• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.178-182
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• 2003

Purpose : Brain tumors are the second most common tumor in childhood, and medulloblastomas comprise 15-25% of brain tumors. The well known prognostic factors are age at diagnosis, stage of disease, and extent of surgical excision. In this study, we analysed the prognostic factors in patients who received chemotherapy after excision. Methods : We reviewed the medical records of 61 patients who received chemotherapy among the 94 patients who were diagnosed and treated between Jan 1985 and Sep 2001 in the Department of Pediatrics and Neurosurgery at Severance Hospital. Results : Among the total survival rate of patients who underwent chemotherapy, the 3-yr progression-free survival rate was $66.5{\pm}6.3%$ and the 15-yr progression-free survival rate was $60.3{\pm}6.7%$. The progression-free survival rate for patients with age at diagnosis over 3 yrs old and under 3 yrs old, was $64.5{\pm}7.7%$ and $48.2{\pm}12.9%$ respectively and there was no statistically significant difference. The survival rate of the high vs low risk group by staging was $72.7{\pm}10.5%$ and $54.6{\pm}8.3%$ respectively, and there was no significant difference. The survival rate of patients with total removal vs subtotal removal was $65.8{\pm}11.8%$ and $56.8{\pm}8.2%$ respectively, showing no statistical difference. Conclusion : The reason there is no difference in survival rate according to the traditional prognostic factors is that chemotherapy has improved not only the total survival rate but also the survival rate in patients with poor traditional prognostic factors. So, sufficient removal of tumor followed by proper chemotherapy and radiotherapy is an important factor which influences the survival rate of medulloblastoma patients.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.84-90
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• 2009

Purpose: The effect of concurrent chemoradiotherapy was analyzed in elderly patients when used in the treatment of locally advanced esophageal cancer. Materials and Methods: The retrospective analysis included 28 elderly patients aged 65 or older, with histopathologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, underwent concurrent chemoradiotherapy from January 2001 to July 2007. The squamous cell carcinoma disease stages included 8 patients (28.8%) in stage IIa, 10 patients (35.7%) in stage IIb, and 10 patients (35.7%) in stage III. Fractionated radiotherapy was performed with a 6 MV or 10 MV X-ray for 45~63 Gy (median: 59.4 Gy). Chemotherapy was applied concurrently with the initiation of radiotherapy. A 75 mg/$m^2$ dose of Cisplatin was intravenously administered on day 1. Further, 5-FU 1,000 mg/$m^2$ was continuously administered intravenously from days 1 to 4. This regimen was performed twice at 3-week intervals during radiotherapy. Two cycles of consolidation chemotherapy was performed after radiotherapy. Results: The follow-up period was 3~72 months (median: 19 months). The treatment responses after concurrent chemoradiotherapy included a complete response in 11 patients (39.3%), a partial response in 14 patients (50.0%), and no response in 3 patients (10.7%). The overall response rate was 89.3% (25 patients). The overall 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates were 55.9%, 34.6% and 24.2%, respectively. The median survival time was 15 months. Two-year survival rates of patients with a complete response, partial response, and no response were 46.2%, 33.0%, and 0%, respectively. The stage and tumor response after concurrent chemoradiotherapy were statistically significant prognostic factors related with survival. No treatment-related deaths occurred in this study. Conclusion: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy is a relatively effective treatment without serious complications in elderly patients with locally-advanced esophageal cancer.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.77-89
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• 1999

Background: High-dose chemotherapy is increasingly employed in many refractory malignant diseases. This therapy has been reported to increase response rate and survival benefits but it is also associated with higher treatment-related morbidity and mortality. We evaluated clinical characteristics and course of the pulmonary toxicity following high-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Methods: Ninety-seven patients who had received high-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation were evaluated. Five patients who developed lung lesions which were not related to infection nor primary malignant disease underwent transbronchial lung biopsy. The patients' clinical characteristics, treatments, and prognosis were reviewed retrospectively. Results: Five patients(5.1%) developed idiopathic pneumonia syndrome. The high dose chemotherapy regimens employed were cyclophosphamide, BCNU, and cisplatin in 3 cases, one case of BCNU, etoposide, Ara-C, and cyclophosphamide combination, and a regimen consisting of BCNU, etoposide, Ara-C, and melphalan. The total dose of BCNU used was 300-400 mg/$m^2$ and that of cyclophosphsmide was 6,000 mg/$m^2$. All of 5 patients received radiation therapy before this treatment. After an average duration of 14 weeks (4-26 weeks) of high-dose chemotherapy, patients developed cough, dyspnea and fever. The chest X-rays showed bilateral diffuse infiltration in 3 cases and the focal infiltration in the other 2 cases. All the patients received corticosteroid therapy as a treatment for the lung lesions. Two of them progressed to acute respiratory distress syndrome and died. Three patients recovered without residual lung lesion but one of them died of dilated cardiomyopathy. Conclusion: High-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation especially which containing BCNU regimen may develop idiopathic pneumonia syndrome related to pulmonary toxicity and corticosteroid therapy may be bel1eficial in some cases.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.552-559
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• 2009

In this study, the anticancer activity of the water extract at $100^{\circ}C$ was compared to that of the callus extracts via a ultrasonification extraction process. All the extracts were utilized to evaluate cytotoxicity, antioxidant and immune activities. The callus extracted via ultrasonification extraction showed relatively low cytotoxicity on normal human cell lines, HEK293 and HEL299, showing 13.17% and 21.78%, respectively. The callus extract has 59.82% which was similar to 61.70% for water extracts. It was also found that callus extract yielded higher nitric oxide secretion form macrophage than other extracts. The growths of both human stomach adenocarcinoma (AGS) cell and human lung carcinoma (A549) were inhibited up to 70% by adding 1.0 mg/mL of the callus extracts with ultrasonification extraction. This inhibition ratio (70%) was almost close to that of water extract. Human hepatoma carcinoma (HEP3B) cell growth was most significantly inhibited up to 75% by adding 1.0 mg/mL of callus extracts, and its selectivity was highest compared to other extracts. It indicates that the callus extracts could selectively inhibit growth of digestive system-related cancer cells. It can be also concluded from the results of this study that the callus extracts associated with ultrasonification extraction process have the potential for anticancer activity.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.295-306
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• 2018

In the present study, we compared the effects of 50% ethanolic extracts of Chinese and Korean Wolfiporia cocos (CPE and KPE) on in vitro lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells and their anticancer activities in Sarcoma 180 cells. We further compared the anticancer activities and the 50% inhibitory concentrations ($IC_{50}$) of CPE with KPE with cultivated for one and two years in a landfill and a facility (LPE and FPE), respectively. In addition, the single oral dose toxicities of CPE and KPE were evaluated in mice. Lipid accumulation was inhibited after 48 hours, in CPE and KPE treated 3T3-L1 cells; however, no significant difference was observed between CPE and KPE in their lipid accumulation inhibitory activities. The anticancer activity of KPE was higher than that of CPE at $300{\mu}g/mL$ (p<0.05), revealing the possibility of an auxiliary biological means for origin identification. The anticancer activities of LPE and FPE were significantly stronger than that of CPE (p<0.05) but there was no difference between extracts from one- and two-year-old W. cocos, irrespective of the cultivation method. In single oral dose toxicity tests, CPE and KPE did not induce mortality during the 14-day observation. Thus, the 50% of lethal dose ($LD_{50}$) of CPE and KPE were estimated to be higher than 2,000 mg/kg. Taken together, our results indicate that the anticancer assay could be an auxiliary means of identifying the origin of W. cocos. In addition, artificial cultivation could be an alternative way to reduce the import of W. cocos. Lastly, 50% ethanolic W. cocos extracts could be potential candidates for obesity and cancer managements.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.314-320
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• 2006

Background : The overall response (20-30%) to chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is quite poor. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is the rate-limiting enzyme in heme degradation. There is increasing evidence suggesting that the induction of HO-1 might have an important protective effect against oxidative stress including cisplatin containing chemotherapy. This study retrospectively investigated the relationship between HO-1 expression and the response to chemotherapy containing cisplatinin advanced NSCLC patients. Material and Methods : The medical records including the responses to chemotherapy of fifty nine cases were evaluated retrospectively, and the tissue samples of these patients were immunohistochemically stained for HO-1. Results : Forty three of the fifty nine patients(72.8%) showed positive staining for HO-1 in their cancer tissues. There was no significant difference according to the cell type, stage and tumor size. In addition, there was no correlation between HO-1 expression and the responses to chemotherapy. Conclusion : HO-1 expression in tumor tissue dose not predict the response to cisplatin containing chemotherapy in advanced NSCLC. Further prospective studies with a larger number of patients will be needed to confirm these results.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.177-183
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• 2004

Purpose: Authors would report the results of sequential CHOP chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, and prednisone) and involved field radiotherapy (IFRT) for early stage nasal natural killer/T-cell Iymphoma (NKTCL). Materials and Methods: Fourteen among 17 patients, who were registered at the Samsung Medical Center tumor registry with stage I and II nasal NKTCL from March 1995 to December 1999 received this treatment protocol. Three to four cycles of CHOP chemotherapy were given at 3 weeks' interval, which was followed by local IFRT including the known tumor extent and the adjacent draining lymphatics. Results: Favorable responses after chemotherapy (before IFRT) were achievable only in seven patients (5 CR's+2 PR's: 50%), while seven patients showed disease progression. There were six patients with local failures, two with distant relapses, and none with regional lymphatic failure. The actuarial overall survival and progression-free survival at 3 years were 50.0% and 42.9%. All the failures and deaths occurred within 13 months of the treatment start. The factors that correlated with the improved survival were the absence of 'B' symptoms, the favorable response to chemotherapy and overall treatment, and the low risk by international prognostic index on univariate analyses. Conclusion: Compared with the historic treatment results by IFRT either alone or followed by chemotherapy, the current trial failed to demonstrate advantages with respect to the failure pattern and survival. Development of new treatment strategy in combining IFRT and chemotherapy is required for improving outcomes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.619-624
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• 2011

Tea extract (TE) has been shown to have anti-tumor properties in a wide variety of experimental systems. We evaluated green tea extract (GTE) as a biochemical modulator for the antitumor activity of cisplatin and doxorubicin in the treatment of human lung cancer A549 cells. Cells were grown in RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% (v/v) heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum and two antibiotics (100 units/mL penicillin and $100\;{\mu}g$/mL streptomycin). Two types of TE, epigallocatechin galate (EGCG) and GTE, were used in this experiment. The cells were seeded at $1{\times}10^4$ cells/well in the RPMI-1640 media with or without TE ($100\;{\mu}g$/mL) and then treated with different concentrations of doxorubicin ($0{\sim}14\;{\mu}g$/mL) or cisplatin ($0{\sim}35\;{\mu}g$/mL). After incubation in 5% $CO_2$ at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 hr, cell viability was determined with a MTT assay. We used a Western blot to detect the influence of EGCG and GTE on the expression of p53 and caspase-3 genes in the A549 cells. A549 cell viability decreased to 15% with a $10\;{\mu}g$/mL concentration of cisplatin, and to 21% with a $8\;{\mu}g$/mL concentration of doxorubicin, as measured with the MTT assay. However, pre-treatment of the cells with EGCG ($100\;{\mu}g$/mL) or GTE ($100\;{\mu}g$/mL) resulted in decreased cell viability with $6\;{\mu}g$/mL of cisplatin and $4\;{\mu}g$/mL of doxorubicin. There was no apparent change in cell viability between EGCG or GTE administration in cisplatin- or doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity in A549 cells. The levels of p53 and caspase-3 in the A549 cells increased with both EGCG and GTE treatment. We found that GTE could potentially affect cisplatin- or doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity of A549 cells, which may be useful in the chemotreatment of cancer.

• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.66-73
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• 2014

Purpose: Various diagnostic imaging modalities have been used to evaluate the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for osteosarcoma early and noninvasively. We evaluated the effectiveness of imaging studies of plain radiographs and positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in predicting neoadjuvant chemotherapy effect for osteosarcoma and tried to establish a general principle in interpretation of PET/CT parameters. Materials and Methods: Eighteen patients who underwent two cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgical excision for osteosarcoma were enrolled. There were 13 males and 5 females, with a median age of 19 (11-63) years. Fifteen patients of 18 had the American Joint Committe on Cancer (AJCC) stage IIB. They had plain radiographs and PET/CT before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The resected tumor specimens were pathologically examined to determine histological response grade using a conventional mapping method. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the correlation between histopathological necrosis rate, and radiographic finding category, post-chemotherapy maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), average standardized uptake value and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) as well as reduction rates of them. Results: Eight patients were good responders to neoadjuvant chemotherapy based on histological evaluation. Median SUVmax reduction rate was 73 (23-77) % in good responders and 42 (-32-76) % in poor responders. Median MTV reduction rate was 93.5 (62-99) % in good responders and 46 (-81-100) % in poor responders. While radiographic finding category was not different according to histological response (p=1.0), SUVmax reduction rate was significantly different (p=0.041). Difference in MTV reduction rates approached statistical significance as well (p=0.071). Conclusion: While radiographic finding category was not reliable to assess neoadjuvant chemotherapy effect for osteosarcoma, reduction rate of SUVmax was a useful indicator in this study. As parameters of PET/CT can be influenced by various factors of settings, different centers have to make an effort to establish their own standard of judgement with reference of previous studies.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 2003

To isolate and purify the antimicrobial and antitumor agents in Xanthium strumarium L. hydrothermal extract. The crude extract was extracted in ether or ethylacetate under neutral, acidic, and alkali conditions. The antimicrobial activity of each extract was tested against 16 strains of bacteria, 2 strains of yeast, and 2 strains of fungus. The ether neutral extract (XE-N) exhibited the strongest growth inhibition upon the 8 strains of gram-positive bacteria, 6 strains of gram-negative bacteria and Cryptococcus neoformans. Fluorescein diacetate (FDA) testing of XE-N and XEA-N showed growth inhibition of the 3 strains of E. coli, S. aureus and C. albicans even at 30 ng/mL, with the exception of p. aeruginosa. XE-N-S1 and XE-N-S3 from neutral ether extract (XE-N), XE-N-S3 from the acidic ether extract (XE-A), and XEA-N-S1 from ethylacetate (XEA-N) were purified as antimicrobial and antitumor agents. However all purified compounds decomposed with the exception of XE-N-S1. The results upon the antitumor activities of the crude extract and of its purified compounds, showed that XE-N-S1 had the best antitumor activity against HeLa cells. In terms of antitumor activity against HepG2 cells, XE-N-S1 and XE-N-S3 were superior, and against HT29 cells XE-N and XE-N-Sl were good, against Saos2, NCI H522, NCI H1703, Clone M3 cells XE-N-51 was very good, and against LN CAP cells XE-N-S3 was the best. Comparing of cellular toxicities various extracts and purified compounds with the existing antitumor agents, XE-A, XEA-A and XEA-B had the lowest toxicity, and XE-B had a lower toxicity than etoposide. XE-N-S1 and XE-N-S3 showed higher toxicities than etoposide, and the toxicity of XE-A-S3 was higher than that of etoposide, and lower than that of csplatin.