• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.299-306
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• 1996

Purpose : Respiratory symptoms related with malignant airway disease have been the main causes of lowered qualify of life and also sometimes may be life-threatening if not properly managed. The authors report the short-term experiences of endobronchial brachytherapy for symptomatic malignant airway obstruction using high dose rate after-loading brachytherapy unit. Materials and Methdos : Twenty-five Patients with symptomatic malignant airway obstruction were treated with endobronchial brachytherapy between the period of December 1994 and March 1996 at Department of Radiation Oncology of Samsung Medical Center Twenty-one ($84\%$) were patients with non-small cell lung cancer, three with tracheal malignancies, and one with recurrence of esophageal cancer. Twenty Patients were given elective external beam radiation therapy, while six were given endobronchial laser evaporation therapy on emergency bases in addition to endobronchial brachytherapy. Three procedures for each patient were planned and total of 70 procedures were completed. Results : Improvement rates of major respiratory symptoms after endobronchial brachytherapy procedures were $88\%$(22/25). $96\%$(22/23), $100\%$ (15/15), and $100\%$(9/9) for cough, dyspnea, hemoptysis and obstructive pneumonia, respectively. ECOG performance scores were improved in $56\%$ of total patients group, while there was no case with worsened ECOG score. Fifteen patients died and the median interval from the start of treatment to death was 4 months (range: $1\~17$ months), while that of ten survivors was 9 months (range $5\~19$ months). There were five patients with controlled intrathoracic disease, who have survived over one rear. All deaths were associated with uncontrolled local and/or distant disease. Four Patients died of massive fatal hemoptysis, three of who received emergency endobronchial laser evaporation therapy before the start of endobronchial brachytherapy. Conclusion : Endobronchial brachytherapy has been confirmed as an excellent palliative treatment modality improving respiratory symptoms as well as patients' general performance status. Based on the current observations, use of endobronchial brachytherapy in curative setting as a boost technique may be warranted.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.199-206
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• 2009

Purpose: To analyze the clinical spectrum of posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) after liver transplantation in children. Methods: From January 1988 to June 2009, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 8 PTLD cases among 148 pediatric patients underwent liver transplantation. The age at transplantation, time of presentation after transplantation, clinical manifestations, histologic diagnosis, results of EBV (Epstein-Barr virus) assessments, managements and outcomes of PTLD were investigated. Results: The prevalence of PTLD in liver transplant pediatric recipients was 5.4% (8 of 148). The mean age of patients was 25.4${\pm}$21.3 months (range 10 to 67 months). Seven of 8 patients (87.5%) underwent liver transplantation before 1 year of age. The common clinical presentations were persistent fever (8 of 8, 100%) and bloody diarrhea (6 of 8, 75%). PTLD was diagnosed with gastrointestinal endoscopic biopsies in five patients and surgical biopsies in three. Histologic findings showed early lesion in three patients, polymorphic in two, and monomorphic in three. Burkitt lymphoma and lymphoblastic lymphoma were found in two of 3 monomorphic patients. Seven of 8 patients were found with EBV-positive. Eight patients were treated with dose reduction of immunosuppressants and infusion of ganciclovir. Rituximab was added to four patients. PTLD were successfully managed in all patients except one who died of sepsis during chemotherapy. Conclusion: Major risk factor of PTLD was to undergo liver transplantation before 1 year of age. Continuous monitoring for EBV viral load and gastrointestinal endoscopic biopsy may be useful to early detection of PTLD.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.175-181
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• 2002

Purpose : Scrub typhus(tsutsugamushi disease) is a febrile disease characterized by fever, rash, eschar, lymphadenopathy. Therapy with tetracycline(doxycycline) or chloramphenicol is currently recommended for the treatment for scrub typhus. But there are limitations in usage a tetracycline(doxycycline) for scrub typhus in the children. Recently, there was a report that azithromycin, a macrolide antibiotic was used for scrub typhus in pregnant woman successfully. So we evaluated the effectiveness of the Clarithromycin, other a macrolide antibiotic, for scrub typhus. Methods : Seven patients with scrub typhus at department of internal medicine and three patients with scrub typhus at department of pediatrics Masan Fatima Hospital were involved for this study. A serologic diagnosis for scrub typhus were performed by use of passive hemagglutination test. Clarithromycin(Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, IL, USA) was administrated orally in a daily dose of 500 mg for adult patients and 15 mg/kg/bid/day for pediatric patients. Results : There were 7 cases of adult patients, varying from 28 to 76 years of age and 3 cases of pediatirc patients, varying from 4 to 7 years of age with scrub typhus. All of cases had fever, myalgia, headache, rash, eschar. Seven cases had positive passive hemagglutination test and eight cases had abnormal liver function. Mean duration for the removal of fever after medication was 1.3 day(1~2 days) and all cases were recovered without complications. Conclusion : Our results suggest that Clarithromycin therapy may be effective for scrub typhus.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Fisheries Technology Conference
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• 2000.05a
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• pp.71-73
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• 2000

Campylobacter jejuni is most frequently identified cause of cause of acute diarrhoeal infections in developeed countries, exceeding rates of illness caused by both salmonella and shigilla(Skirrow, 1990 ; Lior 1994). Previous studies on campylobacter jejuni contamination of commercial broiler carcasses in u.s.(Stern, 1992). Most cases of the disease result from indirect transmission of Campylobactor from animals via milk, water and meat. In addition to Campylobactor jejuni. the closely relates species Campylobactor coli and Campylobactor lari have also been implicated as agents of gastroenteritis in humans. Campylobactor coli represented only approximately 3% of the Campylobactor isolates from patients with Campylobactor enteritis(Griffiths and Park, 1990) whereas Campylobactor coli is mainly isolated from pork(Lmmerding et al., 1988). Campylobactor jejuni has also been isolated from cases of bacteremia, appendicitis and, recently, has been associated with Guillai-Barre syndrome(Allos and Blaser, 1994; von Wulffen et al., 1994; Phillips, 1995). Studies in volunteers indicated that the infectious dose for Campylobactor jejuni is low(about 500 organisms)(Robinson, 1981). The methods traditionally used to detect Campylobactor ssp. in food require at least two days of incubation in an enrichment broth followed by plating and two days of incubation on complex culture media containing many antibiotics(Goossens and Butzler, 1992). Finnaly, several biochemical tests must be done to confirm the indentification at the species level. Therfore, sensitive and specific methods for the detection of small numbers of Campylobactor cells in food are needed. Polymerase chain reaction(PCR) assays targeting specific DNA sequences have been developed for the detection of Campylobactor(Giesendorf and Quint, 1995; Hemandex et al., 1995; Winter and Slavidk, 1995). In most cases, a short enrichment step is needed to enhance the sensitivity of the assay prior to detection by PCR as the number of bacteria in the food products is low in comparison with those found in dinical samples, and because the complex composition of food matrices can hinder the PCR and lower its sensitivity. However, these PCR systems are technically demanding to carry out and cumbersome when processing a large number of samples simutaneously. In this paper, an immunomagnetic method to concentrate Campylobactor cells present in food or clinical samples after an enrichment step is described. To detect specifically the thermophilic Campylobactor. a monoclonal antibody was adsorbed on the surface of the magnetic beads which react against a major porin of 45kDa present on the surface of the cells(Huyer et al., 1986). After this partial purification and concentration step, detection of bound cells was achieved using a simple, inexpensive microtitre plate-based hybridization system. We examined two alternative detection systems, one specific for thermophilic Campylobactor based on the detection of 23S rRNA using an immobilized DNA probe. The second system is less specific but more sensitive because of the high copy number of the rRNA present in bacterial cell($10^3-10^4$). By using specific immunomagnetic beads against thermophilic Campylobactor, it was possible to concentrate these cells from a heterogeneous media and obtain highly specific hybridization reactions with good sensitivity. There are several advantages in using microtitre plates instead of filter membranes or other matrices for hybridization techniques. Microtitre plates are much easier to handle than filter membranes during the adsorption, washing, hybridization and detection steps, and their use faciilitates the simultanuous analysis of multiple sample. Here we report on the use of a very simple detection procedure based on a monoclonal anti-RNA-DNA hybrid antibody(Fliss et al., 1999) for detection of the RNA-DNA hybrids formed in the wells.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2004

Locally advanced (Stage III) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately one third of all cases of NSCLC. Few patients with locally advanced NSCLC present with disease amenable to curative surgical resection. Historically, these patients were treated with primary thoracic radiation therapy (RT) and had poor long term survival rates, due to both progression of local disease and development on distant metastases. Over the last two decades, the use of multidisciplinary approach has improved the outcome for patients with locally advanced NSCLC. Combined chemoradiotherapy is the most favored approach for treatment of locally advanced unresectable NSCLC. There are two basic treatment protocols for administering combined chemotherapy and radiation, sequential versus concurrent. The rationale for using chemotherapy is to eliminate subclinical metastatic disease while improving local control. Sequential use of chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy has improved median and long term survival compared to radiation therapy alone. This approach appears to decrease the risk of distant metastases,, but local failure rates remain the same as radiation alone. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy has been studied extensively. The potential advantages of this approach may include sensitization of tumor cells to radiation by the administration of chemotherapy, and reduced overall treatment time compared to sequential therapy; which is known to be important for improving local control in radiation biology. This approach Improves survival primarily as a result of improved local control. However, it doesn't seem to decrease the risk of distant metastases probably because concurrent chemoradiation requires dose reductions in chemotherapy due to increased risks of acute morbidity such as acute esophageal toxicity. Although multidisciplinary therapy has led to improved survival rates compared to radiation therapy alone and has become the new standard of care, the optimal therapy of locally advanced NSCLC continues to evolve. The current issues in the multidisciplinary management of locally advanced NSCLC will be reviewed in this report.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.163-171
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• 1995

Purpose: Primary radiation therapy following breast-conserving surgery has been an accepted alternative to mastectomy during the past 2 decades. In this country, however, the practice of conservative therapy for early invasive breast cancer has not been generalized yet. The purpose of this report was to evaluate the results and complications of breast conservation therapy in Korean Cancer Center Hospital(KCCH). Materials and Methods: From January 1987 to December 1989. 45 Patients with early breast cancer treated with conservative treatment in KCCH were studied retrospectively Median follow up was 54 months(range, 4 to 82 months) . All patients received partial mastectomy (biopsy, tumorectomy. or quadrantectomy) and radiation therapy. Twenty eight patients received axillary dissection The breast was treated with two opposing tangential fields (total 50 Gy or 50.4 Gy in 5 weeks with daily target dose of 2 Gy or 1.8 Gy) Thirty patients received chemotherapy before and after radio-therapy Eleven patients received hormonal therapy. Results: Five-year survival rate, 5-rear disease free survival rate and 5-year local control rate were 87.2%, 86.5% and 97.6%,$ respectively. Administration of systemic Therapy (chemotherapy or hormonal therapy) correlated with good prognosis but statistically not significant (0.05 < p < 0.1). The severe late complication rate was 8.9% Conclusion: Primary radiation therapy following breast-conserving surgery for early breast cancer is an alternative treatment comparing to radical treatment. Long term follow-up and more patients collection is needed to evaluate the Prognostic factor and cosmetic outcome.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.468-472
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• 1995

Substantial amount of caryophyllene oxide (CPO) is present in the essential oils of traditionally-used folk medicinal plants and herbal spices. The CPO, produced via chemical and/or enzymatic reaction of caryophyllene (CP), has largely being used as a flavoring component and exhibited a variety of biological activities. Now, we report the antimutagenic activity of CPO determined by Ames's preincubation test. S-9 fraction was prepared from the liver of rats treated with Arochor 1254. Anatoxin $B_1\;(AFB_1)$ and 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) were used as mutagens. Reduction of mutagenicity of $AFB_1$ or IQ for S. typhimurium TA98 and TA100 by CPO was found to be a dose-dependant manner. CPO (500 ${\mu}g/plate$) reduced mutagenicity of AEB1 for S. typhimurium TA98 and TA100 to 89% and 71%, respectively. For IQ, similar results were observed against S. typhimurium TA98 and TA100, resulting in the inhibition percentage of 77% and 51%, respectively. CP also reduced mutagenicity of AEB1 and IQ for S. typhimurium TA98 and TA100, but the reduction rate was somewhat lowered relative to that of CPO. These results indicate that CPO could be developed as a potent antimutagenic flavoring agent.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2006

Automated analysis software was developed to measure the magnitude of the intrafractional and interfractional errors during breast radiation treatments. Error analysis results are important for determining suitable planning target volumes (PTV) prior to Implementing breast-conserving 3-D conformal radiation treatment (CRT). The electrical portal imaging device (EPID) used for this study was a Portal Vision LC250 liquid-filled ionization detector (fast frame-averaging mode, 1.4 frames per second, 256X256 pixels). Twelve patients were imaged for a minimum of 7 treatment days. During each treatment day, an average of 8 to 9 images per field were acquired (dose rate of 400 MU/minute). We developed automated image analysis software to quantitatively analyze 2,931 images (encompassing 720 measurements). Standard deviations ($\sigma$) of intrafractional (breathing motion) and intefractional (setup uncertainty) errors were calculated. The PTV margin to include the clinical target volume (CTV) with 95% confidence level was calculated as $2\;(1.96\;{\sigma})$. To compensate for intra-fractional error (mainly due to breathing motion) the required PTV margin ranged from 2 mm to 4 mm. However, PTV margins compensating for intefractional error ranged from 7 mm to 31 mm. The total average error observed for 12 patients was 17 mm. The intefractional setup error ranged from 2 to 15 times larger than intrafractional errors associated with breathing motion. Prior to 3-D conformal radiation treatment or IMRT breast treatment, the magnitude of setup errors must be measured and properly incorporated into the PTV. To reduce large PTVs for breast IMRT or 3-D CRT, an image-guided system would be extremely valuable, if not required. EPID systems should incorporate automated analysis software as described in this report to process and take advantage of the large numbers of EPID images available for error analysis which will help Individual clinics arrive at an appropriate PTV for their practice. Such systems can also provide valuable patient monitoring information with minimal effort.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.4 s.51
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• pp.863-873
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• 1995

This report describes a preperation and characterization of canine blood lead(Pb) standard reference material(SRM). Three adult beagle dogs(A, B, and C)were orally dosed with gelatin capsules containing $Pb(NO_3)_2$, equivalent to $10\sim80mg$ Pb/kg body weight. Blood was drawn 24 hours after the dose from the cephalic vein into lead free 500ml Pyrex beaker in which EDTA.K was contained as an anticoagulant. The amount of lead given to individual dog was varied arbitrarily. Three month later, 3 canine animals were orally dosed with lead secondarily to make mixed SRM(D1) which was mixed different concentrations of lead in bloods with A1, B1, and C1 in vitro. The SRMs for A, B, C, A1, B1, C1, and D1 were distributed 2ml each into more than 300 lead free bottles, and were stored in refregerator at $4^{\circ}C$. The amount of lead in canine whole blood samples were determined using a Varian 30A atomic absorption spectrophotometer(AAS) with a model GTA-96 graphite tube atomizer with D2 background correction and a Hitachi Z-8100 AAS with Zeeman background correction. The sensitivity and detection limits for lead determination of Varian 30A were $0.46{\mu}g/L,\;0.34{\mu}g/L,\;and\;0.56{\mu}g/L,\;0.14{\mu}g/L$ of Hitachi Z-8100, respectively. Day to day variations in determination of blood lead concentration in a certain sample were $31.11{\pm}1.36{\mu}g/100ml$ by Varian 30A, and $33.08{\pm}0.82{\mu}g/100ml$ by Hitachi Z-8100, showing the difference of 3% between the two results. At the blood lead concentrations of $56.31{\pm}1.98{\mu}g/100ml(A),\;40.89{\pm}0.80{\mu}g/100ml(B),\;59.01{\pm}1.38{\mu}g/100ml(C)$, the precisions of replicated measurements by AAS were 3.52%, 1.96%, and 2.34%, respectively. Coefficient variation(CV) of SRMs(A, B, and C) within a standard sample were ranged from 0.92% to 7.50%, and those between 5 standard samples were 1.21%, 2.64%, and 1.11%, respectively, showing inter-vial variation of $1{\mu}g/100ml$. Lead levels in SRMs during one month storage were unchanged. The overall recoveries were $89.6\sim100.4%,\;91.6\sim101.9%,\;90.3\sim100.0%$ for A, B, and C SRMs, means were $56.46{\pm}2.69{\mu}g/100ml,\;39.35{\pm}1.89{\mu}g/100ml,\;57.40{\pm}2.31{\mu}g/100ml$, and measurement ranges were$52.88{\pm}59.26{\mu}g/100ml,\;37.47{\pm}41.68{\mu}g/100ml,\;54.80{\pm}60.69{\mu}g/100ml$, respectively. Those results were laid within confidence limits values. The lead concentrations in the mixed sample(D1) stored over one month period were ranged from $32.76{\mu}g/100ml\;to\;33.54{\mu}g/100ml$, with CV ranging from 1.2% to 2.7%. The results were similiar to each of single samples(A1, B1, and C1) in respect of homogeneity and stability. Results of the mixed blood sample analysed after 1 month storage at $4^{\circ}C$ by four other laboratories(L1, L2, L3, L4) were similar with those of our laboratory($L5;31.18{\pm}0.24{\mu}g/100ml$, acceptable range by $CDC;25.18\sim37.18{\mu}g/100ml$), showing the concentrations of $25.91{\pm}1.19{\mu}g/100ml(L1),\;34.16{\pm}0.22{\mu}g/100ml(L2),\;35.68{\pm}0.85{\mu}g/100ml(L3),\;30.95{\pm}0.46{\mu}g/100ml(L4)$ in a each samples.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 1998

Purpose : Carcinomas arising in the gall bladder(GB) or extrahepatic biliary ducts are uncommon and generally have a poor prognosis. The overall 5-year survival rates are less than $10\%$. Early experiences with the external radiation therapy demonstrated a good palliation with occasional long-term survival. The present report describes our experience over the past decade with irradiation of primary carcinomas of the gallbladder and extrahepatic biliary duct. Materials and Methods : From Feb. 1984 to Nov. 1995, thirty-three patients with carcinoma of the GB and extrahepatic biliary duct were treated with external beam radiotherapy with curative intent at our institution. All patients were treated with 4-MV linear accelerator and radiation dose ranged from 31.44Gy to 54.87Gy(median 44.25Gy), and three Patients received additional intraluminal brachytherapy(range, 25Gy to 30Gy). Twenty-seven Patients received postoperative radiation. Among 27 patients, Sixteen patients underwent radical operation with curative aim and the rest of the patients either had bypass surgery or biopsy alone. In seventeen patients, adjuvant chemotherapy was used and eleven patients were treated with 5-FU, mitomycin and leucovorin. Results : Median follow up period was 8.5 months(range 2-97 months). The overall 2-year and 5-year survival rates in all patients were $29.9\%$ and $13.3\%$ respectively. In patients with GB and extrahepatic biliary duct carcinomas, the 2-year survival rates were $34.5\%$ and $27.8\%$ respectively. Patients who underwent radical operation showed better 2-year survival rates than those who underwent palliative operation($43.8\%\;vs.\;20.7\%$), albeit statistically insignificant(p>0.05). The 2-year survival rates in Stage I and II were higher than in Stage III and IV with statistical significance(p<0.05). Patients with good performance status in the beginning showed significantly better survival rates than those with worse status(p<0.05). The 2-year survival rates in combined chemotherapy group and radiation group were $40.5\%$ and $22.0\%$ respectively. There was no statistical differences in two groups (p>0.05). Conclusion : The survival of patients with relatively lower stage and/or initial good performance was significantly superior to that of others. We found an statistically insignificant trend toward better survival in patients with radical operation and/or chemotherapy, More radical treatment strategies, such as total resection with intensive radiation and/or chemotherapy may offer a better chance for cure in selective patients with carcinoma of gall bladder and extrahepatic biliary ducts.