• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.308-317
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• 2021

Cancer is the leading cause of death and is on the rise worldwide. Until 2010, the development of targeted treatment was mainly focused on the growth mechanisms of cancer. Since then, drugs with mechanisms related to tumor immunity, especially immune checkpoint inhibitors, have proven effective, and most pharmaceutical companies are striving to develop related drugs. Programmed cell death-1 and programmed cell death ligand-1 inhibitors have shown great success in various cancer types. They showed durable and sustainable responses and were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, the response to inhibitors showed low percentages of cancer patients; 15% to 20%. Therefore, combination strategies with immunotherapy and conventional treatments were used to overcome the low response rate. Studies on combination therapy have typically reported improvements in the response rate and efficacy in several cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, and urogenital cancers. The combination of chemotherapy or targeted agents with immunotherapy is one of the leading pathways for cancer treatment.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.111-125
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• 2012

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to develop a navigation program for newly diagnosed cancer patients and to evaluate its effects. Methods: The navigation program was based upon Professional Navigation Framework. Patients were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires on satisfaction, distress, anxiety and depression for evaluating the program. Results: The navigation program consisted of facilitating two concepts: continuity of care and empowerment of patients. Information-education package, telephone counseling and navigator's phone number were provided to the newly diagnosed cancer patients for care continuity. Self-care diary and emotional support by telephone counseling were provided to the patients for empowerment of patients. A total of 163 patients - 78 control and 85 experimental participants - were included in the study. The mean scores of satisfaction, distress, anxiety and depression had no statistical differences between the two groups after program implementation. In patients with longer waiting days, the experimental group with the navigation program showed higher relational continuity than the control group after program implementation(p=.023). In patients with longer waiting days or with higher distress, satisfaction of relational continuity was improved after program implementation in the experimental group. Conclusion: The navigation program in this study has applied the concept of patient navigation into oncology clinical setting in Korea. Navigation program can play a significant role in assisting patients navigating across the care continuum.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.125-132
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• 1995

Cytodiagnosis of pleural and ascitic fluid is a commonly performed laboratory examination. Especially, positivity for malignant cells in effusion cytology is very effective and also presents the first sign of malignancy in unknown primary site of the tumor. We examined each 34 cases of pleural and ascitic fluid cytologic specimen diagnosed as metastatic tumor, which was selected among 964 pleural fluid cytology cases and 662 ascitic fluid cytology cases from September 1989 to June 1995. Among the pleural fluid cytology specimens examined, 34 specimens were positive in 27 patients. The lung was the most frequent primary site(44%), followed by the stomach (12%), lymphoreticular neoplasm(12%), pancreas(3%) and colon(3%). And the cases of unknown primary site with positive pleural biopsy alone were 24%. Among trio ascitic fluid cytology specimens examined, 34 specimens were positive in 29 patients. The most common primary neoplasms. were carcinomas of ovary(32%), stomach(22%), colon(6%), breast(3%), pancreas(3%), and lung(3%) and lymphoreticular neoplasms(3%) The metastatic tumor was predominantly adenocarcinoma type in both pleural(82%) and ascitic(91%) fluid. The study of metastatic adeno- carcinoma in effusion from lung, ovary, and stomach was undertaken to find distinctive features for the identification of the primary site. The smears of metastatic pulmonary adenocarcinoma had a tendency to show high grade pleomorphism and many large tight cell clusters, whereas that of the ovarian adenocarcinoma showed low grade pleomorphism with abundant intracytoplasmic vacuoles in relatively clear background. That of the stomach revealed the intermediate features.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.3 s.260
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• pp.244-247
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• 2006

Granular cell tumors (GCT) are uncommon benign neoplasms. Their location is mostly in the the skin, tongue, and breast; appearance in other parts of the body is rare, but it has been reported. They have also been reported to occur synchronously in multiple organs and metachronously in a single organ. The incidence of GCTs in the tracheobronchial tree is unknown and pulmonary GCTs are uncommon, with approximately 100 reported cases in the literature. We present the case of a 33-year-old man with a granular cell tumor of the left main bronchus. The tumor was found at bronchoscopy performed to exclude suspected endobronchial mass with symptoms of pneumonia. Biopsies revealed the histological pattern of a benign granular cell tumor. He underwent resection of the left main bronchus followed by end to end anastomosis of left main bronchus. He has not had any recurrence of the tumor during the 1 year follow-up.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.387-391
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• 2015

Background: Fluorine-18 deoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) and bone scintigraphy (BS) are widely used for the detection of bone involvement. The optimal imaging modality for the detection of bone metastases in hormone receptor positive (+) and negative (-) groups of breast cancer remains ambiguous. Materials and Methods: Sixty-two patients with breast cancer, who had undergone both 18F-FDG-PET/CT and BS, being eventually diagnosed as having bone metastases, were enrolled in this study. Results: 18F-FDG-PET/CT had higher sensitivity and specificity than BS. Our data showed that 18F-FDGPET/CT had a sensitivity of 93.4% and a specificity of 99.4%, whiel for BS they were 84.5%, and 89.6% in the diagnosis of bone metastases. ${\kappa}$ statistics were calculated for 18F-FDGPET/CT and BS. The ${\kappa}$-value was 0.65 between 18F-FDG-PET/CT and BS in all patients. On the other hand, the ${\kappa}$-values were 0.70 in the hormone receptor (+) group, and 0.51 in hormone receptor (-) group. The ${\kappa}$-values suggested excellent agreement between all patient and hormone receptor (+) groups, while the ${\kappa}$-values suggested good agreement in the hormone receptor (-) group. Conclusions: The sensitivity and specificity for 18F-FDG-PET/CT were higher than BS in the screening of metastatic bone lesions in all patients. Similarly 18F-FDG-PET/CT had higher sensitivity and specificity in hormone receptor (+) and (-) groups.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.114-124
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• 1998

We analyzed the mammographic (n=21) findings (location, margin, shape, cluster microcalcifications, size, multiplicity) and ultrasonographic (n=12) findings (shape, border, internal echo, boundary echo, posterior echo, lateral echo, width/depth ratio) to evaluate specific radiologic findings of histopathologically proved uncommon breast cancer. The mammographic findings (n=21) are as follow; 1) single; 16, multiple; 5 2) margin (smooth; 13, irregular; 4, spiculated; 4) 3) shape (round and ovoid; 9, lobulated; 8, irregular; 4) 4) cluster micro calcifications (abscent; 20, present; 1) 5) size (1-3cm; 18, 3-5cm; 2, 5cm> ; 1) 6) location (UOQ; 13, UIQ; 4, LIQ; 3, LOQ; 1). The ultrasonographic findings (n=12) are as follow; 1) shape (round to oval; 5, lobulated; 5, irregular; 2) 2) border (smooth even; 9, rough uneven; 3) 3) internal echo (fine homogeneous; 5, coarse heterogeneous; 7) 4) boundary echo (regular fine; 4, irregular thick; 8) 5) posterior echo (enhanced; 11, no change; 1) 6) lateral echo (marked; 7, nonexistent; 5) 7) width/depth ratio (1.5> ; 1, 1.0-1.5; 7, 1.0< ; 4). Uncommon breast cancer show benign nature on mammogram, but malignant nature on ultrasonogram (especially boundary echo, internal echo, width/depth ratio).

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 2014

Purpose : To review MR imaging finding of papillary lesion identified as additional suspicious lesion on MR image in women with biopsy-proven breast cancer and to evaluate upgrading rates after subsequent surgical histopathological diagnosis. Materials and Methods: Among 1729 preoperative MR image of women with biopsy proven breast cancer, US-guided CNB-proven 22 papillary lesions from 21 patients, which showed additional suspicious contrast enhancement other than index cancer on MR image, were subjected to the study. Some of these lesions underwent surgery, thus the comparisons between the histopathologic results were able to be compared to the results of US-guided CNB. Also retrospective analysis was done for MR findings of these lesions by BI-RADS MRI lexicon. Results: On MR imaging, 8 mass lesions, 7 non-mass lesions, 7 focus lesions were detected. All of the focus lesion (100%, 7/7) was diagnosed as benign lesion and showed plateau and washout pattern in dynamic MR image. After excisional biopsy, one of 9 benign papilloma (11.1%), 3 of 3 papillary neoplasm with atypia component (100%), 3 of 5 papillary neoplasm (60%) were upgraded to malignancy such as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). Conclusion: The MR images of papillary lesions diagnosed by US-guided CNB exhibit no significant differences between malignancy and benign lesion. Also 41.2% of the lesion (7/17) was upgraded after subsequent surgery. Thus all of the papillary lesions require excisional biopsy for definite diagnosis and the MR imaging, it's just not enough by itself.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.285-294
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• 2018

Purpose: To determine the necessity of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) and which regions would be at risk for recurrence, we evaluated local and regional recurrence in breast cancer patients with 1-3 positive nodes and a tumor size of <5 cm. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data of 133 female breast cancer patients with 1-3 positive nodes, and a tumor size of <5 cm who were treated with mastectomy followed by adjuvant systemic therapy between 2007 and 2016. The median follow-up period was 57 months (range, 12 to 115 months). Most patients (82.7%) were treated with axillary lymph node dissection. Adjuvant chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and trastuzumab therapy were administered to 124 patients (93.2%), 112 (84.2%), and 33 (24.8%), respectively. The most common chemotherapy regimen was anthracycline and cyclophosphamide followed by taxane (71.4%). Results: Three patients (2.3%), 8 (6.0%), and 12 (9.0%) experienced local, regional, and distant failures, respectively. The 5-year cumulative risk of local recurrence, regional recurrence, distant metastasis, and disease-free survival was 3.1%, 8.0%, 11.7%, and 83.4%, respectively. There were no statistically significant clinicopathologic factors associated with local recurrence. Lymphovascular invasion (univariate p = 0.015 and multivariate p = 0.054) was associated with an increased risk of regional recurrence. Conclusion: Our study showed a very low local recurrence in patients with 1-3 positive nodes and tumor size of <5 cm who were treated with mastectomy and modern adjuvant systemic treatment. The PMRT volume need to be tailored for each patient's given risk for local and regional recurrence, and possible radiation-related toxicities.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.68-76
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• 2020

Purpose: The present study was conducted to compare dosimetric parameters for the heart and left lung between free breathing (FB) and deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) and determine the most important potential factors associated with increasing the lung dose for left-sided breast radiotherapy using image analysis with 3D Slicer software. Materials and Methods: Computed tomography-simulation scans in FB and DIBH were obtained from 17 patients with left-sided breast cancer. After contouring, three-dimensional conformal plans were generated for them. The prescribed dose was 50 Gy to the clinical target volume. In addition to the dosimetric parameters, the irradiated volumes and both displacement magnitudes and vectors for the heart and left lung were assessed using 3D Slicer software. Results: The average of the heart mean dose (D_mean) decreased from 5.97 to 3.83 Gy and V₂₅ from 7.60% to 3.29% using DIBH (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the average of D_mean for the left lung was changed from 8.67 to 8.95 Gy (p = 0.389) and V₂₀ from 14.84% to 15.44% (p = 0.387). Both of the absolute and relative irradiated heart volumes decreased from 42.12 to 15.82 mL and 8.16% to 3.17%, respectively (p < 0.001); however, these parameters for the left lung increased from 124.32 to 223.27 mL (p < 0.001) and 13.33% to 13.99% (p = 0.350). In addition, the average of heart and left lung displacement magnitudes were calculated at 7.32 and 20.91 mm, respectively. Conclusion: The DIBH is an effective technique in the reduction of the heart dose for tangentially treated left sided-breast cancer patients, without a detrimental effect on the left lung.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.106-113
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• 2021

Background: We aimed to investigate the analgesic efficacy of an erector spinae plane block (ESPB) in immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) with a tissue expander. Methods: Adult women undergoing IBR with a tissue expander after mastectomy were randomly assigned to either intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) alone (group P) or IV-PCA plus ESPB (group E). The primary outcome was the total amount of opioid consumption during 24 hours postoperatively between the two groups. Secondary outcomes were patient satisfaction, pain score at rest and on shoulder movement using numerical rating scale, incidences of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and a short form of the brief pain inventory (BPI-SF) at 3 and 6 months after surgery between the groups. Results: Fifty eight patients completed the study. At 24 hours postoperatively, total opioid consumption was significantly less in group E than in group P (285.0 ± 92.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 250.1 to 320.0 vs. 223.2 ± 83.4, 95% CI: 191.5 to 254.9, P = 0.005). Intraoperative and cumulative PCA fentanyl consumption at 3, 6, 9, and 24 hours were also less in group E than in group P (P = 0.004, P = 0.048, P = 0.020, P = 0.036, and P < 0.001, respectively). Patient satisfaction was higher in group E (6.9 ± 1.8 vs. 7.8 ± 1.4, P = 0.042). The incidences of PONV was similar. Conclusions: The ESPB decreased postoperative opioid consumption and increased patient satisfaction without significant complications after IBR with a tissue expander after mastectomy.