• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8425-8430
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• 2016

Purpose: To study the safety of prophylactic level VII nodal dissection regarding hypoparathyroidism (temporary and permanent) and vocal cord dysfunction (temporary and permanent) and its impact on disease free survival. Materials and Methods: This prospective study concerned 63 patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma with N0 neck node involvement (clinically and radiologically) in the period from December 2009 to May 2013. All patients underwent total thyroidectomy and prophylactic central neck dissection including levels VI and VII lymph nodes in group A (31 patients) and level VI only in group B (32 patients). The thyroid gland, level VI and level VII lymph nodes were each examined histopathologically separately for tumor size, multicentricity, bilaterality, extrathyroidal extension, number of dissected LNs and metastatic LNs. Follow-up of both groups, regarding hypoparathyroidism, vocal cord dysfunction and DFS, ranged from 6-61 months. Results: The mean age was 34.8 and 34.3, female predominance in both groups with F: M 24:7 and 27:5 in groups A and B, respectively. Mean tumor size was 12.6 and 14.7mm. No statistical differences were found between both groups regarding age, sex, bilaterality, multicentricity or extrathyroidal extension. The mean no. of dissected level VI LNs was 5.06 and 4.72 and mean no. of metastatic level VI was 1 and 0.84 in groups A and B, respectively. The mean no. of dissected level VII LNs was 2.16 and mean no. of metastatic LNs was 0.48. Postoperatively temporary hypoparathyroidism was detected in 10 and 7 patients and permanent hypoparathyroidism in 2 and 3 patients; temporary vocal cord dysfunction was detected in 4 patients and one patient, and permanent vocal cord dysfunction in one and 2 patients in groups A and B, respectively. No significant statistical differences were noted between the 2 groups regarding hypoparathyroidism (P=0.535) or vocal cord dysfunction (P=0.956). The number of dissected LNs at level VI only significantly affected the occurrence of hypoparathyroidism (<0.001) and vocal cord dysfunction (<0.001).The DFS was significantly affected by bilaterality, multicentricity and extrathyroidal extension. Conclusions: Level VII nodal dissection is a safe procedure complementary to level VI nodal dissection with prophylactic central neck dissection for papillary thyroid carcinoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9301-9305
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• 2014

Background: Pain is one of the most terrifying symptoms for cancer patients. Although most patients with cancer pain need opioids, complete relief of pain is hard to achieve. This study investigated the factors influencing persistent pain-free survival (PPFS) and opioid efficiency. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted on 100 patients with cancer pain, hospitalized at the medical oncology clinic of Akdeniz University. Patient records were collected including patient demographics, the disease, treatment characteristics, and details of opioid usage. Pain intensity was measured using a patient self-reported visual analogue scale (VAS). The area under the curve (AUC) reflecting the pain load was calculated from daily VAS tables. PPFS, the primary measure of opioid efficacy, was described as the duration for which a patient reported a greater than or equal to two-point decline in their VAS for pain. Predictors of opioid efficacy were analysed using a multivariate analysis. Results: In the multivariate analysis, PPFS was associated with the AUC for pain (Exp (B)=0.39 (0.23-0.67), P=0.001), the cumulative opioid dosage used during hospitalisation (Exp (B)=1.00(0.99-1.00), P=0.003) and changes in the opioid dosage (Exp (B)=1.01 (1.00-1.01), P=0.016). The change in VAS score over the standard dosage of opioids was strongly associated with current cancer treatment (chemotherapy vs. others) (${\beta}=-0.31$, T=-2.81, P=0.007) and the VAS for pain at the time of hospitalisation (${\beta}=-0.34$, T=-3.07, P= 0.003). Conclusions: The pain load, opioid dosage, concurrent usage of chemotherapy and initial pain intensity correlate with the benefit received from opioids in cancer patients.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.129-136
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• 1991

This is a clinical, retrospective review of 66 cases of the Adenoid cystic carcinoma who were treated at the Department of Surgery, Presbyterian Medical Center, Chonju during the past 20 years from January, 1971 to December, 1990. The results were obtained as follows; 1) The most common malignant tumor in the minor salivary gland was adenoid cystic carcinoma and it's incidence was 57.6% (38 cases). 2) The most common site of adenoid cystic carcinoma in the major salivary gland was parotid gland with the incidence of 22.7% (15 cases). 3) The peak age of patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma was 5th decade(30.3%) and others' peak age except adenoid cystic carcinoma was 6th decade(35.9%). 4) The duration of symptoms of adenoid cystic carcinoma patient was less than one year in the minor salivary gland, comprising 21 cases(55.3 %) and more than one year in 18 cases(64.9 %) of the major salivary gland carcinoma. 5) According to histologic grades of 66 cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma, Grade I was 15 cases and Grade II 19 cases, Grade III 5 cases. Other 27 cases were undetermined. 6) The incidence of cervical lymphnode metastasis of 39 cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma classified into histologic grades was 0% in Grade I, 10.5% in Grade II and 20% in Grade III. 7) The incidence of nerve invasion confirmed histologically was 20% in Grade I, 63.2% in Grade II and 100% in Grade III. It was significant(p<0.01). 8) The local recurrence rate was 26.7% in Grade I, 47.4% in Grade II and 60% in Grade III. The lung was the commonest site for distant metastasis comprising 14 cases among 19 cases in which distant spread occurred. 9) 5 year determinate disease-free survival rate according to the histologic grade was 57.1% in Grade I, 27.3% in Grade II and 25.0% in Grade III. 10) The determinate 5-year survial rate of adenoid cystic carcinoma was 71.4% in the only curative surgery group, 70.6% in the combined treatment group of surgery and postoperative irradiation, 66.7% in the combined treatment group of surgery with postoperative irradiation and chemotherapy, and 33.3 % in the non-curative treatment group. 11) The average size of tumor was 3.6cm in Grade I, 4.8cm in Grade II and 4.5cm in Grade III.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1989-1992
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• 2014

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the response rates (clinical and pathological ) with docetaxel and epirubicin combination chemotherapy and its effect on outcome. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analysed locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) patients who received NACT from January 2008 to December 2012 in our tertiary care centre. LABC constituted 37% of all breast cancer cases and 120 patients fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The regimens used for NACT were, six cycles of DEC (docetaxel $75mg/m^2$, epirubicin $75mg/m^2$, cyclophosphamide $50mg/m^2$ on Day 1, 3 weekly) and a sequential regimen (4 cycles of FEC, 5-flurouracil $600mg/m^2$, epirubicin $75mg/m^2$, cyclophosphamide $600mg/m^2$ followed by 4 cycles of docetaxel $85mg/m^2$). Results: The median age was 47 years (range 23-72). Ninety six ( 80 %) had T4 disease and 90% had clinically palpable lymph nodes at diagnosis. The median size of primary tumor at presentation was 5.9 cm. Hormone receptor positivity was seen in 55% and HER2/neu positivity, in 25%. Triple negative breast cancers constituted 25 % of the cases. The overall clinical response rate (complete or partial ) was 85% and pathological complete responses were obtained in 15%. Four cases defaulted, 5 patients died of treatment related toxicity and 15% developed febrile neutropenia on DEC. The median duration of follow up was 22 months. The median time to relapse was 20 months and the 3 year relapse free and overall survival rates were 50% and 70% respectively. Conclusions: LABC constituted 37% of all breast cancer cases at our institute. With NACT, pCR was seen in 15% of the cases. Sequential chemotherapy was better tolerated than concurrent anthracyline and taxane chemotherapy with a similar pCR.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.813-818
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• 2014

Aims: To describe our institutional experience with high dose rate (HDR) interstitial brachytherapy (IBT) compared with previously reported results on the low dose rate (LDR) practice for head and neck cancer. Materials and Methods: Eighty-four patients with oral cavity (n=70) or oropharyngeal cancer (n=14) were treated with 192Ir HDR-IBT. Seventy-eight patients had stage I or II tumour. The patients treated with IBT alone (n=42) received 39-42 Gy/10-14 fractions (median=40 Gy/10 fractions). With respect to the combination therapy group (n=42), prescription dose comprised of 12-18 Gy/3-6 fractions (median=15 Gy/5 fractions) for IBT and 40-50 Gy/20-25 fractions (median=50 Gy/25 fractions) for external radiotherapy. Brachytherapy was given as 2 fractions per day 6 hours apart with 4 Gy per fraction for monotherapy and 3 Gy per fraction for combination therapy. Results: Four patients were not evaluable in the analysis of outcome. The primary site relapse rates were 23.8% (10/42) and 68.4% (26/38) in patients treated with IBT alone and combination therapy, respectively (p<0.001). Salvage surgery was performed in 19 patients. The 5-year local control rate was estimated at 62% and the disease-free survival (DFS) rate at 52% for all patients. Local control with respect to T1 and T2 tumours was 84% and 42%, respectively. Conclusions: Our present series on HDR-IBT and the previous report on LDR-IBT for head and neck cancer demonstrated similar DFS rates at 5 years (52%). The rate of regional failure in node-negative patients was <20% in both of our series. HDR-IBT offers similar results to LDR-IBT for head and neck cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3249-3253
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• 2016

Background: Pemetrexed monotherapy has come to be recognized as one of the standard second-line therapies for advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, there have been no reports of studies that have evaluated the efficacy of pemetrexed according to type of active EGFR mutation, i.e., an exon 19 deletion or an L858R point mutation. Materials and Methods: The records of non-squamous NSCLC patients harboring an EGFR mutation who received pemetrexed monotherapy as a second or later line of chemotherapy at Kitasato University Hospital between March 2010 and October 2015 were retrospectively reviewed, and the treatment outcomes were evaluated. Results: The overall response rate and progression-free survival time (PFS) of the 53 patients with non-squamous NSCLC were 15.1% and 2.3 months, respectively. There were significant differences between the disease control rate (37.5% vs. 76.2%) and PFS time (1.8 months vs. 3.3 months) of the exon 19 deletion group and the L858R point mutation group, and a multivariate analysis identified type of EGFR mutation as well as performance status (PS) as independent predictors of PFS. Conclusions: The clinical data obtained in this study provided a valuable rationale for considering type of EGFR mutation as well as non-squamous histology as predictors of the efficacy of pemetrexed monotherapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5219-5223
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• 2013

The number of axillary lymph nodes involved and retrieved are important prognostic factors in breast cancer. The purpose of our study was to investigate whether the lymph node ratio (LNR) is a better prognostic factor in predicting disease-free survival (DFS) for breast cancer patients as compared with pN staging. The analysis was based on 804 breast cancer patients who had underwent axillary lymph node dissection between 1999 and 2008 in Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center. Optimal cutoff points of LNR were calculated using X-tile software and validated by bootstrapping. Patients were then divided into three groups (low-, intermediate-, and high-risk) according to the cutoff points. Predicting risk factors for relapse were performed according to Cox proportional hazards analysis. DFS was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by the log-rank test. The 5-year DFS rate decreased significantly with increasing LNRs and pN. Univariate analysis found that the pT, pN, LNR, molecule type, HER2, pTNM stage and radiotherapy well classified patients with significantly different prognosis. By multivariate analysis, only LNR classification was retained as an independent prognostic factor. Furthermore, there was a significant prognostic difference among different LNR categories for pN2 category, but no apparent prognostic difference was seen between different pN categories in any LNR category. Therefore, LNR rather than pN staging is preferable in predicting DFS in node positive breast cancer patients, and routine clinical decision-making should take the LNR into consideration.

• 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.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.934-940
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• 1995

Small cell lung cancer(SCLC) is frequently associated with paraneoplastic syndromes, which occur in approximately 20% of patients at presentation. Clinical Cushing's syndrome secondary to ectopic ACTH production is uncommon, occurring in approximately 5% of all SCLC patients. However, biochemical evidence of hypercortisolism can be detected in up to 50% of patients. Patients with Cushing's syndrome from ectopic ACTH production show hypertension, weakness, hyperglycemia, and hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis, but differ from patients with classic Cushing's disease in that symptoms develop more rapidly. Ectopic ACTH production is associated with a poor response to chemotherapy, short survival, and a high risk of treatment-related complications. We report a case of Cushing's syndrome associated with ectopic corticotropin production in 59-year-old male patient with extensive stage of SCLC.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.105-110
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• 2016

Purpose: In the Adjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Stomach Tumors (ARTIST) trial, we investigated whether chemoradiotherapy after D2 gastrectomy reduces the rate of recurrence. Recently, the ratio of metastatic lymph nodes to examined lymph nodes (N ratio) has been proposed as an independent prognostic factor in gastric cancer (GC). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the metastatic N ratio and prognosis of GC after curative D2 surgery. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 458 ARTIST patients who underwent D2 gastrectomy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy (XP, n=228) or chemoradiotherapy (XPRT, n=230). The disease-free survival (DFS) rates of patients were used to evaluate the influence of N ratio on the treatment outcome. To achieve this, 4 different N ratio categories (0%, 1%~9%, 10%~25%, and >25%) were compared on the basis of their influence on the treatment outcome. Results: On multivariate analysis, the N ratio remained an independent prognostic factor for DFS. The hazard ratios (HRs) for the N ratio categories of 0%, 1%~9%, 10%~25%, and >25% were 1, 1.061, 1.202, and 3.571, respectively. In patients having N ratio >25%, the 5-year DFS rates were 55% and 28% for the XPRT and XP arms, respectively (HR, 0.527; 95% confidence interval, 0.307~0.904; P=0.020). Conclusions: In patients with curatively resected GC, the N ratio was independently associated with DFS. Although this finding warrants further investigation in future prospective studies, the benefit of chemoradiotherapy for D2 resected GC appears to be more beneficial in cancers having N ratios >25%.