• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.942-945
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• 1995

The coincidental occurrence of squamous cell carcinoma and leiomyoma in the esophagus is rare. A 56 year-old male referred to chest surgery department to evaluate the mediastinal mass which had found on a health examination. The diagnosis was confirmed esophagoscopy and surgery. We report a case of synchronous squamous cell carcinoma and leiomyoma in esophagus and reviewed references to the literature.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.74-81
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• 2008

Background: Fascin is an actin-bundling protein that induces membrane protrusions and it increases cell motility in various transformed cells. Esophageal cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies, and it exhibits extensive local invasion or frequent regional lymph node metastasis even after curative surgery. We investigate the expression of fascin by performing immunohistochemistry to evaluate the clinical characteristics and prognostic significance of its expression in esophageal cancer patients. Material and Method: Immunochemistry for fascin was performed on 76 tumor samples from 76 patients who underwent esophageal cancer operations. The expression levels of fascin in the 76 esophageal cancer tissues were compared with those in the corresponding normal esophageal epithelium. The fascin-positive samples were defined as those showing more than 75% of fascin-positive cells. Result: Overall, a fascin positive expression was detected in 39 (51.3%) out of the total 76 cases. The tumors with positive fascin expression tended to more frequently show a higher stage (p=0.030), and a higher T-factor (p=0.031). The prognosis of the fascin negative group was significantly better than that of the fascin positive group (p=0.004). Multivariate analysis revealed that lymphovascular invasion and the fascin expression were independent prognostic factors. Conclusion: Fascin was expressed in 513% of the esophageal cancer tissues and a positive expression of fascin was associated with more advanced tumor progression and recurrence. Our study suggests that the fascin expression may be an independent prognostic factor for an unfavorable clinical course few those patients suffering with esophageal cancer.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1248-1256
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• 1996

From June 1987 to December 1994, 372 patients underwent operation for resection of esophageal cancer, and 48 patients with metastasis to distant abdominal lymph nodes were analyzed.. The primary tumors were located predominantly in lower thoracic esophagus(n=29). The location of involved lymph nodes were celiac L/N(n=45), common hepatic L/N(n=4), paraaortic L/N(n=l), and retropancreatic L/N(n=l). Most tumors penetrated the esophageal wall(T3,T4, n=43), metastased to regional L/N(N1, n=41), but a few tumors were limited to the esophageal wall(T1,T2, n=5), metastased to distant abdominal L/N without metastasis to regional L/N(NO, n=7). Resectability rate was 87.5%(42/48), and complete resection was possible in 31 patients(64.6%). The most frequent cause of incomplete resection and unresectability was unresectable T4 lesions(n=8), extranodal invasion(n=7). Overall operative mortality and morbidity was 4.2%, 22.9%, and resection mortality was 4.8%. Adjuvant therapy was given to 27 patients, and postoperative follow-up was possible in all patients(median follow-up, 32 months). The 1 year and 3 year survival for resection group was 54.0%, 18.1%(median, 386 days) including operative deaths. Our results suggest that resection of the esophageal cancer with metastasis to distant abdominal lymph nodes(M1LYN) can be done with acceptable mortality and morbidity, and may playa role in long-term survival in carefully selected patients because prognosis is dismal in unresectable esophageal cancer. We recommend that lymph nodes around celiac axis be dissected thoroughly for exact staging and possible prolongation of survival, and multimodality therapy as necessary because most patients with M1(LYN) esophageal cancer do poorly with only primay surgical treatment.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.64-71
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• 2001

배경: 최근 치료법의 진보에도 불구하고 진행성 식도암의 예후는 5년 생존율이 10% 이하로매우 불량하기 때문에 식도암에 대한 새로운 치료방법의 하나로 암면역 치료가 대두되고 있다. 암면역 치료를 위해서 MAGE 등 종양 특이항원이 연구의 대상이 되고 있으나 국내에서는 아직 이에 대한 연구가 없다. 대상 및 방법: 1995년 1월부터 1998년 12월까지 고신대학교 복음병원 흉부외과에서 수술 치험한 125례의 식도암중 병리조직 보관상태가 양호한 편평세포암 79례를 병기에 따라(1병기 19례, IIa병기 19례, IIb병기 10례, III병기 21례, IV병기 10례) 무작위로 추출하고 대조군으로 평활근종 20례와 정상 식도점막 20례를 대조군으로 하여 DO7 단클론 항체와 항 MAGE-3 단클론 항체 57B를 이용하여 면역조직화학검사를 시행하여 변형 p53 단백과 MAGE-3 유전자 산물의 발현율을 조사하고 식도암 조직에서 질병의 진행도를 반영하는 병기에 따른 발현율 및 변형 p53 단백과 MAGE-3 유전자 산물의 발현율간의 상관관계를 조사하였다. 결과: 식도암조직에서 변형 p53 단백과 MAGE-3 유전자 산물의 발현율은 각각 51.9%, 60.8%의 발현율을 보였으나 식도평활근종과 정상 식도점막에서는 한례도 발현되지 않아 변형 p53 단백과 MAGE-3 유전자 산물은 대조군에 비해 식도암 조직에서 의미있게 발현되었다(p<0.001). 변형 p53 단백과 MAGE-3 유전자 산물의 발현은 I병기에서 68.4%, 52.6%, IIa병기에서 57.9%, 47.6%, IIb병기에서 60%, 70%, III병기에서 33.3%, 71.4%, IV병기에서 40%, 70% 각각 발현되어 병기에 따른 발현율의 차이는 없었다(p=0.193, p=0.452). 식도암 조직내에서 변형 p53 단백과 MAGE-3 유전자 산물의 발현간에는 상관관계가 없는 것으로 나타났다(p=0.679). 결론: 이상의 결과로 변형 p53 단백과 MAGE-3 유전자 산물의 발현은 식도암에서 예후인자로서의 역할은 할수 없으나 식도 편평세포 암조직에서만 특이하게 높은 빈도로 발현됨으로써 식도암도 면역치료의 대상이 될 수 있음을 확인하였다.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.49-52
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• 1999

A 58-year-old male patient visited our hospital for epigastric discomfort and dysphagia which had developed 5 months earlier. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer at the mid-thoracic level based on radiologic, endoscopic, and histologic examinations. An esophagectomy(Ivor Lewis technique) was done to treat the esophageal cancer. He was doing well until the 20th postoperative day when he began to complain of cough, sputum, fever and chills, Subsequently, thereafter, abdominal pain and generalized abdominal tenderness developed on the 22nd postoperative day. Upon gastrofiberscopy and esophagographic examinations, he was diagnosed with gastrobronchial fistula and an emergency operation was performed. On operative findings, the gastric fundus was perforated and directly connected to the abscessed cavity of the right upper lobe due to a gastric ulcer. We, herewith, report this case after review of the literature.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.37 no.12
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• pp.992-998
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• 2004

Background: The decision of staging of esophageal cancer have great effect on the resectability of the lesion and estimation of the patient's prognosis. Today, CT is one of the most popular modality for staging of esophageal cancer. However, it has some limitations because of false-positive or false-negative findings on cancer staging. The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy of CT in preoperative staging of esophageal cancer. Material and Method: We retrospectively analysed the difference of staging of esophageal cancer between CT and histopathological findings for the 114 patients with histologically proven esophageal cancer who underwent operation at the department of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, Chonnam national university hospital, between January 1999 and June 2003. We evaluated the efficacy of chest CT in the staging of esophageal cancer compared to postoperative histopathologic findings by calculating sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and reproducibility of chest CT to detect abnormality. Result: The reproducibilities between chest CT and histopathologic findings were 0.32 (p<0.01) for primary tumor (T), 0.36 (p<0.01) for lymph node invasion (N), and 0.62 (p<0.01) for distant metastasis (M). The reproducibilities between chest CT and histopathologic findings for lymph node invasion (N) and distant metastasis (M) were superior to that of primary tumor (T). The accuracy of primary tumor (T) was 65.8% and 98.2% in group III and IV, which was significantly higher than that of group I and II (78.9% and 62.3%). In general, specificity of chest CT for TNM staging was superior to sensitivity. Conclusion: In conclusion, preoperative CT scanning can provide important information on lymph node invasion and metastasis of lesion than primary tumor invasion.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.653-659
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• 1999

Background: Despite the recent promising efforts to improve survival in patients with esophageal carcinoma, the long term survival results of patients with esophageal cancer have seldom been reported in Korea. To establish standard control for future studies, we re trospectively analyzed the surgical treatment results of the esophageal cancer patients managed in our department at Seoul National University Hospital. Material and Method: From January 1984 to December 1996, 734 patients were diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Among them, 253 patients underwent surgery in our department. We retrospectively analyzed the operative results and long term survival rates of these patients. Result: The majority of patients(237) had squamous cell histology and only 6 patients had adenocarcinoma. The final TNM stage grouping for these patients was based on the 1988 revised American Joint Commitee on Cancer classification. Twenty one patients were surgically classified as stage I, 109 as stage II, and 107 as stage III. C respiratory failure in 8, sepsis in 1, hepatic failure in 1, bleeding in 1 and unknown etiology in the remaining 3. The actuarial survival of 222 patients in whom the curative resection was accomplished at 1-, 2-, 3- and 5 years was 74.7${\pm}$3.1%, 46.5${\pm}$3.7%, 32.3${\pm}$3.7%, and 19.9${\pm}$3.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The poor long term survival rates suggest that an alternative treatment method such as intensive combined modality therapy should be developed for the management of esophageal cancer.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.91-97
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• 2003

With the advent of stage-adapted multimodal regiments for esophageal malignancy, accurate staging has become of utmost importance. Endoscopic ultrasono graphy(EUS) i.: a diagnostic method for the local staging of esophageal cancer, in particular for T and N evaluation. The aim of this study was to examine the diagnostic efficacy of the EUS and to evaluate the relation between prognosis and EUS findings. Material and Method : We reexamined the cases of 88 consecuitive patients who underwent transthroacic esophagectomy and cervical esophagogastrostomy for esophageal cancer from January 1991 to July 2001 We compared EUS findings, histological results and outcomes. Result : There were 83 male(94.3%) and 5 female. Median age was 61.3 years old. Overall staging accuracy were 59.0% for T staging and 76.0% for N staging, In early T staging group, the accuracy was 74.9% except 74 stage. However significant differences were not found in the ability of EUS-determined T-stage and N-Stage to predict survival. Multivariate analysis showed EUS-stage to predict survival. Conclusion : EUS provides a high degree of accuracy in assessing both T and N parameters in staging esophagal cancer. EUS should be performed in all patients with esophageal cancer, not only for staging before therapy, but also as a valuable method of determining prognosis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.691-701
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• 2004

Background: Tissue hypoxia is a characteristic of many human malignant neoplasms, and hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) plays a pivotal role in essential adaptive response to hypoxia, and activates a signal pathway for the expression of the hypoxia-regulated genes, resulting in increased oxygen delivery or facilitating metabolic adaptation to hypoxia. Increased level of HIF-1 a has been reported in many human malignancies, but in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, the influence of HIF-1 a on tumor biology, including neovascularization, is not still defined. Material and Method: The influence of HIF-1 a expression on angiogenic factors, correlation between the tumor proliferation and HIF-1 a expression, interaction of HIF-1 a expression and p53, and correlation between HIF-1 a expression and clinicopathological prognostic parameters were investigated, using immunohistochemical stains for HIF-1 a, VEGF, CD34, p53, and Ki-67 on 77 cases of resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Result: HIF-1 a expression in cancer cells was found in 33 of 77 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cases. The 33 cases (42.9%) showed positive stain for HIF-1 a. High HIF-1 a expression was significantly associated with several pathological parameters, such as histologic grade (p=0.032), pathological TMN stage (p=0.002), the depth of tumor invasion (p=0.022), regional lymph node metastasis (p=0.002), distant metastasis (p=0.049), and lymphatic invasion (p=0.004). High HIF-1 a expression had significant VEGF immunoreactivity (p=0.008) and Ki-67 labeling index (p<0.001), but was not correlated with microvascular density within tumors (p=0.088). The high HIF-1 a expression was correlated with aberrant p53 accumulation with a marginal significance (p=0.056). The overall 5-year survival rate was 34.9%. The survival rate of patients with a high HIF-1 a expression was worse than that of patients with low-expression tumors (log-rank test, p=0.0001). High HIF-1 a expression was independent unfavorable factors although statistical significance is marginal in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: It is suggested that (1) high HIF-1 a expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is associated with tumor hypoxia, or with genetic alteration in early carcinogenesis and progressive stages, (2) high HIF-1 a expression may be associated with intratumoral neovascularization through HIF-VEGF pathway, and (3) high HIF-1 a expression is associated with poor prognosis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and may playa role as biomarker for regional lymph node metastasis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.77-81
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• 1998

It would be possible to manage the intestinal anastomotic failure with intraluminal stenting, but its reports are very rare. We experienced a effective and dramatic improvement of esophago-jejunal anastomotic leak in a esophageal and gastric double cancer patient with intraluminal stenting. The intraluminal stenting was tried at the 28th postoperative day and the anastomotic leak and inflammatory signs were disappeared about 3 weeks later. Postoperative 11th months now, the stent was moved about 1 cm downward but not changed further, and he enjoys regular diet without any problems. And we think the stenting would be helful with some limitations in the intestinal anastomotic leak patient.