• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.64 no.2
• /
• pp.271-281
• /
• 2021

Objective : Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are approved for treating non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, the safety and efficacy of combined ICI and Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKS) treatment remain undefined. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed patients treated with ICIs with or without GKS at our institute to manage patients with brain metastases from NSCLC. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed medical records of patients with brain metastases from NSCLC treated with ICIs between January 2015 and December 2017. Of 134 patients, 77 were assessable for brain responses and categorized into three groups as follows : group A, ICI alone (n=26); group B, ICI with concurrent GKS within 14 days (n=24); and group C, ICI with non-concurrent GKS (n=27). Results : The median follow-up duration after brain metastasis diagnosis was 19.1 months (range, 1-77). At the last follow-up, 53 patients (68.8%) died, 20 were alive, and four were lost to follow-up. The estimated median overall survival (OS) of all patients from the date of brain metastasis diagnosis was 20.0 months (95% confidence interval, 12.5-27.7) (10.0, 22.5, and 42.1 months in groups A, B, and C, respectively). The OS was shorter in group A than in group C (p=0.001). The intracranial disease progression-free survival (p=0.569), local progression-free survival (p=0.457), and complication rates did not significantly differ among the groups. Twelve patients showed leptomeningeal seeding (LMS) during follow-up. The 1-year LMS-free rate in treated with ICI alone group (69.1%) was significantly lower than that in treated with GKS before ICI treatment or within 14 days group (93.2%) (p=0.004). Conclusion : GKS with ICI showed no favorable OS outcome in treating brain metastasis from NSCLC. However, GKS with ICI did not increase the risk of complications. Furthermore, compared with ICI alone, GKS with ICI may be associated with a reduced incidence of LMS. Further understanding of the mechanism, which remains unknown, may help improve the quality of life of patients with brain metastasis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.331-338
• /
• 1996

Background : Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and it's incidence has been rapidly increasing in Korea, too. The overall cure rate for non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) is approximately 10%, and the cure is generally achieved by surgery. Unfortunately, however, less than 15% of all patients and less than 25% of those who present with localized disease are candidates for curative surgical resection. So preoperative staging evaluation followed by curative resection has a major role in determining the long tenn prognosis of NSCLC patients. Therefore, we have conducted this study to compare pre-operative and post-operative staging and the long-tenn relapse-free survival rates in NSCLC patients according to its stage. Methods : We analyzed the medical records of 217 NSCLC patients who were operated on for curative resection in Seoul National University Hospital, retrospectively. Among them, 170 patients who were completely resected were selected to determine the long term relapse-free survival rates. Results : Among 217 NSCLC patients, men were 157 and women were 30. The median age was 58 and the difference between men and women was not found. The discrepancy rate between preoperative and postoperative staging was 40.1%. Its major cause was due to the difference of nodal staging. The 3-year relapse-free survival rates were 73%, 53% and 48% in stage I, II and IIIa, respectively. There was no difference of relapse-free duration in recurred patients according to the stage or histologic types. Conclusion : The postoperative pathologic staging determines the long tenn prognosis of patients with NSCLC after surgery, but current preoperative clinical staging can not predict the postoperative pathologic staging correctly. So the improved modality of staging system is required to predict the pathologic staging more correctly.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.536-542
• /
• 1999

Background: The purpose of this study is to improve the quality of the diagnostic procedures in the preoperative evaluation so as to reduce the unnecessary thoracotomy and to ensure resectability in non-small cell lung cancer. Material and Method: Of 616 patients who underwent thoracotomy for primary lung cancer from January 1990 to December 1996, 59 patients(9.6%) turned out to have inoperable lesions after the thoracotomy. We reprospectively reviewed the bronchoscopic findings, methods of tissue diagnosis, CT scans, pulmonary function test and lung perfusion scan, reasons for nonresectability, and adjuvant therapy, and then followed up on the survival rate after exploratory thoracotomy. Result: The cell types were squamous cell carcinoma in 38, adenocarcinoma in 15, large cell carcinoma in 3 and others in 3. Primary loci were RUL in 20, RML in 6, RLL in 8, LUL in 13, LLL in 4 and others in 8. The reasons for non-resectability were various; direct tumor invaison to mediastinal structures(n=41), seeding on pleural cavity(n=8), poor pulmonary function(n=2), invasions to extranodal mediastinal lymph node(n=2), technical non- resectability due to extensive chest wall invasion (n=3), small cell carcinoma (n=1), malignant lymphoma(n=1), and multiple rib metastases(n=1). In the follow-up of 58 patients, 1-year survival rate was 55.2% and 2-year survival rate was 17.2% and the mean survival time was 14 months. When compared according to cell types or postoperative adjuvant therapeutic modalities, no significant difference in the survival rates were found. The squamous cell carcinoma was frequently accompanied by local extension to contiguous structures and was the main cause of non-resectability. In adenocarcinoma, pleural seeding with malignant effusion was frequently encountered, and was the major reason for non-resectability. Conclusion: These data revealed that if appropriate preoperative diagnostic tools had been available, many unnecessary thoracotomies could have been avoided. Both the use of thoracoscopy in selected cases of adenocarcinoma and the more aggressive surgical approach to the locally advanced tumor could reduce the incidence of unnecessary thoracotomies for non-small cell lung cancers.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.243-249
• /
• 1997

Purpose : In radiation therapy, NTCF is very importart indicator of selecting the optimal treatment plan. In our study, we tried to find out usefullness of NTCP in lung cancer by comparng the incidence of radiation pneumonitis with NTCP. Materials and Methods : From August 1993 to December 1994, thirty six patients with locally advanced non=small cell lung cancer were treated by concurrent chemoradiation therapy. Total dose of radiation therapy was 6480cGy (120cGy, bid) and chemotherapeutlc agents were mitomycin C. vinblastion, cisplatin (2 cycles, 4 weeks interval). We evaluated the development of raniation pneumonitis by CT scan, chest x-rar and clinical symptoms. We used grading system of South Western Oncology Group (SWOG) for radiation pneumanitis. Dose Volume Histograms (DVH) were analyzed for ipsilateral and whole lung, Non uniform DVH was translated to uniform DVH by effective volume method. With these data, we calculated NTCP for ipsilateral and whole lung. Finally we compared the clinical results to NTCP. Results : Eight of thrity six patients developed radiation pneumonitis. Of these 8 patients , 6 had grade I severity and 2 had grade II. The average NTCP value cf the patients who showed radiation pneumonitis was significantly higher than that uf the patients without pneumonitis $(66\%\;vs.\;26.4\%)$. But the results of pulmonary function test was not correlated with NTCP. Conclusion : NTCP of lung is very good indicator for selecting rival treatment planning in lung cancer. According to the results of NTCP, it may be possible to adjust target volume and optimize target dose. In the near future, we are going to anaiyze the effect of hyperfractionation and concurrent chemotherapy in addition to NTCP.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.81-91
• /
• 1987

During the period of 10 years from July, 1976 to July, 1986, 154 cases of primary carcinoma of the lung - by the cell type, stage, operability, and survival rate in the resectable cases - are analyzed at the Dept. of Thoracic Surgery, Paik Hospital in Seoul. The results are as follows: 1] Histopathological types are squamous cell carcinoma 49% [76 cases], adenocarcinoma 25% [39 cases], undifferentiated large cell carcinoma 9% [14 cases], undifferentiated small cell carcinoma 6% [9 cases], bronchioloalveolar carcinoma 4% [6 cases] and adenosquamous carcinoma 3% [4 cases]. 2] Peak incidence is observed in the 4th decade of life [33%], then 5th [29%] and 3rd [21%] respectively. Male to female ratio is 4 to 1. 3] Evidence of inoperability is observed in 64% [99 cases] by clinical staging workup. Thirty six percent [55 cases] were operated. Of these, post-surgical stage I was 5% [3 cases], stage II, 64% [35 cases] and stage III, 31% [17 cases]. Among total 17 cases of stage III, 14 cases were unresectable with evidence of T2N2M0, while 3 cases were resectable. Resectability is 27%, [41 cases] from the total number of 154 cases. And the resectability for the ex 55 cases is 75% [41 cases]. 4] By cell type, highest resectabitity is the squamous cell carcinoma, 49% [20 cases]. Adenocarcinoma is 32% [13 cases] and bronchioloalveolar, 12% [5 cases]. 5] Survival rate is evaluated for 38 cases of 41 resectable stage I, II and III. Overall 5 year survival rate is 24%, 3 year 32% and 10 year 8%. Survival rate in stage II for 5 year is 25%. In squamous cell type for, 5 year is 42%. Authors believe when surgeons continuous effort of early detection is met with patients early visit, 5 year survival rate for the stage I K II resectable patients will improve more effectively. As well, When the efforts are added to combined modality with radiotherapy and chemotherapy for the stage III selected cases of non-small cell carcinoma patients, the enhancement in survival rate is expected.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.65 no.1
• /
• pp.57-63
• /
• 2022

Objective : To study the factors relating to operative treatment for spinal metastasis in Thailand during 2005-2014 and to determine the hospital costs, mortality rate, and incidence of perioperative complication. Methods : Inpatient reimbursement data from 2005 to 2014 was reviewed from three national healthcare organizations, including the National Health Security Office, the Social Security Office, and the Comptroller General's Department. The search criteria were secondary malignant neoplasm of bone and bone marrow patients (International Classification of Diseases 10th revision, Thai modification codes [ICD 10-TM], C79.5 and C79.8) who underwent spinal surgical treatment (ICD 9th revision, clinical modification procedure with extension codes [ICD 9-CM], 03.0, 03.4, 03.09, and 81.0) during 2005-2014. Epidemiology, comorbidity, and perioperative complication were analyzed. Results : During the study period, the number of spinal metastasis patients who underwent operative treatment was significantly increased from 0.30 to 0.59 per 100000 (p<0.001). More males (56.14%) underwent surgical treatment for spinal metastasis than females. The most common age group was 45-64 (55.1%). The most common primary tumor sites were the unknown origin, lung, breast, prostate, and hepatocellular/bile duct. Interestingly, the proportion of hepatocellular/bile duct, breast, and lung cancer was significantly increased (p<0.001). The number of patients who had comorbidity or in-hospital complication significantly increased over time (p<0.01); however, the in-hospital mortality rate decreased. Conclusion : During the last decade, operative treatment for spinal metastasis increased in Thailand. The overall in-hospital complication rate increased; however, the in-hospital mortality rate decreased.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.222-225
• /
• 1999

Background and Objectives: Medullary thyroid carcinoma(MTC) is a rare tumor derived from the parafollicular C cells of the thyroid gland accounting for 5-10% of all thyroid malignancies. In Korea, there has been a few case report of medullary thyroid carcinoma(MTC) but their clinical analysis were not exactly studied. So, we made clinical study of 10 patients diagnosed as medullary thyroid carcinoma. Materials and Methods: We reviewed clinical data of 10 patients who were diagnosed as medullary thyroid carcinoma(MTC) from April 1973 to August 1998 at National Medical Center. Results: The incidence of MTC was 2.3% of all thyroid cancer and their mean age were 44.2 years old. Preoperative thyroid scan showed cold nodule in all patients and thyroid function test(TFT) was within normal range. Of the 10 patents, only 4 patients had diagnosis of MTC in preoperative fine needle aspiration biopsy. All the patients underwent total thyroidectomy with central neck dissection. Two patients with cervical lymph node metastasis underwent total thyroidectomy, central neck dissection and modified neck dissection. Two patients (20%) showed recurrence at the site of neck, lung, mediastinum, bone and liver. Conclusion: Most MTC is sporadic form and have peak incidence in the fifth decade and female preponderance. Preoperative fine needle aspiration biopsy is considered to be a clinically useful diagnostic method, but its accuracy is not considered as much high as others. Total thyroidectomy with central neck dissection may be an useful surgical modality in treating medullary thyroid carcinoma.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.61-65
• /
• 2020

Background and Objectives The overall incidence of laryngeal tuberculosis (LT) has generally decreased over the recent years, yet there is still a discrete population of patients newly diagnosed with the disease. This study is aimed to examine the patients with LT over the recent 10 years and to investigate the changes in clinical pattern with respect to the past period. Materials and Method A retrospective review has been performed on 20 patients who have been initially diagnosed with LT between 2005 and 2015. Results The age of the patients ranged from 25 years to 95 years with an average age of 45.6 years. Seventeen patients (85%) showed hoarseness, which was the most common clinical symptom. Most affected lesion was the true vocal cord. Laryngoscopic examination showed various clinical manifestations: polypoid 30%, granulomatous 25%, nonspecific 25%, ulcerative 20%. A variety of methods were used for diagnostic confirmation of LT [acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear 45%, AFB culture 40%, polymerase chain reaction 30%, surgical pathology 45%]. Coexisting pulmonary tuberculosis (PT) was detected in 10 patients (50%). Relative to the patients with inactive PT or normal lung status, those with active PT showed higher incidence of laryngeal lesions located in areas other than true vocal cord (p=0.050). Conclusion Based on the analytic results from this study, laryngologists should recognize the changes in the recent clinical patterns of LT and always be ready for clinical suspicion of this disease on such atypical laryngeal findings which can often mimic laryngeal malignancies to provide the pertinent treatment.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.177-182
• /
• 2011

Backgrounds : Head and neck cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in the world. It tends to remain localized at the primary site and regional lymph nodes, but if distant metastasis occurs, it has a poor prognosis. This study was performed to evaluate the prevalence of distant metastasis and to determine the risk factor in locally advanced head and neck cancer after induction chemotherapy followed locoregional control therapy. Methods : A retrospective review was performed in 420 patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer who treated with induction chemotherapy followed locoregional control therapy from January 2001 to December 2010. Among them, 31 patients who had distant metastasis as first relapse within 2 years after termination of therapy were analyzed for clinical features and the risk factors of distant metastasis. Results : The overall incidence of distant metastasis was 7.3%. The bone, lung, and liver were the most frequent metastatic organs. In univariate analysis, nodal stage, nasopharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, G3/G4 neutropenia during induction chemotherapy, and concurrent chemoradiotherapy were the influencing factors for distant metastasis. In multivariate analysis, advanced N stage and nasopharynx were the risk factors of distant metastasis, and grade 3/4 neutropenia during induction chemotherapy was considered to decrease distant metastasis. Conclusion : This study suggests that the advanced N stage is the risk factor of distant metastasis and Grade 3/4 neutropenia during induction chemotherapy can be beneficial against distant metastasis in locally advanced head and neck cancer patients treated with induction chemotherapy followed locoregional control therapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.1061-1075
• /
• 2016

Context: There are no recent authoritative data about incidence and prevalence of various types of cancers in Pakistan. Aim: To determine the frequency of malignant tumors seen in our practice and provide a foundation for building a comprehensive cancer care strategy. Materials and Methods: 10,000 successive cases of solid malignant tumors reported in 2014 were included. All cases had formalin fixed, paraffin embedded specimens available and diagnosis was based on histological examination of H&E stained slides plus ancillary studies at the Section of Histopathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. The latest WHO classifications were used along with the latest CAP protocols for reporting and the most updated TNM staging. Results: There were 9,492 (94.9%) primary tumors while 508 (5.1%) were metastatic. Some 5,153 (51.5%) were diagnosed in females and 4,847 (48.5%) in males. The commonest malignant tumors in females were breast (32%), esophagus (7%), lymphomas (6.8%), oral cavity (6.7%) and ovary (4.8%), while in males they were oral cavity (13.9%), lymphomas (12.8%), colorectum (7.9%), stomach (6.9%) and esophagus (6.6%). Malignant tumors were most common in the 5th, 6th and 7th decades. About 8% were seen under 20 years of age. Conclusions: Oral cavity and gastrointestinal cancers continue to be extremely common in both genders. Breast and esophageal cancers are prevalent in females. Lung and prostate cancer are less common than in the west. Ovarian cancer was very common but cervix cancer was less so.