Background
Adjuvant therapy after breast surgery, including tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors, improves the postoperative outcomes and long-term survival of breast cancer patients. The aim of this ...study was to determine whether volume changes occurred in the contralateral breast during hormonal or other adjuvant therapies.
Methods
This study reviewed 90 patients who underwent unilateral breast reconstruction between September 2012 and April 2018 using tissue expanders and a permanent implant after the surgical removal of breast cancer. The volume of the contralateral breast was measured using a cast before the first (tissue expander insertion) and second (permanent implant change) stages of surgery. Changes in breast volume were evaluated to determine whether adjuvant therapy such as hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy influenced the volume of the contralateral breast.
Results
The group receiving tamoxifen therapy demonstrated a significant decrease in volume compared with the group without tamoxifen (−7.8% vs. 1.0%; P=0.028). The aromatase inhibitor–treated group showed a significant increase in volume compared with those who did not receive therapy (−6.2% vs. 4.5%; P=0.023). There were no significant differences between groups treated with other hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy.
Conclusions
Patients who received tamoxifen therapy showed a significant decrease in volume in the contralateral breast, while no significant change in weight or body mass index was found. Our findings suggest that we should choose smaller implants for premenopausal patients, who have a high likelihood of receiving tamoxifen therapy.
China has high incidence of gastric cancer (GC). However, the treatment outcomes of China were unsatisfactory compared to those of Korea. We performed this study to compare tumour characteristics, ...treatment parameters, and survival outcomes of GC patients between Korea and China based on the databases of two high-volume hospitals, with the aim of identifying indicators of GC prognosis. Data of patients undergoing gastrectomy for GC from 2006 to 2010 were analysed retrospectively. Subgroup survival analyses, stratified by clinicopathologic factors and multivariable analyses, were performed. The interactive roles of chemotherapy and D2 lymphadenectomy for overall survival were also investigated. Among 1365 Chinese and 4981 Korean patients, the proportion of early cancer detection in Chinese patients was much lower relative to that of Korean patients. There were no significant differences between countries in terms of surgical morbidity and mortality. The overall 5-year survival rates were 54.3% and 81.4%; when stratified by clinicopathologic factors, the survival were generally statistically higher in Korean patients. Gender, age, T stage, N stage, extent of lymphadenectomy, radicality of surgery, resection type, and chemotherapy were independently associated with survival in patients without metastasis. Survival rates for stage II and III GC differed significantly between the two countries, but this difference was eliminated among patients who underwent D2 lymphadenectomy or received chemotherapy. These treatments were given to patients with advanced-stage diagnoses (approximately 20% and 80% of patients, respectively). Treatment type was selected as independent prognostic factors in stage I-III and D2/D2+, with chemotherapy resulting in the best prognosis. Many differences in GC tumour characteristics exist between two countries. Early cancer detection and standardized treatment in Korea contribute to superior survival rates. Promotion of an early screening program, training and dissemination of standard D2 lymphadenectomy, and appropriate applications of chemotherapy would improve survival outcomes.
Highlights • 141 patients who underwent decompression/fusion surgery for Lumbar spinal stenosis. • They were divided into sagittal balance and sagittal imbalance groups. • Both groups improved in ...their postoperative QOL and functional outcome. • Sagittal imbalance group showed worse outcomes and more actual falls. • Sagittal balance status is an important factor to attain better surgical outcomes.
Fungal Diversity and Plant Growth Promotion of Endophytic Fungi from Six Halophytes in Suncheon Bay You, Y.H., Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea; Yoon, H.J., Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea; Kang, S.M., Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea ...
Journal of microbiology and biotechnology,
11/2012, Volume:
22, Issue:
11
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Endophytic fungi were isolated from roots of six halophytes in Suncheon Bay. The endophytic fungi of 35 species isolated from halophytes were identified by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ...containing the ITSI, 5.8s, and ITS2 regions. All fungal strains were analyzed to diversity at the genus level. Fungal culture filtrates (FCF) of endophytic fungi were treated to Waito-c rice (WR) seedling for plant growth-promoting verification. It was confirmed that fungal strain Sj-2-2 provided plant growth promotion (PGP) to WR seedling. Then, PGP of Suaeda japonica was confirmed by treating culture filtrate of Sj-2-2. As a result, it was verified that culture filtrate of Sj-2-2 had more advanced PGP than positive control when treated to S. japonica. The secondary metabolites involved in culture filtrate of Sj-2-2 were identified by HPLC and GC-MS SIM analysis. The presence of physiologically bioactive gibberellins (GAs) and other inactive GAs in culture filtrate of Sj-2-2 was detected. The molecular analysis of sequences of Sj-2-2 showed the similarity to Penicillium sp. of 99% homology. The PGP of Sj-2-2 as well as symbiosis between endophytic fungi and halophytes growing naturally in salt marsh was confirmed. Sj-2-2 was identified as a new fungal strain producing GAs by molecular analysis of sequences. Consequently, the Sj-2-2 fungal strain was named as Penicillium sp. Sj-2-2. In this study, the diversity of endophytic fungi isolated from roots of halophytes in salt marsh and the PGP of a new gibberellin-producing fungal strain were confirmed.
Problematic alcohol consumption is prevalent among first responders because alcohol is commonly used to cope with occupational stress and frequent exposure to traumatic incidents, making them an ...at-risk population for alcohol use disorders (AUD). This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) among public first responders. The Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-Text Revision (SCID), AUDIT-C, AUDIT, and CAGE were administered to 222 public first responders, who were recruited by convenience sampling. One-week test-retest reliability was evaluated in a subsample (n = 24). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were conducted to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and estimate the optimal cut-off scores for any AUD and alcohol dependence. Three different analytic criteria were utilized to calculate the cut-off scores. The AUDIT-C demonstrated good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability = 0.91) and satisfactory convergent validity. The areas under the ROC curves for any AUD and alcohol dependence of the AUDIT-C were 0.87 and 0.93, respectively. For any AUD, all three criteria suggested a cut-off score of 7.5 (sensitivity = 81.8%, specificity = 79.8%), whereas for alcohol dependence, a cut-off score of 8.5 (sensitivity = 85.7%, specificity = 86.1%) was derived from two criteria. In conclusion, the AUDIT-C demonstrated good reliability and validity and proved to be a brief and effective screening test for AUD among first responders.
•We identified an innate immune toxic response of SWCNT synthesized by HIPCO method.•In mice, the number of total cells and the secretion of IL-6 and MCP-1 increased.•The portion of neutrophils, ...lymphocytes, and eosinophils increased.•In RAW264.7 cells, cell viability and ATP production decreased.•The levels of apoptosis-, autophagy- and ER stress-related proteins increased.•Autophagosome, the ER dilatation and mitochondrial flocculent densities were observed.
In this study, we identified the toxic response of pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes (P-SWCNTs) synthesized by HIPCO method in mice and RAW264.7 cells, a murine peritoneal macrophage cell line. P-SWCNT contained a large amount of Fe ion (36wt%). In the lungs of mice 24h after intratracheal administration, P-SWCNTs increased the secretion of IL-6 and MCP-1, and the number of total cells, the portion of neutrophils, lymphocytes, and eosinophils, also significantly increased at a 100μg/mL of concentration. In RAW264.7 cells, cell viability and ATP production decreased in a dose-dependent manner at 24h after exposure, whereas the generations of ROS and NO were enhanced at all concentrations together with the activation of the MAP kinase pathway. Moreover, the levels of both apoptosis- and autophagy-related proteins and ER stress-related proteins clearly increased, and the concentrations of Fe, Cu, and Zn ions, but not of Mn ions, increased in a dose-dependent manner. TEM images also revealed that P-SWCNTs induced the formation of autophagosome-like vacuoles, the dilatation of the ER, the generation of mitochondrial flocculent densities, and the separation of organelle by disappearance of the cell membrane. Taken together, we suggest that P-SWCNTs cause acute inflammatory response in the lungs of mice, and induce autophagy accompanied with apoptosis through mitochondrial dysfunction and ER stress in RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, further study is required to elucidate how the physicochemical properties of SWCNTs determine the cell death pathway and an immune response.
Cells of innate immunity normally recover in the first weeks to months after allogenenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Their relevance in terms of graft-versus-host disease ...(GVHD) and graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect is largely unknown. The predictive role of early recovery in the immune cells on acute GVHD and GVL effect after allo-HSCT was investigated in patients with acute leukemia who achieved the first complete remission.
Peripheral blood samples were taken at the median of 14 days (range, 12∼29 days) after allo-HSCT. A cohort including 119 samples and characteristics of patients were analyzed. Immune cell populations were identified by flow cytometry.
The median age was 49.0 years (range, 21∼69) at transplantation. Univariate analysis showed that age less than 40 years old, lower frequencies of CD8
T cells, invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, monocytic myeloid derived suppressor cells (M-MDSCs) and higher frequency of immature MDSCs were associated with occurrence of grade III-IV acute GVHD. Multivariate analyses showed that iNKT cells (hazard ratio (HR), 0.453, 95% CI, 0.091∼0.844, p=0.024) and M-MDSCs (HR, 0.271, 95% CI, 0.078∼0.937, p=0.039) were independent factors. Combination of higher frequencies of both cell subsets was associated with lower incidence of grade III-IV acute GVHD, whereas patients with lower frequency of iNKT cells and higher frequency of M-MDSCs showed significant higher probability of relapse.
iNKT cells and M-MDSCs could be relevant cell biomarkers for predicting acute GVHD and/or relapse in acute leukemia patients treated with allo-HSCT.
The study was designed to assess and predict patient-reported goal achievement after treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients with tamsulosin.
From November 2013 to October 2015, 272 ...patients initially diagnosed with BPH were prospectively enrolled in nine different centers. Before the treatment, subjective final goals were recorded by all patients. Every four weeks, the treatment outcomes were evaluated using international prostate symptom score (IPSS) and uroflowmetry, and adverse events were recorded. Patient-reported goal achievements were assessed after 12 weeks of treatment.
Of the enrolled patients, 179 patients completed the study. The pretreatment patients' goals included the frequency improvement, nocturia improvement, residual urine sense improvement, well voiding, hesitancy improvement, weak urine stream improvement, urgency improvement, and voiding-related discomfort improvement. Of the 179 patients, 129 patients (72.1%) reported that they achieved their primary goals after three months of medical therapy. Logistic regression analysis revealed that pretreatment quality of life (OR = 8.621, 95% CI: 2.154-9.834), and improvement of quality of life (OR = 6.740, 95% CI: 1.908-11.490) were independent predictors of patient-reported goal achievement after tamsulosin monotherapy.
Overall patient-reported goal achievement after medical therapy for BPH was high and the scores of pretreatment quality of life and improvement of quality of life can be important factors to predict the achievement of treatment goals.
Objective
The safety and efficacy of surgical resection of lung nodule without tissue diagnosis is controversial. We evaluated direct surgical resection of highly suspicious pulmonary nodules and the ...clinical and radiological predictors of malignancy.
Methods
Retrospective analyses were performed on 113 patients who underwent surgical resection without prior tissue diagnosis for highly suspicious pulmonary nodules. Clinical and radiological characteristics were compared between histologically proven benign and malignant nodules after resection. Total costs, length of hospitalization and waiting time to surgery were compared with those of patients who had tissue diagnosis prior to surgery.
Results
Among 280 patients with pulmonary nodules suspicious for lung cancer, 113 (40.4%) underwent operation without prior tissue diagnosis. Lung nodules were diagnosed as malignant in 96 (85%) of the 113 patients. Except for forced expiratory volume in 1 s, clinical characteristics were not significantly different according to the pathologic results. Forty-five (90%) of 50 patients with ground-glass opacity nodules had a malignancy. Mixed ground-glass opacity, bubble lucency, irregular margin and larger size correlated with malignancy in ground-glass opacity nodules (P<0.05). Fifty-one (81%) of 67 patients with solid nodules had a malignancy. Spiculation, pre-contrast attenuation and contrast enhancement significantly correlated with malignancy in solid nodules (P<0.05). Surgical resection without tissue diagnosis significantly decreased total costs, hospital stay and waiting time (P<0.05).
Conclusions
Direct surgical resection of highly suspicious pulmonary nodules can be a valid procedure. However, careful patient selection and further investigations are required to justify direct surgical resection.
In locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC), stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has been applied as an alternative to concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT); however, direct comparative ...evidence between these two modalities is scarce. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of SBRT with CCRT for LAPC. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with LAPC who received SBRT (
= 95) or CCRT (
= 66) with a concurrent 5-FU-based regimen between January 2008 and July 2016. The clinical outcomes of freedom from local progression (FFLP), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicities were analyzed before and after propensity score (PS) matching. After a median follow-up duration of 15.5 months (range, 2.3-64.5), the median OS, PFS, and FFLP of the unmatched patients were 17.3 months, 11 months, and 19.6 months, respectively. After PS matching, there were no significant differences between the SBRT and CCRT groups in terms of the 1-year rates of OS (66.7% vs. 80%,
= 0.455), PFS (40.0% vs. 54.2%,
= 0.123), and FFLP (77.2% and 87.1%,
= 0.691). Our results suggest SBRT could be a feasible alternative to CCRT in treating patients with LAPC.
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