was 19 months (range: 1~108 months) and the median overall survival time was 16.2 months (95% CI, 14.1~18.3%). The 5-year survival rate of the pN3/M0 group was significantly higher than that of the pN3/M1 group (12.6% vs. 2.6%, respectively, p<0.0001). The identified predictor for a worse prognosis was an advanced T4 stage (HR: 3.38, 95% CI, 1.4~8.3, p=0.008) for the pN3 patients.
The survival for the pN3 gastric cancer patients after curative gastrectomy was significantly longer in the pN3/M0 group as compared to that of the pN3/M1 group. An advanced T stage was a predictor for a poor prognosis for the pN3 patients. Therefore, diverse treatment strategies for these heterogeneous pN3 gastric cancer patients are needed for improving their survival.
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A novel chemically modified heparin derivative, heparin-deoxycholic acid nano-particles, has lower anticoagulant activity, and was recently reported to have significant anti-tumor effects on squamous head and neck cancer cells. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-tumor effects of heparin-deoxycholic acid nano-particles in a human lung adenocarcinoma cell line.
An orthotopic lung cancer model in 16 mice was developed using intra-thoracic injections of 0.5×106 PC14PE6 cells. Ten days after inoculation, the mice were divided into two groups. PBS and Heparin-DOCA particles were injected once a day every 3 days in the tail vein, for a total of 5 injections. The body weight and survival of each mouse were monitored and the tumor size in the lung was measured by SPECT-CT before and after heparin-DOCA nano-particle treatment.
IThe HD particles had no significant cytotoxicity when the PC9 cells were treated
HD synthesized with unfractionated heparin had no apparent inhibitory effects on tumor growth in a PC14PE6 cell induced orthotopic lung cancer mouse model. The HD particles did not significantly inhibit tumor-induced angiogenesis at the tumor sites.
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HuR, human family embryonic-lethal abnormal vision-like protein, can bind to mRNA and stabilizes the nucleic acid in the cytoplasm, resulting in more efficient translation. HuR is predominantly present in the nucleus and shuttles between the nucleus and cytoplasm. HuR stabilizes cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) mRNA in several cancers, including breast, stomach, lung and brain cancer.
We investigated the expression and cellular location of HuR, as well as evaluated Cox-2 expression in 79 colorectal cancer patients with the use of immunohistochemical methods. The biological implications of HuR localization and Cox-2 expression in colorectal carcinoma were evaluated.
Nuclear HuR expression was observed in 59 (74.7%) tumors and cytoplasmic HuR expression was seen in 25 (31.6%) tumors. Cox-2 immunoreactivity was noted in 42 (53%) tumors. The expression of cytoplasmic HuR was significantly associated with Cox-2 expression (p=0.004). Cytoplasmic expression of HuR showed a correlation with lymphatic invasion (p=0.025) and the presence of a lymph node metastasis (p=0.027). The presence of nuclear HuR showed no correlation with Cox-2 expression or any other of the clinicopathological parameters that were examined.
These results suggest that cytoplasmic translocation of HuR is associated with Cox-2 expression for some colorectal carcinomas.
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We performed experiments to investigate the change in cellular signaling that occurs during the transformation of a normal cell to a cell capable of cancerous growth, and we did so by using the NIH 3T3 cells that were transformed by transfection with the v-Ha-
Parental and v-Ha-
The v-Ha-
Taken together, our results show that the sustained activation of the oncogenic pathways through their resistance to negative feedback regulation might contribute to the transformation of NIH 3T3 cells.
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We report a gastric adenocarcinoma patient with liver metastases. The metastases showed progression on computed tomography (CT), but this was not true progression in terms of metabolic activity according to 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). Discordance between size criteria and metabolic criteria has been reported in liver gastrointestinal stromal tumors, hepatomas, and renal cell carcinomas after dramatic responses with targeted therapies such as imatinib, sorafenib, and sunitinib (
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Multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder. Although MCD pathogenesis is unclear, studies have suggested that human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) may be associated with the disorder. Recent reports have identified MCD cases without viral infection. A 43-year-old woman presented to our hospital for fever and myalgia of 6 months' duration. The complete blood count revealed an elevated leukocyte count (15.1×103/µL) and a decreased hemoglobin level of 10.0 g/dL. The C-reactive protein level was elevated at 276.5 mg/L. Thoracic computed tomography (CT) scans revealed bilateral axillary lymphadenopathy. There was no evidence of HHV-8, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or
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Extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma (EES) is a type of Ewing's sarcoma that arises in soft tissue and is now regarded as a member of a family of small round cell neoplasms of bone and soft tissue, including primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs). EES occurs predominantly in adolescents and young adults between the ages of 10 and 30 years. The disease follows an aggressive course with a high recurrence rate. The presence of a distant metastasis is also common. EES arises in the soft tissue of either the trunk or extremities. We recently experienced two cases of EES that occurred in the chest wall. The two patients underwent wide resection and combined radiochemotherapy. There was no evidence of disease 30 and 22 months, respectively, after surgery. Although extremely rare, EES should be considered in the differential diagnosis of chest wall tumors. We report two cases of EES with a brief review of the literature.
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Primary fallopian tube carcinoma (PFTC) is a rare tumor that histologically and clinically resembles epithelial ovarian cancer. PFTC has a worse prognosis than ovarian cancer as it is not routinely suspected and so treatment may be delayed. The early clinical manifestations and a prompt investigation can often lead to a correct diagnosis at an early stage. The preoperative diagnosis is usually difficult, and most patients with PFTC undergo laparotomy with the presumed diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma according to the presence of an adnexal mass. PFTC can present preoperatively as a tubo-ovarian abscess and it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute pelvic peritonitis. PFTC should be suspected by clinicians even if the presenting symptoms are atypical. We report here on two cases of PFTC along with a brief review of the literature.
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