• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.93-98
• /
• 2005

Angiocentric T-cell lymphoma is a rare form of peripheral T-cell lymphoma. The disease typically manifests clinically as an aggressive, progressively destructive disorder often with a fatal outcome. It is the aim of the present paper to derive further studies evaluating the effectiveness of Korean traditional medicine on angiocentric T-cell lymphoma with intra-abdominal metastasis. A patient with high fever, weight loss, night sweat and general weakness(B symptoms) was diagnosed as angiocentric T-cell lymphoma and chemotherapy was done more than 10 times. But the response to chemotherapy was poor, finally the lymphoma involved liver and spleen. The abdominal CT showed the hepatosplenomegaly, diffuse lymphoma of liver and spleen, massive ascites, minimal pleural effusion. Then the patient gave up the chemotherapy and only herb medications (Bohyunsoamtang-A,B) were administered. The ascites, high fever and hepatosplenomegaly gradually reduced to normal. He survived for 7 years after first diagnosis, which is much longer than average survival time in angiocentric T-cell lymphoma with B symptoms. This case may give us a possibility of that Korean traditional herb medications offer potential benefits for patients with angiocentric T-cell lymphoma, and more researches are needed.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.44 no.1 s.137
• /
• pp.81-86
• /
• 2006

Anisakiasis is a parasitic disease caused by ingestion of raw fish infected with anisakid larvae. Endoscopic changing patterns of submucosal lesions in chronic gastric anisakiasis have not been known yet. Here we report 4 cases of suspected gastric anisakiasis which were improved during follow-up periods without surgical treatment. The patients presented with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting after consuming raw marine fish, and visited our gastroenterology outpatient department. Their endoscopic findings showed firm and yellowish submucosal masses accompanied with eccentric erosions. Histologic findings showed severe eosinophilic infiltrations. In blood tests, peripheral eosinophil counts and total IgE levels were elevated. We believed that all cases were caused by larval anisakid infections. The submucosal mass lesions disappeared during the follow-up periods of 2 to 4 mo.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.49-55
• /
• 2009

Self expandable metal stent (stent) implantation of upper gastrointestinal (UGI) tract is now widely accepted for the palliation of obstructive symptoms caused by inoperable malignant UGI obstruction. With the technical progress and accumulation of clinical experiences, it became possible to perform the procedure easily, safely and effectively. However, clinicians should pay attention to the post-procedural care, because early or late complications such as ulceration, pain, bleeding, food impaction, perforation, migration or in-stent tumor growth could occur. In this review, several topics about stent placement in the UGI tract are discussed, such as major indications for stenting, kinds of stents, and post-procedural management.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.147-150
• /
• 2015

Gastric volvulus is an uncommon clinical entity. There are three types of gastric volvulus; organoaxial, mesenteroaxial and combined type. This condition can lead to a closed-loop obstruction or strangulation. Traditional surgical therapy for gastric volvulus is based on an open approach. Here we report a successful case of a patient with chronic gastric volvulus with a laparoscopic treatment. A 79-year-old woman came to the emergency department with epigastric pain accompanied by nausea for 2 weeks. Abdominal computed tomography revealed markedly distended stomach with transposition of gastroesophageal Junction and gastric antrum. Barium meal study revealed presence of the antrum was folded over 180 degrees that was located above gastroesophageal junction. We attempted an endoscopic reduction, but it was unsuccessful. The patient got laparoscopic anterior gastropexy. Based on our result, laparoscopic gastropexy can be considered as a good choice of the treatment for gastric volvulus.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.167-176
• /
• 2007

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma ($PPAR{\gamma}$) is expressed at very high levels in the gastrointestinal epithelium. Many of the functions of $PPAR{\gamma}$ in gastrointestinal epithelial cells have been elucidated in recent years, and a pattern is emerging which suggests that this receptor plays an important role in gastrointestinal physiology. There is also strong evidence that $PPAR{\gamma}$ is a colon cancer suppressor in pre-clinical rodent models of sporadic colon cancer, and there is considerable interest in exploitation of $PPAR{\gamma}$ agonists as prophylactic or chemopreventive agents in colon cancer. Studies in mice and in human colon cancer cell lines suggest several mechanisms that might account for the tumor suppressive effects of $PPAR{\gamma}$ agonists, although it is not in all cases clear whether these effects are altogether mediated by $PPAR{\gamma}$. Conversely, several reports suggest that $PPAR{\gamma}$ agonists may promote colon cancer under certain circumstances. This possibility warrants considerable attention since several million individuals with type II diabetes are currently taking $PPAR{\gamma}$ agonists. This review will focus on recent data related to four critical questions: what is the physiological function of $PPAR{\gamma}$ in gastrointestinal epithelial cells; how does $PPAR{\gamma}$ suppress colon carcinogenesis; is $PPAR{\gamma}$ a tumor promoter; and what is the future of $PPAR{\gamma}$ in colon cancer prevention?

• Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.129-137
• /
• 2016

A colonoscopy is important because it detects the presence of polyps in the colon that can lead to colon cancer. How often one needs to repeat a colonoscopy may depend on various factors. The main purpose of this study is to determine personalized surveillance interval of colonoscopy based on characteristics of patients including their clinical information. The clustering analysis using a partitioning around medoids algorithm was conducted on 625 patients who had a medical examination at Korea University Anam Hospital and found several subgroups of patients. For each cluster, we then performed survival analysis that provides the probability of having polyps according to the number of days until next visit. The results of survival analysis indicated that different survival distributions exist among different patients' groups. We believe that the procedure proposed in this study can provide the patients with personalized medical information about how often they need to repeat a colonoscopy.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.669-677
• /
• 2016

Reflux esophagitis is a common disease in developed nations. We describe the case of a female patient with endoscopic reflux esophagitis complicated by gastric dysmotility. Both electrogastrography and enterotachography were performed to detect gastric myoelectrical activity and pyloric sphincter function and evaluate gastric motility. The patient was treated only with herbal medications and general acupuncture, with electrical stimulation of the ST.36 (Zusanli) point, in addition to moxibustion therapy. After each primary and secondary treatment, the therapeutic effect was immediately evaluated. At the final follow-up 5 mon after the end of the secondary treatment, the patient’s general condition was assessed, in addition to the mucosa of the esophagus. At follow up, all the patients’ symptoms had disappeared, and the mucosa of the esophagus had returned to normal. We attributed these therapeutic effects to improved gastric dysmotility. To confirm the usefulness of this treatment method, studies of larger numbers of patients with reflux esophagitis treated with Korean traditional medicine are needed.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.47-55
• /
• 2017

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to examine self-efficacy, severity, social support, and self-care compliance of patients with liver cirrhosis and to identify the factors that affect their self-care compliance. Methods: A total of 160 outpatients with liver cirrhosis visiting the gastroenterology clinic at an university hospital located in Busan were enrolled in this study. Data were collected via self-report questionnaires including self-efficacy, severity of disease, social support, and self-care compliance measures. The collected data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, $Scheff\acute{e}-test$, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression analysis. Results: The factors affecting self-care compliance were self-efficacy, severity of disease, age, and sex. These factors explained 28.4% of the variance in self-care compliance of patients with liver cirrhosis. Conclusion: Therefore, nursing interventions that enhance patients' self-efficacy are needed to promote self-care compliance in patients with liver cirrhosis. In addition, patients must be taught of the importance of self-care compliance so that even young patients and those with relatively mild disease. That would also be motivated to comply with self-care instructions.

• Gut and Liver
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.615-622
• /
• 2018

Despite the well-proven, safe and effective therapies for hepatitis B infection, delivery of treatment remains a significant challenge in resource-poor settings. Geopolitical and economic restrictions present additional difficulties in providing care in North Korea. However, treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B remains a top priority for both the North Korean Ministry of Public Health and international agencies working in North Korean hepatitis healthcare facilities. Working in partnership, a path was created to institute this much-needed program. A consortium of United States and Australian humanitarian non-governmental organizations along with generous individual and corporate donors working in concert with local and national health authorities have succeeded in establishing the first hepatitis B treatment program in North Korea. The essential elements of this program include renovation of existing hepatitis hospitals, access to antiviral medications, establishment of laboratory facilities, creation of medical documentation and record-keeping, training of local health care professionals, and quarterly visits by international volunteer physicians and laboratory experts. Management and treatment decisions are made bilaterally. To date, nearly 1,500 patients have been evaluated, and over 800 have been started on long-term antiviral therapy. It is envisioned that this program will eventually be managed and funded by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Ministry of Public Health. This program's success demonstrates a potential model for delivery of antiviral therapy for patients suffering from hepatitis B in other developing countries.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.319-324
• /
• 2021

The abscopal effect refers to the phenomenon in which local radiotherapy is associated with the regression of metastatic cancer that is distantly located from the irradiated site. Here, we present a case of a patient with advanced gastric cancer and brain metastases who was successfully treated with brain radiotherapy and anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1) therapy-induced abscopal effect. Although anti-PD-1 therapy alone could not prevent disease progression, the metastatic lesions in the brain and also in the abdominal lymph node showed a drastic response after brain radiotherapy and anti-PD-1 therapy. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of successful treatment of advanced gastric cancer with multiple brain and abdominal lymph node metastases, possibly through anti-PD-1 therapy combined with brain radiotherapy-induced abscopal effect. We suggest that the combination of brain radiotherapy and anti-PD-1 therapy may be considered as a therapeutic option for advanced gastric cancer, especially when there is brain metastasis.