• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.269-274
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• 1999

Purpose : To evaluate the Possibility of decreasing the radiation dose and to determine optimum treatment volume in intracranial germinomas. Materials and Methods : Forty five patients with pathologically-verified or presumed germinomas by a radiosensitivity test who had been treated with radiotherapy (RT) alone between 1971 and 1992 were retrospectively analyzed. The average age was 17.2 years with 68.9$\%$ of the patients being between the ages of 10$\~$20. The male and female ratio was 2.2:1. The locations of the primary tumors were at the pineal regions in 14 patients; the suprasellar regions in 12 patients; and multiple sites in 12 patients. Treatment volumes varied from a small local field (10) to the whole brain (7) or entire neuroaxis irradiation(28). All the cases after 1982 received craniospinal irradiation (CSI). Radiation doses were 41-59 Gy (median 48.5 Gy) to the primary tumor site and 19.5$\~$36 Gy (median 24 Gy) to the neuroaxis. The median follow-up period was 82 months with a range of 2$\~$260 months. Results : All the patients showed complete response after RT. Four patients sufferred from recurrence 14, 65, 76, and 170 months after RT, respectively, and two patients died with intercurrent disease. One of four recurrent cases was salvaged by re-irradiation. Therefore, a 5 and 10 year overall suNival was 95.3$\%$ and 84.7 $\%$ respectively. Five and ten year disease-free survival was 97.6 $\%$ and 88.8 $\%$ respectively. All the recurrences occurred in the patients who received local RT (3/10) or whole brain RT (1/7) with a radiation dose of 48-50 Gy. None of the patients who received CSI suffered recurrence. There was no recurrence among the 15 patients who received $\leq$45 Gy to the primary site and the 18 patients who received $\leq$24 Gy (6 patients received 19.5 Gy) to the neuroaxis. Conclusion : CSI is recommended for the treatment of intracranial germinomas. The radiation dose can be safely decreased to $\leq$45 Gy on a primay tumor site and 19.5 Gy on the spine.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.177-181
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• 2000

Purpose : Rarity of olfactory neuroblastoma makes it difficult for treating Physician to Practice with a consistent protocol. This study is peformed to analyze our experience with various treatment modalities for patients with olfactory neuroblastoma. Discussion includes review of some recently published literatures. Methods and Materials : Between June of 1979 and April of 1997, 20 patients were treated under the diagnosis of olfactory neuroblastoma at Seoul National University Hospital. There were 14 male and 6 female patients. Age at initial treatment ranged from l3 to 77 years with median or 24 years. fifteen or 20 patients had Kadish stage C. They were treated with various combinations of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy; surgery+postoperative radiation therapy+adjuvant chemotherapy for 2 patients, surgery+postoperative radiation therapy for 6, neoadjuvant chemotherapy+surgery for 1, surgery+adjuvant chemotherapy for 1, surgery only for 2, neoadiuvant chemotherapy+ radiation therapy for 3, radiation therapy+adjuvant chemotherapy for 1, radiation therapy only for 3, and no treatment for 1 patient. Results : Follow-up ranged from 2 month to 204 months with mean of 39.6 months. The overall 5- and 10-year survival rates are 20% and 10%, respectably. Four patients are alive at the time of data analysis. One of four living patients was treated with radical surgery, postoperative radiation therapy and adjuvant chemotherapy, two patients with radical surgery and postoperative radiation therapy, and one with radical surgery only. Conclusion : Multidisciplinary approach, including radical surgery, pre- or post-operative radiation therapy and chemotherapy, should be addressed at the initial time of diagnosis. Although limited by small number of the patients, this study suggests importance of local treatment modality, especially radical surgery in the treatment of lofactory neuroblastoma.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.567-572
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• 1999

Background: Surgical correction of the full spectrum of esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula has improved over the years, but the mortality and morbidity assoiated with repair of these anomalies still remains high. Material and Method: We retrospectively analyzes 27 surgically treated patients with esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula at Dong-A University Hospital between January 1992 and March 1997. Result: There were 21 male and 6 female patients. Mean birth weight was 2.62$\pm$.385 kg(2.0~3.4 kg). Twenty- four(88.9%) had esophageal atresia with distal tracheoesophageal fistula, and 3(11.1%) had pure esophageal atresia. Four(14.8%) infants were allocated to Waterston risk group A, 18(66.7%) to group B, and 5(18.5%) to group C. In eighteen(66.7%) infants with associated anomalies, cardiovascular anomalies were the most common. Three had a gap length of 3.5 cm or greater(ultra-long gap) between esophageal segments, 7 had 2.0 to 3.5 cm(long gap), 8 had 1.0 to 2.0 cm(medium gap), and 9 had 1 cm or less(short gap) gap length. Among 27 neonates, 3 cases underwent staged operation, late colon interposition was done in 2, and all other 24 cases underwent primary esophageal anastomosis. Oerative mortality was 2/27(7.4%). Causes of death included acute renal failure(n=1), empyema from anastomotic leak(n=1), necrotizing enterocolitis(n=1), sepsis(n=1), insulin-dependent diabetus mellitus(n=1 . There were 4 anastomosis- related complications including stricture in 3, leakage in 1. Mortality was related to the gap length(p<.05). Conclusion: Although the complication rate associated with surgical repair of these anomalies is high, this does not always implicate the operative mortality. The overall survival can be improved by effective treatment for combined anomalies and intensive postoperatve care.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.231-237
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• 2009

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the significance of palliative gastrojejunostomy for treating patients with unresectable stage IV gastric cancer, and as compared with laparotomy for treating patients with incurable gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively studied 167 patients who could not undergo resection without obstruction at Korea University Hospital from 1984 to 2007. They were classified into two groups, one that underwent palliative gastrojejnostomy (the bypass group, n=62) and one that underwent explo-laparotomy (the O&C group, n=105), and the clinical data and operative outcomes were compared according to the groups. Results: For the clinical characteristics, there were no differences of age, gender and liver metastasis between the bypass group and the explo-laparotomy group, but there was a significant different for the presence of peritoneal metastasis (P=0.001). There was no difference between two groups for the postoperative mortality and morbidity. For the postoperative outcomes, the duration of the hospital stay (29.25 vs 16.67) and the frequency of re-admission were not different, but the median overall survival (4.3 months vs. 3.4 months, respectively) was significantly different. By multivariate analysis, the presence of peritoneal metastasis was identified as the independent prognostic factor for incurable gastric cancer. Conclusion: A prophylactic bypass procedure is not effective for improving the quality of life and prolonging the life expectancy of unresectable stage IV gastric cancer patients without obstruction.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.40-46
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• 2008

Purpose: We wanted to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of modified FOLFOX-6 chemotherapy for treating recurrent or inoperable gastric cancer patients. Materials and Methods: From April 2006 to August 2007, 35 patients with recurrent gastric cancer after curative resection and 43 patients with inoperable gastric cancer underwent chemotherapy, and the results were retrospectively investigated. Results: 78 patients were assessable for response and toxicity, and they underwent an average of 7.1 cycles of chemotherapy. The response was evaluated according to the RECIST criteria. 11 partial responses (14.1%), 35 cases of stable disease (44.9%), and 32 cases of progressive disease (41%) were observed. The median time to progression was 6 months, and the average overall survival was 13 months. CTCAE grade 1 or 2 anemia (52.6%) was the most prevalent toxicity. Other common toxicities included thrombocytopenia (17.9%) and peripheral neuropathy (30.8%). There were 13 changes in the chemotherapy regimen to S1-cisplatin due to disease progression, but only an average of 1.76 cycles of S1-cisplatin were delivered due to severe toxicities and poor compliance. Conclusion: Acceptable efficacy and toxicity were seen as 59% of the patients showed non-progression, and no grade 3 or 4 toxicities were observed. In conclusion, the modified FOLFOX-6 chemotherapy is considered to be the proper 1st-line choice as a palliative treatment for recurrent or inoperable gastric cancer patients.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.79 no.1
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• pp.56-70
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• 1990

Eighteen Korean white pine (P. koraiensis S. et Z.) families were tested in 3 different regions from age 5 to 9. Family and site were significant sources of variation for seedling survival and field growth, whereas the effects of family x site interaction ware relatively small as compared with the former sources of variation. Variance components estimated from the separate and combined sites indicated that the most variabilities were associated with individual trees within plot. Family ${\times}$ site interaction components as a percentage of family variance decreased sharply with age. Heritability estimates varied with testing site and tree age. Combined analyses, however, showed a moderate change in heritability with increasing tree ages, and demonstrated high and stable trends of estimates, particularly in family heritabilities of tree height ($h_F{^2}=0.789-0.798$). The gains estimated from combined analysis have expected maximum or near-maximum efficiencies at age 6 or 7. Given equal intensity of selection, mass selection showed the most efficient gains within and across the sites. However, for the differences between mass and combined selections are small, selection made on the combination of family and within-family would be more effective in improving genetic gains. Indirect selection method indicated that 5-and 6-years height were all good predictors of 9-year-old height with little loss of relative efficiency (less than 10%) as compared with direct family selection at age 9. Phenotypic and genetic correlations computed on the basis of family mean values of height and diameter have shown predominantly high, positive, and statistically significant (1% level) relationships between all tested pairs of traits, which indicates that family growth maintained statistically consistent trends with age. The best families are those that maintained a stable superiority overall sites and ages in growth performance, therefore, it can be suggested that early identification of superior families at age 9 is feasible at age 5 or 6 in Pinus koraiensis S. et Z.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.309-316
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• 2002

Background: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of combination chemotherapy using ifosfamide, cisplatin, and etoposide in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). Materials and methods: Thirty-three patients with inoperable NSCLC(stage IIIb+IV) who had measurable diseases, and had not been treated with chemotherapeutic drugs, were enrolled in this study(from March 1995 to December 1996). The patients received ifosfamide($1500mg/m^2/day$, a full drop with Mesna on days 1-5), Cisplatin ($80mg/m^2/day$ infusion with a hydration on day 2), and Etoposide ($100mg/m^2/day$ infusion for 2 hours on days 1-3). The treatment was repeated every 4 weeks. Results: Ten patients showed a partial responses (30.3%). The overall survival time of the responders was longer than that of the non-responders (median 55 vs 22 weeks, p=0.01). The toxicities of this treatment were tolerable. Grade 3 or 4 leukopenia was observed in 21%. There was 1 death related to febrile neutropenia. The non-hematologic toxicity was mild. The relative dose intensity given to the patients was 0.86 ifosfamide, 0.87 cisplatin, and 0.89 etoposide, showing an average dose intensity of 0.87. Conclusions: A combination regimen of ifosfamide, cisplatin, and etoposide is effective and tolerable for treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.265-272
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• 2004

Background : RASSF1A, which is one of tumor suppressor genes, is frequently inactivated by hypermethylation of the promoter region in a variety of human cancers, including lung cancer. This study was performed to investigate the association between RASSF1A methylation and the clinicopathological factors in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. Methods : Eighty-one samples from the patients with squamous cell carcinoma of lung were examined. The promoter methyation of RASSF1A was analyzed by methylation specific PCR and sequencing. Statistical analysis was made to examine the association between RASSF1A methylation and the clinicopathological parameters. Results : RASSF1A methylation was observed in 37.0 % (30 of 81) of the patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. RASSF1A methylation was found to be associated with cellular differentiation(p=0.0097) and the overall survival(p=0.0635). However, there was no association between RASSF1A methylation and the other clinicopathological parameters, such as the pathological TNM stage, the recurrence rate, lymph node invasion and the amount of cigarettes smoked. Conclusion : RASSF1A methylation might be associated with a poor prognosis in patients with squamous carcinoma of the lung. A larger scale study is needed.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.120-128
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• 2009

Purpose: Early detection of recurrence is an important factor for long term survival of patients with colorectal cancer. Measurement of serum levels of CEA, CA 19-9, CT and PET/CT has been commonly used in the postoperative surveillance of colorectal cancer. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic ability of PET/CT, tumor marker and CT for recurrence in colorectal cancer patients after treatment. Materials and Methods: F-18 FDG PET/CT imaging was performed in 189 colorectal cancer patients who underwent curative surgical resection and/or chemotherapy. Measurement of serum levels of CEA, CA 19-9 and CT imaging were performed within 2 months of PET/CT examination. Final diagnosis of recurrence was made by biopsy, radiologic studies or clinical follow-up for 6 months after each study. Results: Overall sensitivity, specificity of PET/CT was 94.7%, 91.1%, while those of serum CEA were 44.7% and 97.3%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity were 94.2%, 90.4% for PET/CT and better than those of combined CEA and CA 19-9 measurement(52.1%, 88.5%) in 174 patients measured available both CEA and CA 19-9 data. In 115 patients with both tumor markers and CT images available, PET/CT showed similar sensitivity but higher specificity(92.9%, 91.3%) compared to combination of tumor markers and CT images(92.9%, 74.1%). Conclusion: PET/CT was superior for detection of recurred colorectal cancer patients compared with both CEA, CA 19-9, and even with combination of both tumor markers and CT. Therefore PET/CT could be used as a routine surveillance examination to detect recurrence or metastasis of colorectal cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1811-1815
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• 2014

Background: In clinical trials with no upper age limit, the proportion of older patients is usually small, probably reflecting the more conservative approach adopted by clinicians when treating the elderly. An exploratory analysis of elderly patients in the RECORD-1 Trial showed that patients ${\geq}$ 65 y.o. had superior median PFS than overall RECORD-1 population (5.4 months and 4.9 months, respectively). We investigated the efficacy, relative benefit and safety of Everolimus (EVE) as sequential therapy after failure of VEGFr-TKI therapy for older patients with metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC), in daily practice. Materials and Methods: 172 consecutive IRB approved patients with mRCC (median age 65, M:F 135/37, 78% clear cell) who received salvage EVE at 39 tertiary institutions between October 2009 and August 2011 were included in this analysis. Some 31% had progressed on sunitinib, 22% on sorafenib, 1% on axitinib, 41% on sequential therapy, and 5% had received other therapy. Patients with brain metastases were not included and 95% of the patients had a ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) performance status (PS) of 0 or 1. Previous radiotherapy was an exclusion criterion, but prior chemotherapy was permitted. Adequate organ function and hematologic parameters were mandatory. EVE administration was approved by the institutional review board at each participating institution and signed informed consent was obtained from all patients. Results: Median time of the whole cohort to last follow-up was 3.5 months (range 0.4-15.2 months). Forty four percent were continuing to take EVE at last followup. There were 86 (50%) patients ${\geq}$ 65 y.o. and 86 (50%) <65 y.o. The percentage of patients who showed PR/SD was higher in the older group than in the younger one (5.9%/61.2% vs 1.2%/46.5%, respectively). Median survival of older patients was also significantly longer (3.5 +/- 0.31 vs 3.1 +/- 0.34, hazard ratio=0.45, CI; 0.255-0.802). Analysis using Cox regression model adjusted for gender, PS, number of metastases, site of metastases, histology, smoking history and age detected an association between age and PFS (p=0.011). The frequency of adverse events in elderly patients treated with EVE was no greater than that in younger patients, although such toxicity may have had a greater impact on their quality of life. Conclusions: Older patients should not generally be excluded from accepted therapies (mTOR inhibitors after failure of VEGFr-TKI therapy) for mRCC.