• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.299-305
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• 2015

Objectives: This article describes our experience with neck dissection in 10 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. Materials and Methods: Between January 2007 and October 2009, 10 patients underwent primary surgery for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. For patients with $N_0$ disease on clinical exam, selective neck dissection (SND [I-III]) was performed. In patients with palpable cervical metastases (N+), modified radical neck dissections were performed, except in one patient in whom SND (I-III) was performed. The histopathologic reports were reviewed to assess the surgical margins, the presence of extra-capsular spread, perineural invasion, and lymphatic invasion. Results: On histopathologic examination, positive soft tissue margins were found in three patients, and regional lymph node metastases were present in five of the ten patients. Perineural invasion was noted in five patients, and extra nodal spread was found in four patients. Regional recurrence was seen in two patients and loco-regional recurrence plus distant metastasis to the tibia was observed in one patient. During the study period, three patients died. Seven patients remain free of disease to date. Conclusion: Histopathological evaluation provides important and reliable information for disease staging, treatment planning, and prognosis. The philosophy of neck dissection is evolving rapidly with regard to the selectivity with which at-risk lymph node groups are removed. The sample size in the present study is small, thus, caution should be employed when interpreting these results.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.85-94
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• 1983

A total of 47 patients with a diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma was treated in Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital during last 4 years. Of the 47 patients, 23(49%) had undifferentiated carcinoma, 20(43%) had squamous cell carcinoma, while 4(8%) had lymphoepithelioma. Most of the patients(71%) has Stage IV disease, cervical lymph node metastases were found in 36(77%) and distant metastasis was found in 1 at the time of diagnosis. Complete response rate after radiotherapy for 47 patients of nasopharyngeal carcinoma was 85.1%. The overall actuarial 3 year survival rates was 0.718 and the disease free actuarial 3 year survival rates was 0.468. Nodal involvement and symptom duration were statistically significiant influencing factors for actuarial survival rate. Treatment failures were found in 20 patients (42.6%), local recurrence only in 6(30%), local and neck recurrence in 3(15%), local recurrence with metastasis in 4(20%) and distant metastasis only in 7(35%). Local failures were more frequent in the patients with cranial nerve symptoms (P=0.032). Distant metastases were more frequent with T4 lesions (P=0.047), and with nodal involvement (P<0.01). Retreatment after the tumor recurrence was chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, two pationts refreated for local recurrence were alive without evidence of disease for more than 19 and 44 months after retreatment.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.95-99
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• 2000

Thyroid carcinoma is relatively rare in children. Eight cases of thyroid carcinoma were among 18 patients operated upon for thyroid tumors at Pediatric Surgery, Asan Medical Center in 11 years' period between 1989 and 2000. Five patients were boys and three were girls. The age distribution ranged from 10 to 14 years with a median age of 11.6 years. We studied clinical presentations, diagnostic workup, pathology, treatment, and follow-up (recurrence, mortality, and survival). All patients presented with anterior neck mass but one with multiple cervical lymph nodes enlargement. Familial history of thyroid cancer was seen in one case. All patients had a cold nodule by 1-131 thyroid scan. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy was performed in all patients. The right lobe was involved in four patients and the left lobe in two. Two had both lobes involvement. Pathologically, six cases were papillary carcinoma, one was follicular carcinoma, and one insular carcinoma. Four patients underwent unilateral lobectomy and isthmectomy. Total thyroidectomy was performed in three patients. The insular carcinoma case was preoperatively diagnosed as follicular neoplasm by FNA. After confirmation of the pathology by initial right thyroid lobectomy, total thyroidectomy was subsequently done. Cervical lymph node metastases were presented in three cases (37.5%), and lung metastasis in two cases (25%). Three patients received postoperative I-131 ablation. After a median follow-up of 53 months, all patients were alive without evidence of recurrence. In conclusion, thyroid carcinoma in children is frequently associated with lymph nodes involvement and distant metastasis, however, the prognosis is relatively good.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.181-185
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• 2010

Purpose: Several studies report that detection of thyroglobulin (Tg) in fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy washout fluid from lymph nodes identifies recurrences or metastases of differentiated papillary thyroid cancer (DPTC) in the neck with higher sensitivity and specificity than fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). We evaluate the diagnostic efficacy and usefulness of Tg measurement in FNA washout fluid (FNA-Tg) and compare with FNAC. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight FNA samples of 37 patients who undergone ultrasonography to detect cervical lymph node metastasis of DPTC, were included for this study. Lymph node metastasis was confirmed by histopathologic examination or long-term imaging follow-up. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of FNA-Tg and FNAC were calculated. In 34 patients, we evaluated diagnostic accuracy of FNA-Tg according to the presence or absence of Tg antibody. Results: Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of FNAC were 75.0%, 97.2% and 91.7%, respectively, and those of FNA-Tg were 100%, 88.9% and 91.7%, respectively. The presence of Tg antibody was not relevant to the diagnostic accuracy of FNA-Tg. Conclusion: FNA-Tg is a as accurate as FNAC with higher sensitivity. FNA-Tg and FNAC are complement techniques for diagnosing lymph node metastasis of DTPC.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.81-85
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• 1997

Basal cell adenocarcinoma is a rare, recently described neoplasm of the salivary gland. We have experienced three cases of basal cell adenocarcinoma of the parotid gland. The tumors from patient 1 and patient 2 showed intraparotid growth in superficial lobe without cervical lymphnode metastasis. So, patient 1 and patient 2 underwent only a superficial parotidectomy and subdigastric lymphnode dissection without any adjuvant therapy. They are alive without recurrence or distant metastasis. But that of patient 3 showed widely invasive growth with multiple cervical lymph node metastases. The CT scan showed a $8{\times}7cm$ sized huge mass replacing the parotid gland with irregular margin and multiple lymphnode enlargements along the internal jugular vein. Total parotidectomy with sacrifying the facial nerve and standard radical neck dissection were caried out. Microscopically, the tumor consisted of solid nest and sheet of uniform basaloid cells separated by a fibrous connective tissue stroma with the evidence of lymphovascular invasion. As a result of the lymphnode metastasis and invasiveness of the tumor, radiation therapy was given postoperatively. We thought that close follow-up would be mandatory in this patient because of high risk of possible local recurrence and distant metastasis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1675-1679
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• 2014

Objectives: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of many physiological and pathological processes, including tumorigenesis and metastasis. In this study, we sought to determine the underlying molecular mechanisms of metastatic cervical carcinoma by performing miRNA profiling. Methods: Tissue samples were collected from ten cervical squamous cancer patients who underwent hysterectomy and pelvic lymph node (PLN) dissection in our hospital, including four PLN-positive (metastatic) cases and six PLN-negative (non-metastatic) cases. A miRNA microarray platform with 1223 probes was used to determine the miRNA expression profiles of these two tissue types and case groups. MiRNAs having at least 4-fold differential expression between PLN-positive and PLN-negative cervical cancer tissues were bioinformatically analyzed for target gene prediction. MiRNAs with tumor-associated target genes were validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: Thirty-nine miRNAs were differentially expressed (>4-fold) between the PLN-positive and PLN-negative groups, of which, 22 were up-regulated and 17 were down-regulated. Sixty-nine percent of the miRNAs (27/39) had tumor-associated target genes, and the expression levels of six of those (miR-126, miR-96, miR-144, miR-657, miR-490-5p, and miR-323-3p) were confirmed by quantitative (q)RT-PCR. Conclusions: Six MiRNAs with predicted tumor-associated target genes encoding proteins that are known to be involved in cell adhesion, cytoskeletal remodeling, cell proliferation, cell migration, and apoptosis were identified. These findings suggest that a panel of miRNAs may regulate multiple and various steps of the metastasis cascade by targeting metastasis-associated genes. Since these six miRNAs are predicted to target tumor-associated genes, it is likely that they contribute to the metastatic potential of cervical cancer and may aid in prognosis or molecular therapy.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.16-20
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• 2015

Background and Objectives : In papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), multiplicity and central or lateral lymph node metastases significantly affect the recurrence. This study was carried out to evaluate the clinical and histological characteristics of PTC according to the tumor size. Materials and Method : Between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2014, 12,269 PTC patients underwent thyroid surgery at the Thyroid Cancer Center, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Korea. We analyzed pathologic findings and clinical features according to the size of tumor Results : The mean size of tumor was $0.89{\pm}0.70cm$. The Central and lateral compartment metastases were observed 64.7% and 37.6% on the range that the primary tumor size is 1cm. There was a significant association between the PTC primary tumor size and multiplicity and cervical neck metastasis (p<0.001). Conclusion : The PTC primary tumor size for prediction of multiplicity and neck node metastasis can be helpful in optimization of the surgical extent for each patient.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.350-358
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• 2007

Purpose: Localizing and differentiating a metastatic lesion of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) by using radio iodine whole body scan could be difficult because a whole body scan (WBS) lacks anatomic information. This study was performed to evaluate the usefulness of radio-iodine SPECT/CT for differentiating equivocal lesions. Materials & Methods: Among 253 patients with DTC who had undergone radio-iodine scan between February and July 2006, 26 patients were enrolled (M:F = 8:18, Age $50.7{\pm}12.5$ years) in this study. The patients had abnormal uptakes in the WBSs that necessitated precise anatomical localization for differentiating between a metastatic lesion and a false-positive lesion. SPECT/CT was performed for the region with abnormal uptake in the WBS. WBS and SPECT/CT were evaluated visually. Metastases were diagnosed based on the results of the radio-iodine scan along with the results of other radiological examinations and serological tests. Results: Based on the WBS images, 13 were suspected with cervical lymph node (LN) metastases in 16 patients with abnormal neck uptake, and in the 11 patients with abnormal extra-cervical uptakes, extra-cervical metastases were doubtful in all. After SPECT/CT was performed, the diagnostic results were altered for 16 patients (62%). SPECT/CT revealed that only 5 patients had cervical LN metastases, while 3 patients had extra-cervical (mediastinal) LN metastases. Overall, there was a 58% (15/26) change in diagnoses and plans for treatment due to SPECT/CT. Among 8 patients suspected with metastases on SPECT/CT, 6 patients underwent another radio-iodine therapy. In 96% (24/25) of the patients, the results of SPECT/CT corresponded with those of further radiological examinations and with other clinical information. Conclusion: Radio-iodine SPECT/CT images permitted the differentiation of abnormal radio-iodine uptake and improved anatomical interpretation in DTC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.2369-2374
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• 2016

Background: Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is a cancer group that shares molecular and cellular origin but shows different clinical courses and prognoses. Several prognostic factors have been reported for predicting recurrence for individual patients. This literature review aimed to evaluate prognostic scores for predicting recurrence of DTC. Materials and Methods: A search of the MEDLINE database for articles published until December 2015 was carried out using the terms "thyroid neoplasms AND (recurrent OR persistent) AND (score OR model OR nomogram)". Studies were eligible for review if they indicated the development of prognostic scoring models, derived from a group of independent prognostic factors, in predicting disease recurrence in DTC patients. Results: Of the 308 articles obtained, five were eligible for evaluation. Two scoring models were developed for DTC including both papillary and follicular carcinoma, one for papillary carcinoma, and the other two for papillary microcarcinoma. The number of patients included in the score development cohort ranged from 59 to 1,669. The number of evaluated potential prognostic factors ranged from 4 to 25. Tumor-related factors were the most common factors included in the final scores, with cervical lymph node metastases being the most common. Only two studies showed internal validation of the derived score. Conclusions: There is a paucity of prognostic scores for predicting disease recurrence in patients with DTC, in particular for follicular thyroid carcinoma. Several limitations of the created scores were found. Performance of the scores has not been adequately studied. Comprehensive validation in multiple cohorts is recommended before widespread use.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.5
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• pp.1246-1257
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• 2021

Purpose To assess the predictive factors and describe the imaging features of mediastinal lymph node (MLN) metastases in patients with head and neck cancer. Materials and Methods We compared the clinical features and disease characteristics (sex, age, site of primary tumor, histologic type, history of prior treatments, TNM stages, and metastasis in cervical LNs) of patients with head and neck cancers between the MLN metastasis and no MLN metastasis groups. We also evaluated the chest CT (distribution and maximum dimension of the largest LN) and PET/CT (maximum standardized uptake value) features of MLN metastases based on the MLN classification. Results Of the 470 patients with head and neck cancer, 55 (11.7%) had MLN metastasis, involving 150 mediastinal stations. Hypopharynx cancer, recurrent tumor, T4 stage, N2/N3 stages, and M1 stage were found to be significant predicting factors for MLN metastasis. The most common location of MLN metastasis was ipsilateral station 2 (upper paratracheal LNs, 36.4%), followed by ipsilateral station 11 (interlobar LNs, 27.3%) and ipsilateral station 10 (hilar LNs, 25.5%). Conclusion Metastasis to MLNs should be considered in patients with head and neck cancer, especially in cases that are associated with a hypopharyngeal cancer, recurrent tumor, and high TNM stages.