• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권12호
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• pp.7701-7706
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• 2013

Background: In a prospective cohort study of antiemetic therapy conducted in Malaysia, a total of 94 patients received low emetogenic chemotherapy (LEC) with or without granisetron injections as the primary prophylaxis for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). This study is a retrospective cost analysis of two antiemetic regimens from the payer perspective. Materials and Methods: This cost evaluation refers to 2011, the year in which the observation was conducted. Direct costs incurred by hospitals including the drug acquisition, materials and time spent for clinical activities from prescribing to dispensing of home medications were evaluated (MYR 1=$0.32 USD). As reported to be significantly different between two regimens (96.1% vs 81.0%; p=0.017), the complete response rate of acute emesis which was defined as a patient successfully treated without any emesis episode within 24 hours after LEC was used as the main indicator for effectiveness. Results: Antiemetic drug acquisition cost per patient was 40.7 times higher for the granisetron-based regimen than for the standard regimen (MYR 64.3 vs 1.58). When both the costs for materials and clinical activities were included, the total cost per patient was 8.68 times higher for the granisetron-based regimen (MYR 73.5 vs 8.47). Considering the complete response rates, the mean cost per successfully treated patient in granisetron group was 7.31 times higher (MYR 76.5 vs 10.5). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) with granisetron-based regimen, relative to the standard regimen, was MYR 430.7. It was found to be most sensitive to the change of antiemetic effects of granisetron-based regimen. Conclusions: While providing a better efficacy in acute emesis control, the low incidence of acute emesis and high ICER makes use of granisetron as primary prophylaxis in LEC controversial.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제17권6호
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• pp.2973-2977
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• 2016

Opisthorchis viverrini is still a serious problem in Northeastern and Northern Thailand. Active surveillance is required to determine updated data for further prevention and control planning. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the prevalence and risk factors for O. viverrini in three provinces, Northeastern Thailand. A cross-sectional survey was conducted during October 2015 to March 2016 at Kaeng Sanam Nang district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, Waeng Noi district of Khon Kaen province, and Khon Sawan district of Chaiyaphum province, Thailand. Stool samples were examined by using a modified Kato-Katz Thick smear technique. From a total of 978 participants screened, O. viverrini infection was found in 1.74%, the majority opf positive cases being male (6.62%), age group 51-60 years old (4.21%), educated at primary school (8.43%), occupied with agriculture (9.62%),having an income <4,000 baht per month (4.82%), and living in Khon Sawan district (8.43%). Participants had a high knowledge level (42.43%), good attitude level (34.76%), and fair level (38.04%). The present study indicates the O. viverrini infection rate is low, but elderly males with primary school education involved in agriculture are still frequently effected particularly in Khon Sawan district. Therefore, this risk group requires behavior modification and continued monitoring.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.265-270
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• 1991

대장-직장암은 한국에서 남녀 모두 4위의 비교적 높은 빈도를 보이고 있으며 점점 증가되는 추세에 있다. 근치적 수술요법이 주 치료방법으로 사용되어 왔으나 그 생존율은 $20\~50\%$에 불과하다. 국소재발은 특히 직장암에서 가장 흔한 실패의 원인으로서 근치적 복합요법의 발달에도 불구하고 $40\~92\%$의 높은 국소재발율이 보고되고 있어 생존율를 높이고 생존의 질을 높이기 위하여는 국소재발을 줄이는 노력이 필수적이다. 수술중 방사선 치료는 수술중에 원하는 부위에만 다량의 방사선을 한번에 조사하는 방법으로 최근 보고에서 국소재발율을 $5\%$까지 줄일 수 있었다고 보고되고 있다. 영남대학병원 치료방사선과에서는 국내에서는 처음으로 91년 5월 30일 직장암 환자에 수술중 방사선 치료를 실시한 후 현재까지 6명의 대장 직장암 환자에 수술중 방사선 치료를 실시하였기에 환자선택, 치료선량, 선량분포, 수술 및 방사선치료과정등을 보고하고저 한다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권7호
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• pp.3093-3097
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• 2014

Background: Cancer is a major threat to the public health whether in developed or in developing countries. As the most common primary malignant tumor, the morbidity and mortality rate of lung cancer continues to rise in recent ten years worldwide. Chemotherapy is one of the main methods in the treatment of lung cancer, but this is hampered by chemotherapy drug resistance, especially MDR. As a component of the 60S large ribosomal subunit, ribosomal protein L39-L gene was reported to be expressed specifically in the human testis and human cancer samples of various tissue origins. Materials and Methods: Total RNA of cultured drug-resistant and susceptible A549 cells was isolated, and real time quantitative RT-PCR were used to indicate the transcribe difference between amycin resistant and susceptible strain of A549 cells. Viability assay were used to show the amycin resistance difference in RPL39-L transfected A549 cell line than control vector and null-transfected A549 cell line. Results: The ribosomal protein L39-L transcription level was 8.2 times higher in drug-resistant human lung cancer A549 cell line than in susceptible A549 cell line by quantitative RT-PCR analysis. The ribosomal protein L39-L transfected cells showed enhanced drug resistance compared to plasmid vector-transfected or null-transfected cells as determined by methyl tritiated thymidine (3H-TdR) incorporation. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: The ribosomal protein L39-L gene may have effects on the drug resistance mechanism of lung cancer A549 cells.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권16호
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• pp.6919-6922
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• 2015

Background: The treatment selection for the oral squamous cell carcinoma remains controversial. Radiation therapy or surgical excision of the lesion can be applied as the sole treatment or it can be used in combination with other treatment modalities. Radiotherapy is considered to be the safest of all the treatment modalities and can be used in several situations for oral and oropharyngeal cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the survival outcome differences in patients treated with radical and palliative radiotherapy as the primary treatment modality. Materials and Methods: The study included a total of 47 patients with oral cancer reporting to our hospital between years 2009 to 2010. The age group for the selected patients was more than 65 years, treated with radical and palliative radiotherapy with no prior surgical interventions. Patients were evaluated till Dec 2013 for overall survival time. Results: Twenty nine patients were treated with radical radiotherapy as main stay of treatment, out of which 21 died during the follow up time with median survival of $352{\pm}281.7$ days with 8 patients alive. All the 16 patients were dead who received palliative radiotherapy with a median survival time of $112{\pm}144.0$ days. Conclusions: This retrospective study showed improved overall survival time, loco regional control rates and reduced morbidity in patients treated with radical radiotherapy when compared to patients treated with palliative radiotherapy.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• 제51권1호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2008

Estrogens, a group of steroid compounds functioning as the primary female sex hormone, play an important role in the development and progression of breast cancer. In this study, using a novel annealing control primer-based GeneFishing PCR technology, five differentially expressed genes (DEGs), expressed using 10nM mitogenic estrogens, $17{\beta}$-estradiol (E2) and $16{\alpha}$-hydroxyestrone ($16{\alpha}$-OHE1), were selected from the estrogen receptor (ER)-positive MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. The DEGs, MRPL42, TUBA1B, SSBP1, KNCT2, and RUVBL1, were identified by comparison with the known genes via direct sequencing and sequence homology search in BLAST. Quantitative real-time PCR data showed that two DEGs, tubulin ${\alpha}1b$ and kinetochore associated 2, were greater than 2-fold upregulated by E2 or $16{\alpha}$-OHE1. Both genes could be new biomarkers for the treatment and prognosis of cancers, and further study may provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying development and progression of breast cancer.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.216-221
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of short-course hypofractionated radiotherapy (RT) for the palliation of uterine cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: Seventeen patients with cancer of the uterine cervix, who underwent palliative hypofractionated 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy between January 2002 and June 2012, were retrospectively analyzed. RT was delivered to symptomatic lesions (both the primary mass and/or metastatic regional lymph nodes). The total dose was 20 to 25 Gy (median, 25 Gy) in 5 Gy daily fractions. Results: The median follow-up duration was 12.2 months (range, 4 to 24 months). The median survival time was 7.8 months (range, 4 to 24 months). Vaginal bleeding was the most common presenting symptom followed by pelvic pain (9 patients). The overall response rates were 93.8% and 66.7% for vaginal bleeding control and pelvic pain, respectively. Nine patients did not have any acute side effects and 7 patients showed minor gastrointestinal toxicity. Only 1 patient had grade 3 diarrhea 1 week after completion of treatment, which was successfully treated conservatively. Late complications occurred in 4 patients; however, none of these were of grade 3 or higher severity. Conclusion: Short-course hypofractionated RT was effective and well tolerated as palliative treatment for uterine cervical cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권8호
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• pp.4045-4050
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• 2012

Objective: The impact of ablative oral cancer surgery was studied, with particular reference to recurrence and nodal metastasis, to assess survival probability and prognostic indicators and to elucidate if ethnicity influences the survival of patients. Methods: Patients who underwent major ablative surgery of the head and neck region with neck dissection were identified and clinical records were assessed. Inclusion criteria were stage I-IV oral and oropharyngeal malignancies necessitating resection with or without radiotherapy from 2004 to 2009. All individuals had a pre-operative assessment prior to the surgery. The post operative assessment period ranged from 1 year to 5 years. Survival distributions were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves. Results: 87 patients (males:38%; females:62%) were included in this study, with an age range of 21-85 years. Some 78% underwent neck dissections while 63% had surgery and radiotherapy. Nodal recurrence was detected in 5.7% while 20.5% had primary site recurrence within the study period. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that the median survival time was 57 months. One year overall survival (OS) rate was 72.7% and three year overall survival rate dropped to 61.5%. On OS analysis, the log-rank test showed a significant difference of survival between Malay and Chinese patients (Bonferroni correction p=0.033). Recurrence-free survival (RFS) analysis revealed that 25% of the patients have reached the event of recurrence at 46 months. One year RFS rate was 85.2% and the three year survival rate was 76.1%. In the RFS analysis, the log-rank test showed a significant difference in the event of recurrence and nodal metastasis (p<0.001). Conclusion: Conservative neck is effective, in conjunction with postoperative radiotherapy, for control of neck metastases. Ethnicity appears to influence the survival of the patients, but a prospective trial is required to validate this.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.36-42
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• 2012

Purpose: To evaluate the radial displacement of clinical target volume in the patients with node negative head and neck (H&N) cancer and to quantify the relative positional changes compared to that of normal healthy volunteers. Materials and Methods: Three node-negative H&N cancer patients and five healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. For setup accuracy, neck thermoplastic masks and laser alignment were used in each of the acquired computed tomography (CT) images. Both groups had total three sequential CT images in every two weeks. The lymph node (LN) level of the neck was delineated based on the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) consensus guideline by one physician. We use the second cervical vertebra body as a reference point to match each CT image set. Each of the sequential CT images and delineated neck LN levels were fused with the primary image, then maximal radial displacement was measured at 1.5 cm intervals from skull base (SB) to caudal margin of LN level V, and the volume differences at each node level were quantified. Results: The mean radial displacements were 2.26 (${\pm}1.03$) mm in the control group and 3.05 (${\pm}1.97$) in the H&N cancer patients. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of the mean radial displacement (p = 0.03). In addition, the mean radial displacement increased with the distance from SB. As for the mean volume differences, there was no statistical significance between the two groups. Conclusion: This study suggests that a more generous radial margin should be applied to the lower part of the neck LN for better clinical target coverage and dose delivery.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.284-290
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• 2022

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is mostly diagnosed at an advanced stage, with local and/or distal metastasis. Thus, locoregional and/or local control of the primary tumor is crucial for a better prognosis in patients with OSCC. Platelets have long been considered major players in cancer metastasis. Traditional antiplatelet agents, such as aspirin, are thought to be potential chemotherapeutics, but they need to be used with caution because of the increased bleeding risk. Podoplanin (PDPN)-expressing cancer cells can activate platelets and promote OSCC metastasis. However, the reciprocal effect of platelets on PDPN expression in OSCC has not been investigated. In this study, we found that direct contact with platelets upregulated PDPN and integrin β1 at the protein level and promoted invasiveness of human OSCC Ca9.22 cells that express low levels of PDPN. In another human OSCC HSC3 cell line that express PDPN at an abundant level, silencing of the PDPN gene reduced cell invasiveness. Analysis of the public database further supported the co-expression of PDPN and integrin β1 and their increased expression in metastatic tissues compared to normal and tumor tissues of the oral cavity. Taken together, these data suggest that PDPN is a potential target to regulate platelet-tumor interaction and metastasis for OSCC treatment, which can overcome the limitations of traditional antiplatelet drugs.