• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.12
• /
• pp.4909-4913
• /
• 2014

Malignant ovarian germ cell tumors (MOGCT) are rare neoplasms that most frequently occur in women at a young reproductive age. There have been limited data regarding this disease from Southeast Asian countries. We therefore conducted a retrospective study to analyze the clinical characteristics and the treatment outcomes of MOGCT treated at our institute between January, 2003 and December, 2012. Seventy-six patients were recruited from this period with the mean age of 21.6 years and 11.8% were pre-puberty. The two most common symptoms were pelvic mass and pelvic pain. Two-thirds of the studied patients presented at an early stage. The most common histology was immature teratoma (34.2%) followed by endodermal sinus tumor (28.9%), dysgerminoma (25%), mixed type (10.5%) and choriocarcinoma (1.3%). Over 80% of these patients received fertility sparing surgery and about 70% received adjuvant chemotherapy with the complete response rate at 73.3% and partial response at 11.1%. The most frequent chemotherapy was BEP regimen (bleomycin, etoposide, cisplatin). With the mean follow up time at 56.0 months, 12 patients (15.8%) developed recurrence and only an advanced stage was the independent prognostic factor. The ten year progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival rate of our study were 81.9% and 86.2%, respectively. In conclusion, MOGCT often occurs at a young age. Treatment with fertility sparing operations and adjuvant chemotherapy with a BEP regimen showed a good outcome. An advanced stage is a significant prognostic factor for recurrence.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.13 no.7
• /
• pp.1026-1034
• /
• 2000

As described here, most recently developed methods for improving reproduction performance of domesticated animals such as cattle, swine and chicken have been considered to be also usable for restoring some sorts of endangered and/or extinct wild animals in the very near future. Especially, the techniques for in vitro storage of gametes obtained from dead animals shortly after the death, probably 24 h following the sacrifice are also available for obtaining some of experimental specimens. In case of the endangered animals, nobody will be allowed to use any tissues from the living animals, therefore, e.g., the use of skin tissues from these bodies is another possibility of restoring the living animals. Regarding the use of skin tissues, the most highly usable tools must be the cloning techniques for reviving rare cells from the living body. Most possible techniques for cloning cells is nuclear transfer from rare species to highly relative species, and this is the case of germ cells, e.g., primordial germ cells (PGCs) of avian species. One of the possibilities is the nuclear transfer of Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon) to the PGCs of chicken, resulting in the PGCs with transferred nucleus from the ibis. In mammalian species, the same procedure as in the case of birds would be successful, e.g., the removed nucleus from Giant Pandas will be transferred to the cell, such as somatic cells or germ cells from black bears or lesser pandas, leading to the production of transnucleared cells in the body of female black bears. These two cases are most promising techniques for reviving endangered animals in the world, particularly in Asian countries, mainly in China. As a conclusion, possible production of cloned animals carrying transnucleared cells from endangered animals, such as Giant Pandas and Crested Ibis, may be reproduced gradually in the near future. Scientists are, therefore, required to convert the paradigm from domestic animals to wild animals, including endangered and/or extinct animals on the earth.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.58 no.6
• /
• pp.661-668
• /
• 2020

In Europe, 5 Lipoptena species have been recorded, including Lipoptena fortisetosa. This species, native to Asian countries, was described as a parasite of sika deer and its appearance in Europe dates back to more than 50 years ago. Lipoptena fortisetosa has been recently reported in Italy, sharing its hosts with Lipoptena cervi. A morpho-molecular approach was developed to determine the phylogenetic interrelationship of Italian and Asian CO1 haplotypes sequenced from Lipoptena fly individuals collected in Italy, and their DNA sequences were compared with conspecifics available in GenBank; morphological key-characters (terminalia) of L. fortisetosa were compared with the original description. Two haplotypes were recorded from Italy and assigned to L. cervi and L. fortisetosa, respectively. The latter was part of the monophyletic clade L. fortisetosa, along with 2 Central European and 2 Korean haplotypes (100% identical to one of the Korean haplotypes); moreover, Italian L. fortisetosa female terminalia were consistent with the original description of Asian individuals. Pending more in-depth investigations, this study provides a first answer to the hypothesis of the recent colonization of Italy by L. fortisetosa from Asia as we did not detect any obvious and stable morphological and molecular differences in specimens from the 2 geographical areas. The presence of the sika deer in Europe was retraced and the possible route traveled by the parasite from Asia and the eco-biological factors that may have enhanced its settlement are discussed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.12
• /
• pp.7651-7656
• /
• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women in both developed and developing countries. The burden is increasing in low-income and middle-income countries (LMCs) and threatens the public health of such societies. Introduction of expensive monoclonal antibodies to cancer treatment regimens poses a real challenge in the health systems of LMCs. Despite controversy of cost-effectiveness of bevacizumab in breast cancer, some studies indicate gain of patients from this drug. The present study aimed to propose a priority setting model for administration of anti-angiogenic agents in breast cancer via assessment of tumor angiogenesis by the microvessel density (MVD) method and associations with clinicopathological characteristics (including simultaneous mutations of TP53 and HER-2 genes). Materials and Methods: Age, axillary lymph nodes status, tumor size, stage and grade, estrogen and progesterone receptors status, HER-2/neu status (by immunohistochemistry and FISH test), TP53 mutation, Ki-67 (for proliferation assay) and CD34 (for angiogenesis assay) were assessed in 111 breast cancer patients. The molecular subtype of each tumor was also determined and correlations of simultaneous mutations of HER-2 and p53 genes with angiogenesis and other clinicopathological characteristics were evaluated. Results: There were significant associations between simultaneous mutations of HER-2 and p53 genes and all other parameters except tumor size. The degree of angiogenesis in the ERBB2 subtype was greater than the others. Younger patients showed a higher angiogenesis rate rather those older than 50 years. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that patients with simultaneous mutations of HER-2 and p53 genes, those with ERBB2 molecular subtype and also younger women (often triple negative) seem more eligible for obtaining anti-angiogenic agents. These results suggest a model for priority setting of patients with breast cancer for treatment with anti-angiogenic drugs in LMCs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.1621-1626
• /
• 2014

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in females worldwide. Many differences exist in clinico-pathological characteristics of breast cancer patients between China and Western countries. This study aimed to analyze clinico-pathological characteristics of breast cancer from central China. Methods: Clinico-pathological information on breast cancer from three hospitals in central China was collected and analyzed. Results: From 1994 to 2012, 2,525 patients with a median age 50 years were included in this study. The 45-49-year age group and invasive ductal carcinoma not otherwise specified accounted for the highest proportions (19.1%, 480/2,525 and 81.0%, 1,982/2,446). Stages 0-I, II and III accounted for 28.0% (682/2,441), 48.4% (1,180/2,441), and 23.7% (578/2,441), respectively. Distribution of N stage showed that N0 accounted for 53.2% (1,344/2,525), and proportion of N0 rose from 51.1% (157/307) in 30-39-year age group to 64.3% (110/171) in ${\geq}$ 70-year age group, with an average increase of 2.1% in each age group. Modified radical mastectomy, radical mastectomy, breast-conserving surgery and simple mastectomy were performed for 71.8% (1,812/2,525), 18.0% (454/2,525), 5.2% (131/2,525) and 2.6% (66/2,525), respectively. Proportions of breast-conserving surgery in age ${\leq}$ 44-year group (68/132, 51.5%) and simple mastectomy in age ${\geq}$ 60-year group (57/89, 64.0%) were higher than in the other age groups. Breast cancers positive for estrogen receptor accounted for 53.0% (1,107/ 2,112). The comparisons among this study and other reports showed higher proportion of younger patients, lower proportion of breast-conserving surgery and positive estrogen receptor patients in China than western countries. Conclusions: Clinico-pathological characteristics in this study demonstrated clear differences between the center of China than Western countries. Additional classification systems should be developed to guide grading of early breast cancer more accurately, especially for N0 patients. Invasive ductal carcinoma is a focus for intensive research.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.16
• /
• pp.7295-7302
• /
• 2015

Background: Lung cancer has been a major health problem in developed countries for several decades, and has emerged recently as the leading cause of cancer death in many developing countries. The incidence of lung cancer appears to be increasing more rapidly in rural than in urban areas of China. This paper presents the trends of lung cancer incidence and survival derived from a 40-year population-based cancer monitoring program in a rural area, Qidong, China. Materials and Methods: The Qidong cancer registration data of 1972-2011 were used to calculate the crude rate, age-standardized rate by Chinese population (CASR) and by world population (WASR), birth cohort rates, and other descriptive features. Active and passive methods were used to construct the data set, with a deadline of the latest follow-up of April 30, 2012. Results: The total number of lung cancer cases was 15,340, accounting for 16.5% of all sites combined. The crude incidence rate, CASR and WASR of this cancer were 34.1, 15.7 and 25.4 per 100,000, respectively. Males had higher crude rates than females (49.7 vs 19.0). Rapidly increasing trends were found in annual percent change resulting in lung cancer being a number one cancer site after year 2010 in Qidong. Birth cohort analysis showed incidence rates have increased for all age groups over 24 years old. The 5 year observed survival rates were 3.55% in 1973-1977, 3.92 in 1983-1987, 3.69% in 1993-1997, and 6.32% in 2003-2007. Males experienced poorer survival than did females. Conclusions: Lung cancer has become a major cancer-related health problem in this rural area. The rapid increases in incidence likely result from an increased cigarette smoking rate and evolving environmental risk factors. Lung cancer survival, while showing some improvement in prognosis, still remains well below that observed in the developed areas of the world.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.661-665
• /
• 2016

Background: Stomach cancer is the fifth most common cancer and the third leading cause of death among cancers throughout the world. Therefore, stomach cancer outcomes can affect health systems at the national and international levels. Although stomach cancer mortality and incidence rates have decreased in developed countries, these indicators have a raising trend in East Asian developing countries, particularity in Iran. In this study, we aimed to determine the time trend of age-standardized rates of stomach cancer in different districts of Iran from 2000 to 2010. Materials and Methods: Cases of cancer were registered using a pathology-based system during 2000-2007 and with a population-based system since 2008 in Iran. In this study, we collected information about the incidence of stomach cancer during a 10 year period for 31 provinces and 376 districts, with a total of 49,917 cases. We employed two statistical approaches (a random effects and a random effects Markov model) for modeling the incidence of stomach cancer in different districts of Iran during the studied period. Results: The random effects model showed that the incidence rate of stomach cancer among males and females had an increasing trend and it increased by 2.38 and 0.87 persons every year, respectively. However, after adjusting for previous responses, the random effects Markov model showed an increasing rate of 1.53 and 0.75 for males and females, respectively. Conclusions: This study revealed that there are significant differences between different areas of Iran in terms of age-standardized incidence rates of stomach cancer. Our study suggests that a random effects Markov model can adjust for effects of previous responses.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.165-182
• /
• 1994

Korea's clothing industry which has been country's leading export industry and basic strategical industry is now faced with many difficulties both domestically and internationally. Domestically it is faced with continuing shortage of manpower in both production line and management high labour cost causing increase in price putting more weight on behavior of consumers resulting in change of industrial environment and continuing structural problems of industry itself. Internationally it is faced with strengthening of import regulations and protectionism of developed countries and rapid emergence of underdeveloped countries as leading exporting nations. In reality export plays the most essential role in our economy and is especially sensitive to the external environmental factors. Already economic bloc phonomenon can be seen everywhere and is continuing to accelerate in place such as E. U in Europ, North & South America as NAFTA, and South East Asian contries which recent tendency of economic unity effort is present. These countries of such economic blocs are imposing heavy custom duties reinforcing provision of country origin and acting out strict inspection regulations in order to protect the interest of their own industry. Therefore it is vital to manufacture excellent quality goods For these reasons study in this area has brought attention in Korea as well as worldwide in the recent years. Apparel industry which requires professional technology and ability is the most competitive international business. In order to challenge the international market the high level of intelligence is most required to produce high quality goods. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between functions and roles of marketing and to approach problems in more efficient manner. Apparel industry is composed of various programs such as design pattern making merchandising and textile science. To succeed in the business is to give the highest satisfaction to the targeted market. Hence this study will example the factors that determine the Cost Quality and Performance of apparel products. The study will involve following steps; firstly establish relationship between the quality concept and productivity of apparel products Secondly inquire in to marketing strategy laying stress on apparel production related factors focusing on merchandising marketing production and operations Thirdly prospect 21st century apparel industry focusing on garment production and trade and also other countries structural improvement Fourthly establish the new dimension of competitive factors by grasping the actual circumstance of Korea's apparel industry in the international market. The research method will include; First reality approach method by analysing the present state of industry Second literal analysis such as marketing comparisons between leading apparel exporting countries.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
• /
• v.1 no.2
• /
• pp.179-188
• /
• 2010

To cope with various issues in the aspect of climate change adaptation of UNFCCC, Korea began preparing a Five-year National Climate Change Adaptation Plan in 2010 to be implemented from 2011~2015, for the purposes of securing a concrete system to adapt to climate change. Compared with the policies and measurement tools of developed countries, Korea's climate change adaptation capabilities suffers from a number of limitations including insufficiencies of basic information, human resources for research on climate change, and technology in risk and vulnerability assessment. At the same time, Korea maintains superior information technology systems, and comparatively strong climate change adaptation technologies. Recently, with the establishment of the Korea Adaptation Center for Climate Change as a specialized research organization in climate change adaptation, Korea has upgraded its ability to adapt to climate change and to provide support to other Asian countries which are vulnerable to climate change. In consideration of the close relation between climate change adaptation policy and technology development with the environmental industry, Korea's pursuit of cooperation and technical support for developing countries in the Asia region can be seen as the commencement of a long term investment for the nation's future. International cooperation on climate change adaptation between countries in the region can build a mutually complementary and integrated partnership in business, research, education, and other areas. Furthermore, Korea can also participate in the exploration of common issues as landmark projects that can attract global interest with developing countries.

• Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.343-362
• /
• 2019

Background/Aims There has been major progress in our understanding of the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and novel treatment classes have emerged. The Rome IV guidelines were published in 2016 and together with the growing body of Asian data on IBS, we felt it is timely to update the Asian IBS Consensus. Methods Key opinion leaders from Asian countries were organized into 4 teams to review 4 themes: symptoms and epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and investigations, and lifestyle modifications and treatments. The consensus development process was carried out by using a modified Delphi method. Results Thirty-seven statements were developed. Asian data substantiate the current global viewpoint that IBS is a disorder of gut-brain interaction. Socio-cultural and environmental factors in Asia appear to influence the greater overlap between IBS and upper gastrointestinal symptoms. New classes of treatments comprising low fermentable oligo-, di-, monosacharides, and polyols diet, probiotics, non-absorbable antibiotics, and secretagogues have good evidence base for their efficacy. Conclusions Our consensus is that all patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders should be evaluated comprehensively with a view to holistic management. Physicians should be encouraged to take a positive attitude to the treatment outcomes for IBS patients.