• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.190-197
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• 2009

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine structural abnormalities of brain in patients with pathological gambling(PG) using voxel-based morphometry. Methods : We compared gray matter(GM) volumes between 10 patients with PG and 14 age- and IQ-matched healthy controls and examined the relationship of GM volumes with clinical variables in patients with PG. Results : We found significant increase of GM volume in the superior, middle, and inferior frontal gyri, the midbrain, the middle temporal gyrus, the precuneus, and the fusiform gyrus of patients with PG. A significant decrease of GM volume was observed in the parahippocampal gyrus and the lingual gyrus of the patient group. In addition, GM volumes in some of these regions were positively associated with South Oaks Gambling Screen score and negatively with age of onset in patients with PG. Conclusion : Current findings indicate that structural abnormalities in the fronto-temporal cortex, the midbrain, and the precuneus might be involved in the pathophysiology of PG, and contribute to some of the behavioral changes observed in patients with PG.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7563-7567
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• 2014

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the first cause of death in cirrhotic patients, mostly due to viral hepatitis with HCV or HBV infection. This study was performed to estimate the true prevalence of viral hepatitis-related HCC and the demographic and clinical-pathological associations with the two virus types. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional observational study enrolled clinical data base of 188 HCC patients and variables included from baseline were age, sex, area of residence, clinical-pathological features such as underlying co-morbidity, presence or absence of liver cirrhosis, macrovascular involvement, tumor extension and metastasis, liver lobes involved, serum alpha-fetoprotein level, and hepatitis serologies. Results: Overall prevalence of HCV- and HBV-related HCC was 66.0% and 34.0%, respectively. Patients with HCV were more likely to develop HCC at advanced age ($52.4{\pm}11.9$ vs. $40.7{\pm}12.09$ years), with highly raised serum AFP levels (${\geq}400ng/ml$) 78.2% (HBV 67.1%), large tumor size (HCV-66% >5 cm, HBV-59.3%), and presence of portal vein thrombosis (8.06%, HBV 1.56%). A binominal multivariate analysis showed that HCV-HCC group were more likely to be cirrhotic (OR=0.245, 95%CI: 0.117, 0.516) and had more than two times higher rate of solitary macrovascular involvement (OR=2.533, 95%CI: 1.162, 5.521) as compared with HBV associated HCC. Conclusions: Statistically significant variations were observed from baseline to clinical-pathological characteristics in HCV vs HBV associated HCC. Our study suggests prompt and early screening for high risk patients so that the rate of progression of these chronic viral diseases to cirrhosis and cancer can be decreased.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6267-6271
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• 2013

Objective: To determine clinical efficacy, safety and prognostic factors of pemetrexed plus platinum as first-line treatment in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and Methods: Clinical characteristics, short-term efficacy, survival and adverse reactions of 47 advanced non-squamous NSCLC patients who had received pemetrexed plus platinum as first-line treatment in Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital from January 2009 to June 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. The Chi-squared test was applied to statistically analyze the overall response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR) and toxicity reactions in both groups, while survival data wereanalyzed by Kaplan-Meier and logrank methods, and the COX proportional hazards model was adopted for a series of multi-factor analyses. Results: Only two patients were lost to follow-up. The ORR, DCR, medium progression-free survival time (PFS) and medium overall survival (OS) were 31.9%, 74.5%, 5 months and 15.2 months, while 1- and 2-year survival rates were 63.8% (30/47) and 19.2% (9/47), respectively. Single-factor analysis showed that tumor pathological patterns and efficacy were in association with medium PFS (P<0.05), whereas tumor pathological patterns, smoking history and efficacy were closely connected with medium OS (P<0.05). Multi-factor analyses demonstrated that pathological patterns and efficacy were independent factors influencing OS (P<0.05). The rate of toxicity reactions in degree III/IV was low, including hematologic toxicity marked by decline in white blood cell count and decrease in the platelet count (PLT), and non-hematologic toxicity manifested by gastrointestinal reactions, such as nausea and vomiting. Conclusions: Pemetrexed plus platinum as first-line treatment has excellent efficacy and slight adverse reactions with favorable drug-tolerance in patients with advanced non-squamous NSCLC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5299-5303
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• 2014

Background: To explore etiology for providing scientific clues for the prevention of lung cancer. Materials and Methods: Data for lung cancer incidence and meteorological geographic factors from 25 counties in Zhejiang province of China during 2011 were studied. Stepwise multiple regression and correlation analysis were performed to analyze the geographic distribution and epidemiology of lung cancer. Results: 8,291 new cases (5,998 in males and 2,293 females) of lung cancer during 2011 in Zhejiang province were reported in the 25 studied counties. Reported and standardized incidence rates for lung cancer were 58.0 and 47.0 per 100,000 population, respectively. The incidence of lung cancer increased with age. Geographic distribution analysis shows that the standardized incidence rates of lung cancer in northeastern Zhejiang province were higher than in the southwestern part, such as in Nanhu, Fuyang, Wuxing and Yuyao counties, where the rates were more than 50 per 100,000 population. In the southwestern Zhejiang province, for instance, in Yueqing, Xianju and Jiande counties, the standardized incidence rates of lung cancer were lower than 37 per 100,000 population. Spearman correlation tests showed that forest coverage rate, air quality index (AQI), and annual precipitation level are associated with the incidence of lung cancer. Conclusions: Lung cancer in Zhejiang province shows obvious regional differences. High incidence appears associated with low forest coverage rate, poor air quality and low annual precipitation. Therefore, increasing the forest coverage rate and controlling air pollution may play an important role in lung cancer prevention.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.4839-4842
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• 2013

Aims and Background: To improve understanding of the relationship between schistosome-related enteropathy and colorectal carcinoma with particular focus on endoscopic findings and clinicopathological characteristics of colonic schistosomiasis. Materials and Methods: All cases of intestinal schistosomiasis diagnosed at West China Hospital, Chengdu, China, between October 2006 and October 2012 were included in this study. A total of 179 cases of colonic schistosomiasis diagnosed through colonoscopy and pathological examinations were collected for analysis and the demographics, symptoms, endoscopic findings and clinicopathological characteristics were retrospectively evaluated. Results: Of the 179 colonic schistosomiasis patients, 32 combined with colorectal cancer (CRC) were found, between the ages of 44 and 85 years (24 males, 75%). These 32 lesions were classified as 12 endophytic/ulcerative (37.5%), 10 exophytic/fungating (31.2%), 4 annular (12.5%), 3 giant polypus (9.4%), and 3 IIc (superficial depressed type) (9.4%). The segments of rectum and sigmoid colon were involved in 19 patients (59.4%) and 6 patients (18.8%), respectively. The histopathologic types were classified as follows: 30 welldifferentiated adenocarcinomas, one mucinous adenocarcinoma and one poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. The pathological findings suggest colorectal malignancy with deposited schistosome ova. Conclusions: Chronic schistosomal infestation has a probable etiological role in promoting genesis of colorectal neoplasms.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.953-958
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• 2015

Background: Expression of KRT13, FAIM2 and CYP2W1 appears to be influenced by risk habits, thus exploring the associations of these genes in oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC) with risk habits, clinico-pathological parameters and patient survival may be beneficial in identifying relevant biomarkers with different oncogenic pathways. Materials and Methods: cDNAs from 41 OSCC samples with and without risk habits were included in this study. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to analyze KRT13, FAIM2 and CYP2W1 in OSCC. The housekeeping gene (GAPDH) was used as an endogenous control. Results: Of the 41 OSCC samples, KRT13 was down-regulated in 40 samples (97.6%), while FAIM2 and CYP2W1 were down-regulated in 61.0% and 48.8%, respectively. Overall, there were no associations between KRT13, FAIM2 and CYP2W1 expression with risk habits, selected socio-demographic and clinico-pathological parameters and patient survival. Conclusions: Although this study was unable to show significance, there were some tendencies in the associations of KRT13, FAIM2 and CYP2W1 expression in OSCC with selected clinic-pathological parameters and survival.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.883-886
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• 2014

Background: Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men worldwide. Several factors such as availability of screening tests, and dietary, other lifestyle, environmental and genetic influences contribute to worldwide disparities in prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates. Our aims were to investigate patient characteristics at the time of diagnosis, common treatment strategies employed and survival in an Iranian male population with prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: Archives of Pathology Departments of five referral centers affiliated with the School of Medicine of Shahid Sadoughi University in Yazd province were reviewed. Paraffin-embedded blocks were reviewed by two independent pathologists to confirm the diagnosis. The latest modification of the Gleason Scoring System was adopted to determine pathological grading. Following pathological evaluation, patients were contacted via telephone to acquire information regarding their current status. Results: Pathology blocks were available for 113 patients. However, upon phone contacts, we were unable to determine the survival status in 23 patients (response rate=83%). Therefore, 90 patients were enrolled in the final analysis. The median follow-up time was 6.0 years (ranging from 0.3 to 8.8 years). There were 30 death attributed to prostate cancer in the study group. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that patient age at the time of diagnosis was a significant predictor of survival. Another significant predictor of poorer survival was higher tumor grade. Conclusions: Our observations indicate that age and pathological grade can negatively affect survival of individuals with prostate cancer in Iran.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.197-203
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• 2001

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of crude ginseng saponin (CGS) on clinical pathological parameters in adult female guinea pigs exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). A total of 80 guinea pigs (800$\pm$20 g) were divided into 8 groups: group 1 (normal control group) was given vehicle (com oil containing small amount of acetone and DMSO) and saline; group 2 (single TCDD-treated) received TCDD (1 $\mu\textrm{g}$/kg, i.p.) and saline (i.p.); groups 3 and 4 were administered CGS at daily i.p. doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg for 4 weeks, respectively; groups 5 and 6 were administered CGS (10 and 20 mg/kg, respectively) for 5 weeks starting 1 week before TCDD-exposure; groups 7 and 8 were administered CGS (10 and 20 mg/kg, respectively) for 3 weeks from 1 week after TCDD-exposure. CGS was prepared by Diaion HP-20 adsorption chromatography. Body weight of G2 was significantly decreased from the 2nd week after TCDD-exposure (p<0.01). Body weights of the CGS-treated groups were also decreased by TCDD-exposure, but the weight loss was greatly retarded compared with that of G2. Increase in blood glucose, amylase, lipase, total cholesterol. triglyceride, AST and LDL-cholisterol levels by TCDD exposure was significantly attenuated by the CGS-treatment (p<0.05). From these results, we found that saponin the main active ingredient of ginseng, played a protective role against TCDD-induced toxicity in not only male but female guinea pigs.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.42-62
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• 2011

Objective: This study was designed to identify and explore the pathological patterns of functional dyspepsia (FD) patients. We also evaluated the usefulness of the Pattern Identification Questionnaire by comparing it with other assessment tools for FD. Methods: We recruited 97 FD patients based on the Rome III criteria for FD diagnosis. The pathological patterns of the subjects were determined by the Pattern Identification Questionnaire. Their dyspepsia-related symptoms were assessed using the Gastrointestinal Symptom Questionnaire (GIS) and the Pyeongwi-san (Pingwei-san) Patternization Questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and quality of life with the Functional Dyspepsia-Related Quality of Life (FD-QoL) Questionnaire. Tongue coating was measured by the Digital Tongue Diagnosis System (DTDS). Results: The male to female ratio was 1:1.1, and the forties and fifties age groups were largest in number. The spleen deficiency and phlegm-dampness pattern was the most common pattern found among the FD patients. No significant differences in the GIS, BDI, FD-QoL, and DTDS scores were found among the five pattern types. All pattern types showed significant correlation with GIS, Pyeongwi-san Patternization Questionnaire, and FD-QoL scores. Conclusions: Pattern Identification Questionnaire can not only identify the pathological pattern types of FD patients but also evaluate the severity of their symptoms. Compared to conventional assessment tools for FD, it could enable a more dynamic evaluation of FD patients reflecting the severity of dyspeptic symptoms and the quality of life. Further studies on the Pattern Identification of FD patients are anticipated in order to improve the diagnosis and therapy for Korean FD patients.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.173-181
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• 1984

This paper dealt with the histopathological observations of the perirenal edema in pigs and rabbits administered with Amaranthus retroflexus, based on the clinical and pathological observations of the porcine perirenal edema naturally occurred in Korea. The results observed are summarized as follows; In the natural case, clinical signs were trembling, weakness and incoordination of the hindquarters, followed by sternal recumbency, coma and death. Death usually occurred within 24 hours after the signs of illness appeared. In gross findings, the grayish yellow fluid in the perirenal area was observed in each case. In some cases, the amount of fluid in the thoracic and abdominal cavities was increased and the yellowish red color of the hydrothorax and ascites was seen. When the renal capsule was incised, the kidneys were enlarged and congested and petechiae on the cortical surface and blood clots on the capsule appeared. In microscopical findings, there were cloudy swelling, hyaline droplets and necrosis of the convoluted tubules containing proteinaceous casts and a few oxalate crystals. In addition, interstitial and perivascular edema, distention of the Bowman's space and the convluted tubules and hemorrhages were recognized. In the weanling pigs and the adult pig fed various weeds, including Amaranthus retroflexus, Euxolus blitum and Portulaca oleracea, the pigs fed Amaranthus retroflexus appeared clinical signs and pathological findings of perirenal edema usually seen in the pigs of natural cases. In the pigs fed Euxolus blitum or fed Portulaca oleracea, neither clinical signs nor pathological changes were seen. It was regarded that this disease was affected with Amaranthus retroflexus, but there was no sensitivity in the adult pigs.