• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2016

There were no Korean evidence-based multidisciplinary guidelines for gastric cancer. Experts from related societies developed guidelines de novo to meet Korean circumstances and requirements, including 23 recommendation statements for diagnosis (n=9) and treatment (n=14) based on relevant key questions. The quality of the evidence was rated according to the GRADE evidence evaluation framework and the recommendation grades were classified as either strong or weak. The topics of the guidelines cover diagnostic modalities (endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, and radiologic diagnosis), treatment modalities (surgery, therapeutic endoscopy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy), and pathologic evaluation. Major limitation of the present guideline is that there is no enough evidences in Korea. Therefore, clinical studies about gastric cancer for evidence generation should be conducted.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.581-587
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• 2024

Although colonoscopy is a routinely performed procedure, it is not devoid of challenges, such as the potential for perforation and considerable patient discomfort, leading to patients postponing the procedure with several healthcare risks. This review delves into preprocedural and procedural solutions, and emerging technologies aimed at addressing the drawbacks of colonoscopies. Insufflation and sedation techniques, together with various other methods, have been explored to increase patient satisfaction, and thereby, the quality of endoscopy. Recent advances in this field include the prevention of loop formation, encompassing the use of variable-stiffness endoscopes, computer-guided scopes, magnetic endoscopic imaging, robotics, and capsule endoscopy. An autonomous endoscope that relies on self-propulsion to completely avoid looping is a potentially groundbreaking technology for the next generation of endoscopes. Nevertheless, critical techniques need to be refined to ensure the development of effective and efficient endoscopes.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.286-292
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• 2020

Imaging through multicore fiber (MCF) is of great significance in the biomedical domain. Although several techniques have been developed to image an object from a signal passing through MCF, these methods are strongly dependent on the surroundings, such as vibration and the temperature fluctuation of the fiber's environment. In this paper, we apply a new, strong technique called deep learning to reconstruct the phase image through a MCF in which each core is multimode. To evaluate the network, we employ the binary cross-entropy as the loss function of a convolutional neural network (CNN) with improved U-net structure. The high-quality reconstruction of input objects upon spatial light modulation (SLM) can be realized from the speckle patterns of intensity that contain the information about the objects. Moreover, we study the effect of MCF length on image recovery. It is shown that the shorter the fiber, the better the imaging quality. Based on our findings, MCF may have applications in fields such as endoscopic imaging and optical communication.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.12 s.269
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• pp.920-926
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• 2006

Background: Mortality and morbidity of anastomotic complications after esophagectomy have gradually decreased in recent years. However, swallowing difficulties and reflux symptoms after esophagogastrostomy continue to be a burden jeopardizing the quality of life. In the present study, we evaluated the quality of esophagogastrostomy by analyzing anastomotic stenosis and reflux esophagitis. Material and Method: A retrospective analysis was made in 74 patients who underwent esophagogastrostomy after esophagectomy by one surgeon between January 1995 and December 2004. 53 patients of them received endoscopic examination during follow-up($29{\pm}23.6$ months, range $5{\sim}111$ months). Reflux esophagitis and stenosis at anastomostic site were analyzed according to the techniques and locations of esophagogastrostomy. Result: The median age at the time of repair was $60.3{\pm}8.87$ years(range $39{\sim}81$ years). 23 patients received a hand-sewn esophagogastric anastomosis and 30 patients a circular stapled one. There was no significant statistical difference in terms of anastomotic stenosis(p=0.64) and reflux esophagitis(p=0.41) between the two groups. Cervical anastomosis was peformed in 26 patients and intrathoracic anastomosis in 27 patients. No significant statistical difference in anastomotic stenosis between the two groups was found(p=0.44), but reflux esophagitis was noted in 3 patients in the cervical anastomosis group and 14 patients in the intrathoracic anastomosis group(p=0.003). Conclusion: Cervical anastomosis was supposed to have a better quality of esophagogastrostomy by lowering the risk of reflux esophagitis. In the future, the comprehensive study including a patient's subjective symptom and Barrett's metaplasia should be performed in larger cases.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.7-10
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• 2007

Unilateral vocal fold paralysis resulting in glottal incompetence can cause significant morbidity attributable to impaired speech, swallowing, and ability to protect the airway. The treatment of unilateral vocal cord paralysis has a long history, marked by technical innovations and improvements. These methods typically use endoscopic injection or implants to augment the volume of the affected vocal fold. The first known treatment, reported by Brunnings in 1911, was paraffin injection. The first thyroplasty medializing the paralysed vocal cord was performed by Payr in 1915 ; here, a cartilage door-flap was created from the thyroid ala to obtain better voice quality. In the 1970s, Isshiki systematized and developed the use of the external medialization by Payr. Later he modified his original technique, and achieved safer and better results. Many other methods were introduced for external medialization during the 1980s and 1990s. There has been couple of materials using for medialization laryngoplasty: silicone bloc, cartilage, goretex (polytetrafluoroethylene), titanium, etc. Among them, silicone bloc is the most popularly used material. Type I thyroplasty in combination with arytenoid adduction is a proven technique for medialization of the paralysed vocal fold. In this paper, personal experience for using silicone bloc type I thyroplasty : decision making and practical points, long-term results and complication of the procedure will be discussed.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.68-75
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• 2018

Objectives : Since pain in cancer patients is an important factor that greatly affects the quality of life and prognosis, many attempts have been actively made to reduce the pain. Despite continuous effort on reducing pain after Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), research has not been done on psychological factors as much as on biological factors affecting pain. The objective of this study is to investigate the psychological factors affecting postoperative pain in gastric tumor patients who underwent gastric ESD. Methods : 91 gastric tumor patients who visited National Health Service Ilsan Hospital in Korean between May 2015 and June 2016, and received ESD were evaluated. Baseline characteristics including sociodemographic factors, anxiety, depression, and resilience were evaluated before the procedure. Multivariate logistic regression was done to analyze factors affecting postoperative pain. Results : The group with high postoperative pain showed lower alcohol consumption and higher depressive symptom scores than the group with low postoperative pain. Also, the group with high postoperative pain showed lower total resilience score with lower subtotal scores in self-control and positive item. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of the postoperative pain showed that patients with lower score in self-control of resilience [odd ratio (OR), 0.911 ; 95% CI, 0.854-0.971, p=0.004) reported more pain after ESD. Conclusions : This study showed that patients with lower self-control ability of resilience felt more pain after ESD. Among the psychological factors evaluated in this study, resilience of an individual seems to have effect on pain.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.182-190
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• 2016

Purpose: This study aimed to establish a large-scale database of patients with gastric cancer to facilitate the development of a nationalcancer management system and a comprehensive cancer control policy. Materials and Methods: An observational prospective cohort study on gastric cancer was initiated in 2010. A total of 14 cancer centers throughout the country and 152 researchers were involved in this study. Patient enrollment began in January 2011, and data regarding clinicopathological characteristics, life style-related factors, quality of life, as well as diet diaries were collected. Results: In total, 4,963 patients were enrolled until December 2014, and approximately 5% of all Korean patients with gastric cancer annually were included. The mean age was $58.2{\pm}11.5$ years, and 68.2% were men. The number of patients in each stage was as follows: 3,394 patients (68.4%) were in stage IA/B; 514 patients (10.4%), in stage IIA/B; 469 patients (9.5%), in stage IIIA/B/C; and 127 patients (2.6%), in stage IV. Surgical treatment was performed in 3,958 patients (79.8%), endoscopic resection was performed in 700 patients (14.1%), and 167 patients (3.4%) received palliative chemotherapy. The response rate for the questionnaire on the quality of life was 95%; however, diet diaries were only collected for 27% of patients. Conclusions: To provide comprehensive information on gastric cancer for patients, physicians, and government officials, a large-scale database of Korean patients with gastric cancer was established. Based on the findings of this cohort study, an effective cancer management system and national cancer control policy could be developed.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2009

Approximately 10 percent of advanced stomach cancer patients have internal bleeding in their stomach. It is crucial to treat internal bleeding since it severely deteriorates patient's condition, and disturbs process of chemotherapy. There are hemostatic agents and dressing, radiotherapy, endoscopic ligation and coagulation, surgical methods to treat bleeding. However, these methods cannot be executed in some cases in which patient is in terminal stage or not in desirable condition to take these treatments. We are going to introduce a case of advanced gastric cancer patient having stomach bleeding who made a choice to take oriental medical treatments. The patient was on third stage of stomach cancer, had 3200cc of blood transfusion for five times. After diagnosed as not being able to have resection, he started to oriental medical treatments to stop bleeding. From March 28, 2009 to April 16, 2009, we administer 120cc Bojungikgi-tang gamibang to the patient in 90minutes after each meal. During 19days of having Bojungikgi-tang gamibang, we observed that the patient needed significantly lower amount blood transfusion, to 640cc. The patient improves in performance, and was able to eat more. Despite of short period of observation, this case indicates that Bojungikgi-tang gamibang treatment to the patient could work as hemostat, further improved quality of patient's life.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.220-234
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• 2022

Purpose: The incidence of adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) has increased in recent years, and the optimal surgical strategy for AEG remains highly controversial. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction (PG-DT) for the treatment of patients with AEG. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with Siewert type II/III AEG between January 2013 and July 2018. Clinicopathological characteristics, survival, surgical outcomes, quality of life (QOL), and nutritional status were compared between the PG-DT and total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis (TG-RY) groups. Results: After propensity score matching, 33 patients in each group were analyzed. There were no statistical differences between the 2 groups in terms of disease-free survival and overall survival. The surgical option was not an independent prognostic factor based on the multivariate analysis. In addition, no differences were found in terms of surgical complications. There were no significant differences in QOL assessed by the Visick grade, Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, or endoscopic findings. Furthermore, the long-term nutritional advantage of the PG-DT group was significantly greater than that of the TG-RY group. Conclusions: PG-DT is a safe and effective procedure for patients with local Siewert type II/III AEG, regardless of the TNM stage.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.628-636
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• 2024

Background/Aims: Advanced pancreatic and biliary tract cancers can invade the duodenum and cause duodenal hemorrhagic stenosis. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of covered self-expandable metal stents in the treatment of cancer-related duodenal hemorrhage with stenosis. Methods: Between January 2014 and December 2016, metal stents were placed in 51 patients with duodenal stenosis. Among these patients, a self-expandable covered metal stent was endoscopically placed in 10 patients with hemorrhagic duodenal stenosis caused by pancreatobiliary cancer progression. We retrospectively analyzed the therapeutic efficacy of the stents by evaluating the technical and clinical success rates based on successful stent placement, degree of oral intake, hemostasis, stent patency, and overall survival. Results: The technical and clinical success rates were 100%. All 10 patients achieved a gastric outlet obstruction scoring system score of three within two weeks after the procedure and had no recurrence of melena. The median stent patency duration and overall survival after stent placement were 52 days (range, 20-220 days) and 66.5 days (range, 31-220 days), respectively. Conclusions: Endoscopic placement of a covered metal stent for hemorrhagic duodenal stenosis associated with pancreatic or biliary tract cancer resulted in duodenal hemostasis, recanalization, and improved quality of life.