• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.37-48
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• 2022

Objective: Insomnia is a very common symptom and has a great effect on the quality of life in cancer patients. This study was conducted to identify the effects of the aroma therapy on insomnia in cancer patients. Methods: The study was performed with one group in before-after test design. The subjects were 15 cancer patients with insomnia selected by convenience sampling in Daegu. The aroma therapy consists of 10-minute sessions twice a week over 6 weeks. The PSQI (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), ISI (Insomnia Severity Index) were measured at baseline and at 3 and 6 weeks, after 6 weeks after finishing treatment. STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), FACT-G (Functional Assessment Cancer Therapy-General), HRV (Heart Rate Variability) were measured at baseline, post-treatment and after 6 weeks after finishing treatments. Results: Fifteen patients (mean age 50.93 ± 7.29 years), with breast, ovarian or gastric cancer, participated this study. At post-treatment, PSQI (from 14.18 ± 2.64 to 6.18 ± 3.03), ISI (from 19.00 ± 3.19 to 8.18 ± 5.14), FACT-G (from 55.65 ± 11.20 to 66.91 ± 12.33), and STAI (from 40.36 ± 8.10 to 34.73 ± 9.81, from 45.64 ± 6.07 to 39.73 ± 9.37) scores improved significantly over baseline(p<0.001). Conclusion: Aroma therapy improved insomnia, anxiety and quality of life on cancer patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.125-131
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• 2015

Currently, taxol is mainly extracted from the bark of yews; however, this method can not meet its increasing demand on the market because yews grow very slowly and are a rare and endangered species belonging to first-level conservation plants. Recently, increasing efforts have been made to develop alternative means of taxol production; microbe fermentation would be a very promising method to increase the production scale of taxol. To determine the activities of the taxol extracted from endophytic fungus N. sylviforme HDFS4-26 in inhibiting the growth and causing the apoptosis of cancer cells, on comparison with the taxol extracted from the bark of yew, we used cellular morphology, cell counting kit (CCK-8) assay, staining (HO33258/PI and Giemsa), DNA agarose gel electrophoresis and flow cytometry (FCM) analyses to determine the apoptosis status of breast cancer MCF-7 cells, cervical cancer HeLa cells and ovarian cancer HO8910 cells. Our results showed that the fungal taxol inhibited the growth of MCF-7, HeLa and HO8910 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. IC50 values of fungal taxol for HeLa, MCF-7 and HO8910 cells were $0.1-1.0{\mu}g/ml$, $0.001-0.01{\mu}g/ml$ and $0.01-0.1{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. The fungal taxol induced these tumor cells to undergo apoptosis with typical apoptotic characteristics, including morphological changes for chromatin condensation, chromatin crescent formation, nucleus fragmentation, apoptotic body formation and G2/M cell cycle arrest. The fungal taxol at the $0.01-1.0{\mu}g/ml$ had significant effects of inducing apoptosis between 24-48 h, which was the same as that of taxol extracted from yews. This study offers important information and a new resource for the production of an important anticancer drug by endofungus fermentation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.84-89
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• 2020

Cancer cells secrete angiogenic factors, and nearby vasculatures make new blood vessels essential for cancer development and metastasis in response to these soluble factors. Many efforts have been made to elucidate cancer-endothelial cell interactions in vitro. However, not much is known due to the lack of a suitable co-culture platform. Here, we introduce a 3D printing-based microfluidic system that mimics the in vivo-like cancer-endothelial cell interactions. The tumoroids and endothelial cells are co-cultured, physically separated by porous fibrin gel, allowing communication between two cell types through soluble factors. Using this microfluidic system, we were able to visualize new vessel formation induced by tumoroids of different origins, including liver, breast, and ovary. We confirmed that the ovarian tumoroids most induced angiogenesis while the other two cancer types suppressed it. Utilization of the proposed co-culture platform will help the researchers unveil the underlying mechanisms of the dynamic interplay between tumor and angiogenesis.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.121-125
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• 2020

The identification of adult stem cells is challenging because of the heterogeneity and plasticity of stem cells in different organs. Within the same tissue, stem cells may be highly proliferative, or maintained in a quiescent state and only to be activated after tissue damage. Although various stem cell markers have been successfully identified, there is no universal stem cell marker, which is exclusively expressed in all stem cells. Here, we discuss the roles of master developmental regulator RUNX1 in stem cells and the development of a 270 base pair fragment of the Runx1 enhancer (eR1) for use as stem cell marker. Using eR1 to identify stem cells offers a distinct advantage over gene promoters, which might not be expressed exclusively in stem cells. Moreover, RUNX1 has been strongly implicated in various cancer types, such as leukemia, breast, esophageal, prostate, oral, skin, and ovarian cancers-it has been suggested that RUNX1 dysfunction promotes stem cell dysfunction and proliferation. As tissue stem cells are potential candidates for cancer cells-of-origin and cancer stem cells, we will also discuss the use of eR1 to target oncogenic gene manipulations in stem cells and to track subsequent neoplastic changes.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.386-389
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• 2001

An endobronchial metastasis is defined as a subsegmental or a more proximal central bronchial metastasis of a nonpulmonary neoplasm in the bronchoscopically visible range. However, the frequencies of endobronchial metastasis range from 2 to 50% of pulmonary metastases from extrathoracic neoplasms by a different definition of an endobronchial metastasis. Primary neoplasms of an endobronchial metastasis including breast cancer, colon cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and ovarian cancer are relatively common. However, an endobronchial metastasis arising from thyroid cancer, parotid gland tumor, bone tumor, bladder cancer, and stomach cancer has only rarely been reported in the literature. Here we report a case of an endobrochial metastases from a hepatocellular carcinoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3191-3196
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• 2013

Leaf extracts of Cassia alata L (akapulko), traditionally used for treatment of a variety of diseases, were evaluated for their potential antitumor properties in vitro. MTT assays were used to examine the cytotoxic effects of crude extracts on five human cancer cell lines, namely MCF-7, derived from a breast carcinoma, SK-BR-3, another breast carcinoma, T24 a bladder carcinoma, Col 2, a colorectal carcinoma, and A549, a nonsmall cell lung adenocarcinoma. Hexane extracts showed remarkable cytotoxicity against MCF-7, T24, and Col 2 in a dose-dependent manner. This observation was confirmed by morphological investigation using light microscopy. Further bioassay-directed fractionation of the cytotoxic extract led to the isolation of a TLC-pure isolate labeled as f6l. Isolate f6l was further evaluated using MTT assay and morphological and biochemical investigations, which likewise showed selectivity to MCF-7, T24, and Col 2 cells with $IC_{50}$ values of 16, 17, and 17 ${\mu}g/ml$, respectively. Isolate f6l, however, showed no cytotoxicity towards the non-cancer Chinese hamster ovarian cell line (CHO-AA8). Cytochemical investigation using DAPI staining and biochemical investigation using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-a method used to detect DNA fragmentation-together with caspase assay, demonstrated apoptotic cell death. Spectral characterization of isolate f6l revealed that it contained polyunsaturated fatty acid esters. Considering the cytotoxicity profile and its mode of action, f6l might represent a new promising compound with potential for development as an anticancer drug with low or no toxicity to non-cancer cells used in this study.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1709-1710
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• 2012

Cancer is a major public health problem in Indonesia, becoming the 7th largest cause of death based on a national survey in 2007, accounting for 5.7 of all mortality. A cancer registry was started in 1970, but it was partial and was stopped mainly because no government body was responsible. Realizing the above situation, the Indonesian government established the Sub Directorate of Cancer Control within the Ministry of Health, with responsibility for developing a national cancer control program, including a cancer registry. A sustainable cancer registry was then started in 2007 within Jakarta Province, first hospital-based but then expanded to be population-based. Steps of cancer registration in Jakarta are data collection, data verification, data validation, data management and analysis, and data publication. Data collection is conducted by health facilities (hospitals, laboratories, primary health centers) at the district/municipal level, with reports to the provincial level. Data are collected passively by holding meetings every three months in the district/municipality. Verification of data is the responsibility of the medical doctor or pathologist in each data source. Data validation is conducted by a team in the cancer registry, consisting of district/municipal/province health officers, pathologists, and registrars. Data management and analyses are conducted by a cancer registry team at the provincial level, assisted by the national team. We use software named Indonesian Cancer Registry System (SRIKANDI) which is adopted from CanReg4 IARC. Data from the population-based cancer registry in Jakarta Province showed the leading cancers among females in 2005-2007 to be breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer and among males are bronchus and lung cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer, pharyngeal cancer, and prostate cancer. The leading childhood cancers are leukaemia and retinoblastoma.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.129-135
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• 2014

Previously, we reported that lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE), a lyso-type metabolite of phosphatidylethanolamine, can increase intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ ($[Ca^{2+}]_i$) via type 1 lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptor ($LPA_1$) and CD97, an adhesion G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Furthermore, LPE signaling was suggested as like $LPA_1/CD97-G_{i/o}$ proteins-phospholipase $C-IP_3-Ca^{2+}$ increase in these cells. In the present study, we further investigated actions of LPE not only in the $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ increasing effect but also in cell proliferation and migration in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. We utilized chemically different LPEs and a specific inhibitor of $LPA_1$, AM-095 in comparison with responses in SK-OV3 ovarian cancer cells. It was found that LPE-induced $Ca^{2+}$ response in MDA-MB-231 cells was evoked in a different manner to that in SK-OV3 cells in terms of structural requirements. AM-095 inhibited LPE-induced $Ca^{2+}$ response and cell proliferation in MDA-MB-231 cells, but not in SK-OV3 cells, supporting $LPA_1$ involvement only in MDA-MB-231 cells. LPA had significant effects on cell proliferation and migration in MDA-MB-231 cells, whereas LPE had less or no significant effect. However, LPE modulations of MAPKs (ERK1/2, JNK and p38 MAPK) was not different to those by LPA in the cells. These data support the involvement of LPA1 in LPE-induced $Ca^{2+}$ response and cell proliferation in breast MDA-MB-231 cells but unknown GPCRs (not $LPA_1$) in LPE-induced responses in SK-OV3 cells. Furthermore, although LPE and LPA utilized $LPA_1$, LPA utilized more signaling cascades than LPE, resulting in stronger responses by LPA in proliferation and migration than LPE in MDA-MB-231 cells.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.225-237
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• 2024

In the analysis of competing risks data, some of covariates may not be fully observed for some subjects. In such cases, excluding subjects with missing covariate values from the analysis may result in biased estimates and loss of efficiency. In this paper, we studied multiple imputation and the augmented inverse probability weighting method for regression parameter estimation in the cause-specific proportional hazards model with missing covariates. The performance of estimators obtained from multiple imputation and the augmented inverse probability weighting method is evaluated by simulation studies, which show that those methods perform well. Multiple imputation and the augmented inverse probability weighting method were applied to investigate significant risk factors for the risk of death from breast cancer and from other causes for breast cancer data with missing values for tumor size obtained from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screen Trial Study. Under the cause-specific proportional hazards model, the methods show that race, marital status, stage, grade, and tumor size are significant risk factors for breast cancer mortality, and stage has the greatest effect on increasing the risk of breast cancer death. Age at diagnosis and tumor size have significant effects on increasing the risk of other-cause death.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.529-538
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• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the current patterns of cancer incidence and estimate the projected cancer incidence and mortality between 2020 and 2035 in Korea. Methods: Data on cancer incidence cases were extracted from the Korean Statistical Information Service from 2000 to 2017, and data on cancer-related deaths were extracted from the National Cancer Center from 2000 to 2018. Cancer cases and deaths were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition. For the current patterns of cancer incidence, age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) and age-standardized mortality rates were investigated using the 2000 mid-year estimated population aged over 20 years and older. A joinpoint regression model was used to determine the 2020 to 2035 trends in cancer. Results: Overall, cancer cases were predicted to increase from 265 299 in 2020 to 474 085 in 2035 (growth rate: 1.8%). The greatest increase in the ASIR was projected for prostate cancer among male (7.84 vs. 189.53 per 100 000 people) and breast cancer among female (34.17 vs. 238.45 per 100 000 people) from 2000 to 2035. Overall cancer deaths were projected to increase from 81 717 in 2020 to 95 845 in 2035 (average annual growth rate: 1.2%). Although most cancer mortality rates were projected to decrease, those of breast, pancreatic, and ovarian cancer among female were projected to increase until 2035. Conclusions: These up-to-date projections of cancer incidence and mortality in the Korean population may be a significant resource for implementing cancer-related regulations or developing cancer treatments.