• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.152-163
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• 2017

Objectives: The aim of this review was to compare the findings of 14 studies of tongue diagnosis in Korean stroke patients. Methods: The purpose, subjects, observation methods, statistical methods, classification of tongue diagnosis, significance, and limitations were analyzed and compared. Results: In Korean stroke patients, tongue diagnosis is significant in pattern identifications, prognosis evaluation, degree of neurological deficit, past history, blood tests, and pulse diagnosis. Interobserver reliability of tongue diagnosis is relatively high.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3243-3248
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• 2016

Background: Stomach cancer is the fourth most common cancer and the second leading cause of death from cancer in the world. In Iran, this type of cancer has high rates of incidence and mortality. This study aimed to assess the survival rate of patients with stomach cancer and its determinants in Kurdistan, a province with one of the highest incidence rates of stomach cancer in the country. Materials and Methods: We studied a total of 202 patients with stomach cancer who were admitted to Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj from 2009 to 2013. Using Kaplan-Meier nonparametric methods the survival rate of patients was calculated in terms of different levels of age at diagnosis, gender, education, residential area, occupation, underweight, and clinical variables including tumor histology, site of tumor, disease stage, and type of treatment. In addition, we compared the survival rates using the log-rank test. Finally, Cox proportional hazards regression was applied using Stata 12 and R 3.1.0 software. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The mean age at diagnosis was $64.7{\pm}12.0$ years. The survival rate of patients with stomach cancer was 43.9% and 7% at the first and the fifth year after diagnosis, respectively. The results of log-rank test showed significant relationships between survival and age at diagnosis, education, disease stage, type of treatment, and degree of being underweight (P<0.05). Moreover, according to the results of Cox proportional hazards regression model, the variables of education, disease stage, and type of treatment were associated with patient survival (P<0.05). Conclusions: The survival rate of patients with stomach cancer is low and the prognosis is very poor. Given the poor prognosis of the patients, it is critical to find ways for early diagnosis and facilitating timely access to effective treatment methods.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.87-94
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the differences between clinical and quantitative sensory testing (QST) results among persistent idiopathic dentoalveolar pain (PIDP), inflammatory dental pain, and control group subjects to identify discriminative clinical features for differential diagnosis. Methods: Thirty-three patients (5 PIDP-a without surgical procedures 10 PIDP-b with surgical procedures, 8 dental pain patients, and 10 controls) were evaluated for clinical features and QST results. Cold pain threshold, heat pain threshold, mechanical pain threshold (MPT), mechanical pain sensitivity, and pressure pain threshold (PPT) were performed. Psychological factors were assessed using Symptom Checklist-90-Revision (SCL-90-R) and a chart review was conducted to evaluate additional discriminative clinical features such as pain quality and treatment prognosis. Results: The dental pain group had lower PPT than the PIDP-b and the control group. The PIDP-a group showed higher MPT and PPT than the PIDP-b and dental pain group but the difference was not statistically significant. Differences in SCL-90-R SOM (Somatization), O-C (obsessive-compulsive), ANX (anxiety), and PSY (Psychoticism) values were statistically significant among groups. PIDP-a and PIDP-b groups showed remaining symptoms after treatment and the pain tended to spread widely, whereas, in toothache patients, symptoms disappeared after treatment. However, factors that confound the diagnosis, such as an increase in pain during chewing and a decrease in the pain threshold at the affected site, could also be identified. Conclusions: PIDP and dental pain groups have distinct clinical symptoms, but there are also factors that cause confusing in diagnosis. Therefore, various clinical examination results should be carefully reviewed and comprehensively evaluated in the differential diagnosis process.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2395-2403
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• 2014

As the recurrence and mortality rates of bladder cancer are high, research is needed to find suitable biomarkers for early detection, evaluation of prognosis, and surveillance of drug responses. We performed a computerized search of the Medline/PubMed databases with the key words bladder cancer, biomarker, early detection, prognosis and drug response. Several markers were identified at DNA, RNA and protein levels with different sensitivities and specificities. Only a few of the potential bladder cancer biomarkers have been approved for clinical use. Efforts now should be concentrated on finding a panel of markers with acceptable sensitivity and specificity for early detection of bladder cancer.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.252-258
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• 2014

Purpose: The macroscopic diagnosis of tumor invasion through the serosa during surgery is not always distinct in patients with gastric cancer. The prognostic impact of the difference between macroscopic findings and pathological diagnosis of serosal invasion is not fully elucidated and needs to be re-evaluated. Materials and Methods: A total of 370 patients with locally advanced pT2 to pT4a gastric cancer who underwent curative surgery were enrolled in this study. Among them, 155 patients with pT3 were divided into three groups according to the intraoperative macroscopic diagnosis of serosal invasion, as follows: serosa exposure (SE)(-) (no invasion, 72 patients), SE(${\pm}$) (ambiguous, 47 patients), and SE(+) (definite invasion, 36 patients), and the clinicopathological features, surgical outcomes, and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed. Results: A comparison of the 5-year DFS between pT3_SE(-) and pT2 groups and between pT3_SE(+) and pT4a groups revealed that the differences were not statistically significant. In addition, in a subgroup analysis of pT3 patients, the 5-year DFS was 75.1% in SE(-), 68.5% in SE(${\pm}$), and 39.4% in SE(+) patients (P<0.05). In a multivariate analysis to evaluate risk factors for tumor recurrence, macroscopic diagnosis (hazard ratio [HR], SE(-) : SE(${\pm}$) : SE(+)=1 : 1.01 : 2.45, P=0.019) and lymph node metastasis (HR, N0 : N1 : N2 : N3=1 : 1.45 : 2.20 : 9.82, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for recurrence. Conclusions: Gross inspection of serosal invasion by the surgeon had a strong impact on tumor recurrence in gastric cancer patients. Consequently, the gross appearance of serosal invasion should be considered as a factor for predicting patients' prognosis.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.201-209
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• 2008

Objectives : This study was designed to make beneficial proposal for clinical application on some of the most common disorders treated by Oriental medicine by analyzing treatment process and prognosis. Methods : Number of peculiar attributes pertaining to a specific disorder were analyzed and based on those attributes, patterns associated with process and prognosis were interpreted in reference with classical literatures. Results : 1. Factors which can influence the progression and prognosis include time of onset, intensity of symptoms, course of passage, effects of risk factors, condition of the patient's righteous qi(正氣), accuracy of differential diagnosis made by the practitioner, accuracy of treatment methods, and other unexpected external influences. 2. Correlation between the condition of disorders and treatment progression is closely associated with proper treatment procedures and performances. The time of onset and intensity play critical roles in the treatment process and prognosis and showed pattern tendency with mutual interactions. 3. When there is complication of various disorders, it is ideal to give priority to more urgent illness and take care of moderate illness later. If there isn't any correlation between disorders, treat them in the order of acute to chronic disorders. The approach is reversed when disorders are related, treating in the order of most chronic to most acute. 4. In a case of complication of various disorders, depending on the disorder being acute or chronic, intensity, and accuracy of treatments, either a domino effect or gradual fade out of symptoms were witnessed. 5. The concept of "Five Evils Theory" according to Nan Jing(Difficult Classic) is essential in grasping disease progression due to interrelationships between zangfu organs. Conclusions : Predicting of disease process and prognosis for vast array of disorders treated by Oriental medicine is a very difficult task, yet evaluating the disorder's peculiar properties and influential factors resulted in few principles which can be effectively applied into clinical applications.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.42 no.sup1
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• pp.140-148
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• 2008

$^{18}F-FDG$ PET showed a high sensitivity and specificity in the initial staging of malignant melanoma, and it also predicted the prognosis correctly. In addition, it had a higher sensitivity and specificity in the detection of recurrence and restaging than conventional imaging modalities. Meanwhile, there's less clinical evidence to support the use of $^{18}F-FDG$ PET in the response evaluation for chemotherapy and the diagnosis/differential diagnosis of malignant melanoma.

• Journal of Breast Disease
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.73-78
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• 2018

Primary angiosarcoma of the breast is extremely rare and is observed in 0.0005% to 0.05% of primary breast tumor cases. The diagnosis of this tumor is difficult due to its undefined characteristics. Radiologic findings are often nonspecific and appear completely normal in one-third of patients with primary angiosarcomas. The prognosis is usually poor, and the treatment choices include mastectomy or wide excision. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy produce varying results. We report a patient with primary angiosarcoma of the breast to further our understanding of the characteristics of this tumor and facilitate the correct diagnosis of breast angiosarcoma.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.223-228
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• 2022

It has well reported that tumor markers have many advantages like minimally invasive, convenient use, low cost but also has many limitations like low sensitivity and specificity, relevance of prognosis, low organ specificity. Although no tumor markers are ideal, many tumor markers are used for cancer diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and surveillance monitoring after treatment. We review the classification and characteristics of tumor markers according cancer types and clinical roles in current times.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6295-6300
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• 2014

Our aim was to investigate the value of combined detection of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9, CA 242 and CA 50 in diagnosis and assessment of prognosis in consecutive gastric cancer patients. Clinical data including preoperative serum CEA, CA 19-9, CA 242, and CA 50 values and information on clinical pathological factors were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were used to explore the relationship between tumor markers and survival. Positive rates of tumor markers CEA, CA 19-9, CA 242 and CA 50 in the diagnosis of gastric cancer were 17.7, 17.1, 20.4 and 13.8%, respectively, and the positive rate for all four markers combined was 36.6%. Patients with elevated preoperative serum concentrations of CEA, CA 19-9, CA 242 and CA 50, had late clinical tumor stage and significantly poorer overall survival. Five-year survival rates in patients with elevated CEA, CA 19-9, CA 242 and CA 50 were 28.1, 25.8, 27.0 and 24.1%, respectively, compared with 55.0, 55.4, 56.4 and 54.5% in patients with these markers at normal levels (p<0.01). In multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses, an elevated CA 242 level was determined to be an independent prognostic marker in gastric cancer patients. Combined detection of four tumor markers increased the positive rate for gastric cancer diagnosis. CA 242 showed higher diagnostic value and CA 50 showed lower diagnostic value. In resectable gastric carcinoma, preoperative CA 242 level was associated with disease stage, and was found to be a significant independent prognostic marker in gastric cancer patients.