• Journal of Clinical Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.281-285
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• 2018

Columnar cell variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (CCV-PTC) is a rare variant representing 0.15-0.2% of all PTCs. The CCV is aggressive, due to its rapid growth, high local recurrence rate, and frequent lung, brain and bone metastasis. Aggressive surgical and medical management are recommended for these neoplasias. The authors experienced a case of CCV-PTC in a 45-year-old man. We performed total thyroidectomy with neck dissection. The patient received radiation and radioactive iodine therapy. There were no recurrences or complications in the following 24 months after the operation. The patient will closely undergo continuous follow up. We present the clinical characteristics, pathology, treatment, and prognosis of the tumor with a review of the literature.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.85-89
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• 2018

We demonstrate a detail protocol for the radiosynthesis of an $^{125}I$-labeled MSTP prosthetic group and its application to the efficient radiolabeling of human serum albumin (HSA). Radioiodination of the precursor (2) was carried out by using $[^{125}I]$NaI and chloramine T as an oxidant at room temperature for 15 min. After HPLC purification of the crude product, the purified $^{125}I$-labeled MSTP ($[^{125}I]1$) was obtained with high radiochemical yield ($73{\pm}5%$, n = 3) and excellent radiochemical purity (>99%). Site-specific reaction between ($[^{125}I]1$) and HSA gave the $^{125}I$-labeled human serum albumin ($[^{125}I]3$) with more than 99% of radiochemical yield as determined by radio-thin-layer chromatography (radio-TLC). These results clearly demonstrate that the present radiolabeling method will be useful for the efficient and convenient radiolabeling of thiol-bearing biomolecules.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.367-386
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• 2021

The overestimation and underestimation of the radioactivity concentration of difficult-to-measure radionuclides can occur during the implementation of the scaling factor (SF) method because of the uncertainties associated with sampling, radiochemical analysis, and application of SFs. Strict regulations ensure that the SF method as an indirect method does not underestimate the radioactivity of nuclear wastes; however, there are no clear regulatory guidelines regarding the overestimation. This has been leading to the misuse of the SF methodology by stakeholders such as waste disposal licensees and regulatory bodies. Previous studies have reported instances of overestimation in statistical implementation of the SF methodology. The analysis of the two most popular linear models of the SF methodology showed that severe overestimation may occur and radioactivity concentration data must be dealt with care. Since one major source of overestimation is the use of minimum detectable activity (MDA) values as true activity values, a comparative study of instrumental techniques that could reduce the MDAs was also conducted. Thermal ionization mass spectrometry was recommended as a suitable candidate for the trace level analysis of long-lived beta-emitters such as iodine-129. Additionally, the current status of the United States and Korea was reviewed from the perspective of overestimation.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.231-241
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• 2022

Several countries, including Korea, are considering the direct disposal of spent nuclear fuels. The radiological safety assessment results published after a geological repository closure indicate that the instant release is the main radiation source rather than the congruent release. Three Safety Case reports recently published were reviewed and the IRF values of seven long-lived radionuclides, including relevant experimental results, were compared. According to the literature review, the IRF values of both the CANDU and low burnup PWR spent fuel have been experimentally measured and used reasonably. In particular, the IRF values of volatile long-lived nuclides, such as ¹²⁹I and ¹³⁵Cs, were estimated from the FGR value. Because experimental leaching data regarding high burnup spent nuclear fuels are extremely scarce, a mathematical modelling approach proposed by Johnson and McGinnes was successfully applied to the domestic high burnup PWR spent nuclear fuel to derive the IRF values of iodine and cesium. The best estimate of the IRF was 5.5% at a discharge burnup of 55 GWd tHM^-1.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.139-150
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• 2022

Theranostics, a composite word of therapy and diagnosis, is known as personalized medicine and the concept of diagnosis and treatment at the same time. In nuclear medicine, it means performing both therapeutic and diagnostic radioisotope therapy using the same target molecule. The increased production and utilization of ⁶⁴Cu opens a new era of theranostics. The studies introduced here have shown that ⁶⁴CuCl₂ and various compounds or biomolecules labeled with ⁶⁴Cu are unique radiopharmaceuticals with physiological properties suitable for use as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. So far, these two abilities have been described only for radioactive iodine. Although ⁶⁴Cu has complex chemical properties compared to other PET radioisotopes such as ⁶⁸Ga, it has an appropriate half-life and enables high-quality PET images similar to ¹⁸F, which is an advantage in terms of diagnosis. In addition, since it also has therapeutic properties through the release of β^- particles and Auger electrons by electron capture, radiopharmaceuticals using ⁶⁴Cu stand for innovative radiopharmaceuticals for theranostic purposes. Therefore, based on the initial results obtained using ⁶⁴Cu as a therapeutic agent, it is expected that additional research on the application of ⁶⁴Cu will lead to a new era in the theranostics field.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.12-22
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• 2023

Graves disease (GD) is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism, accounting for more than 90% of cases in Korea. Patients with GD are treated with any of the following: antithyroid drugs (ATDs), radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy, or thyroidectomy. Most patients begin treatment with ATDs, and clinical guidelines suggest that the appropriate treatment period is 12 to 18 months. While RAI treatment and surgery manage thyrotoxicosis by destroying or removing thyroid tissue, ATDs control thyrotoxicosis by inhibiting thyroid hormone synthesis and preserving the thyroid gland. Although ATDs efficiently control thyrotoxicosis symptoms, they do not correct the main etiology of GD; therefore, frequent relapses can follow. Recently, a large amount of data has been collected on long-term ATDs for GD, and low-dose methimazole (MMZ) is expected to be a good option for remission. For the long-term management of recurrent GD, it is important to induce remission by evaluating the patient's drug response, stopping ATDs at an appropriate time, and actively switching to surgery or RAI therapy, if indicated. Continuing drug treatment for an extended time is now encouraged in patients with a high possibility of remission with low-dose MMZ. It is also important to pay attention to the quality of life of the patients. This review aimed to summarize the appropriate treatment methods and timing of treatment transition in patients who relapsed several times while receiving treatment for GD.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2024

The current standard of treatment for differentiated thyroid cancer is surgical resection followed by radioactive iodine therapy according to the recurrence risk. However, external beam radiotherapy may be recommended in limited cases where surgical resection is impossible or residual gross lesion remains or the aforementioned standard therapy is deemed insufficient in achieving local control. We report a case of 59 year old patient who presented with advanced papillary thyroid carcinoma of right neck but was unable to receive surgical resection due to underlying Eisenmenger syndrome. He received radiation therapy of 67.5 Gy in 30 fractions with palliative aim with no further treatment and has been maintaining long-term stable disease state for 38 months. Herein, we report a rare case of palliative aim radiation therapy alone for advanced papillary thyroid carcinoma with literature review.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 2004

The contaminative influence of beef due to the inhalation of air and the ingestion of soil of livestock, both of which are dealt with as minor contaminative pathways in most radioecological models but may not be neglected, was comprehensively investigated with the improvement of the Korean food chain model DYNACON. As the results, it was found that both pathways can not be neglected at all in the contamination of beef in the case of an accidental release during the non-grazing period of livestock. The ingestion of soil was more influential in the contamination of beef than the inhalation of air over most time following an release. If precipitation is encountered during an accidental release, contaminative influence due to the ingestion of soil was far greater compared with the cases of no precipitation. This fact was more distinct for a long-lived radionuclide $^{l37}Cs$ than a short-lived radionuclide $^{131}I$ (elemental iodine). Compared with the results for milk performed prior to this study, the contaminative pathways due to the inhalation of air and the ingestion of soil were more important in beef because of longer biological half-lives. On the other hand, in the case of an accidental release during the grazing period of livestock, radioactive contamination due to the ingestion of pasture was dominant irrespective of the existence of precipitation during an accidental release. It means that contaminative influence due to the inhalation of air and the ingestion of soil is negligible, like the cases of milk.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.23-34
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• 2009

The adsorption of iodide on untreated bentonite and bentonites modified with organic cation (i.e., hexadecylpyridinium chloride monohydrate ($HDP^+$)) was investigated, and the organobentonites were characterized using uptake measurements, ${\mu}$-XRD, and electrophoretic mobilities measurement. Uptake measurements indicate that bentonite has a high affinity for $HDP^+$. Our ${\mu}$-XRD study indicates that organobentonites significantly expanded in basal spacing and organic cations were substantially intercalated into the interlayer spaces of bentonite. The electrophoretic mobility indicates that organobentonite tht is modified with organic cations in excess of the CEC of bentonite is completely different from untreated bentonite in the surface charge distribution. We found significant differences in adsorption capacities of iodide depending on the bentonite properties as follows: iodide adsorption capacities were 439 mmol/kg for the bentonite modified with $HDP^+$ at an equivalent amount corresponding to 200% of the CEC of bentonite whereas no adsorption of iodide was observed for the untreated bentonite. The molecular environments of iodine adsorbed on organobentonites were further studied using I K-edge and $L_{III}$-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) of iodine spectra from organobentonites was similar to that of KI reference solution. Linear combination fitting of EXAFS data suggests the fraction of iodine reacted with the organic compound increased with increasing loading of the organic compound on organobentonites. In this study, we observed significant differences in the adsorption environments of iodide depending on the modified property of bentonite and suggest that an organobentonite has potential as reactive barrier material around a nuclear waste repository containing anionic radioactive iodide.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.49-54
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• 2017

Purpose The high-dose administration of I-131 has been standing for the basic therapy method of thyroid cancer. In korea, it is not necessary for patients to be hospitalized if the administration dose are under 1.2 GBq. However, if the dose are over 1.2 GBq, the patients should be stay in special ward with radiation shield. In such cases, the radioactivity level upon release should be under a dose of $70{\mu}Sv/hr$ at a distance of approx. 1m. This regulation bring the patients to stay for about 2 to 3 days in ward before the release. Materials and Methods Using the inpatients' release data of severance hospital, an inpatient-days were retrospectively calculated and compared with practical data and estimate the inpatient-days with the conditions of korea ($70{\mu}Sv/hr$), Japan ($30{\mu}Sv/hr$), germany ($3.5{\mu}Sv/hr$ at a distance of approx. 2 m), and other european countries. Results When a effective half-life of 15.4 was used, the expected inpatient-days were calculated as 2.15 days in the condition of Japanese regulation and 1.37 days in the condition of korean regulation. The practical inpatient-days of patients in Severance hospital were 1.32 days. Conclusion As ICRP 94 has been mentioned that the release of patients administrated with I-131 for the therapy should be carefully considered because each patients has different thyroid uptake rate and their conditions with family members after the release from the ward. Nonetheless, efforts to bring more aquate data which is for getting closer to the practical data should be continuously studied.