• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2861-2866
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• 2012

Background: The aim of our study was to assess the practical utility of the palliative prognostic index (PPI) as a prognostic tool used by nurse specialists in a hospice consultation setting in Taiwan. Methods: In total, 623 terminal cancer patients under hospice consultation care from one medical center in northern Taiwan were enrolled between January 1 and June 30, 2011. PPI was assessed by a nurse specialist at first hospice consultation and patients categorized into groups by prognosis (good, intermediate, poor). Patient survival was analyzed retrospectively to determine significance of between-group differences. Results: By PPI sum score, 37.2% of patients were in the good prognosis group, 18% in the intermediate prognosis group and 44.8% in the poor prognosis group. The death rates were 56%, 81.2% and 89.6% and median survivals were 76, 18 and 7 days, respectively. The hazard ratio was 0.19 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.10-0.24, p<0.001) for the poor versus good prognosis group and 0.54 (95% CI 0.43-0.69, p<0.001) for the poor versus intermediate prognosis group. The sensitivity and specificity for the poor prognosis group was 66% and 71%; the positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 81% and 52%, respectively, to predict patient death within 21 days (area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic was 0.68). Conclusions: Assessment by PPI can accurately predict survival of terminal cancer patients receiving hospice consultation care. PPI is a simple tool and can be administered by nurse members of hospice consultation teams.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.274-279
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• 2008

This study investigated the antimutagenic and anticancer effects of soybean sauce (kanjang) supplemented with deep sea water and Sea Tangle. The Ames test indicated that kanjang had no mutagenicity but it significantly inhibited mutations induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine(MNNG) and 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO). Kanjang (200 ug/plate) with supplementary deep sea water and Sea Tangle had approximately 90.9% and 62.0% inhibitory effect, respectively, against mutagenesis of TA100 induced by MNNG and 4NQO. There was 61.7% inhibition of mutagenesis induced by 4NQO against the TA98 strain. Kanjang inhibited growth of cell lines of human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa), human hepatocellular carcinoma (Hep3B), human gastric carcinoma (AGS), human lung carcinoma (A549), and human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) in a concentration-dependent manner. Treatment with kanjang supplemented with 1.0 mg/mL deep sea water had cytotoxicities of 69.4% 70.5% 55.6% 82.1 % and 73.2% against HeLa, Hep3B, AGS, A549 and MCF-7 cells respectively. In contrast kanjang supplemented with 1 mg/mL deep sea water had only $10{\sim}40%$ cytotoxicity on normal human embryonal kidney cells (293). Kanjang supplemented with deep sea water significantly inhibited tumor growth in mice injected sarcoma-180 cells. In particular, kanjang supplemented with deep sea water (25 mg/kg) inhibited tumor cell activity by 40.9%.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9295-9300
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• 2014

Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is a multifunctional cytokine which plays a crucial role in the initiation and progression of cancer. To date, several studies have investigated associations between IL-17A -197G>A (rs2275913) polymorphism and digestive cancer risk, but the results remain conflicting. We here aimed to confirm the role of this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in susceptibility to digestive cancer through a systemic review and meta-analysis. Ten eligible case-control studies were identified by searching electronic databases, involving 3,087 cases and 3,815 controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the strength of the association. The results of overall analyses indicated that the variant A allele was associated with an increased risk of digestive cancer (AA vs GG: OR=1.51, 95%CI=1.18-1.93; AA vs GG+GA: OR=1.45, 95%CI=1.12-1.87; A vs G: OR=1.21, 95%CI=1.05-1.39). In subgroup analysis stratified by specific cancer type, elevated risk among studies of gastric cancer was found (AA vs GG: OR=1.68, 95%CI=1.24-2.28; AA vs GG+GA: OR=1.62, 95%CI=1.16-2.26; A vs G: OR=1.23, 95%CI=1.04-1.46). According to ethnicity, there was evidence in the Asian populations for an association between this polymorphism and cancer risk (GA vs GG: OR=1.19, 95%CI=1.05-1.36; AA vs GG: OR=1.56, 95%CI=1.15-2.12; AA+GA vs GG: OR=1.28, 95%CI=1.13-1.44; AA vs GG+GA: OR=1.42, 95%CI=1.01-2.00; A vs G: OR=1.24, 95%CI=1.08-1.44), while in the Caucasian populations an association was found in the recessive model (AA vs GG+GA: OR=1.62, 95%CI=1.17-2.24). In conclusion, the results of this meta-analysis suggest that the IL-17A -197G>A polymorphism contributes to an increased risk of human digestive cancer, both in the Asian and Caucasian populations and especially for gastric cancer.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.1065-1070
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• 1999

This study was performed to determine the antimutagenic and cytotoxic effect of Aster scaber root ethanol extract on Salmonella typhymurium TA98, TA100 and cancer cell lines using Ames test and cytotoxicity assay, respectively. Cancer cell lines include chronic myelogenous leukemia(K562), human gastric carcinoma(KATOIII), human hepatocellular carcinoma(Hep3B) and human breast adenocarcinoma(MCF-7). Futher fractionations with hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol and water from ethanol extract of Aster scaber root were performed to obtain effective fraction. Ethanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction showed 79% and 82% inhibitory effect on the mutagenesis induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine(MNNG) against TA100, while 48% and 60% inhibition was observed on the mutagenesis induced by 4-nitroquinoline-l-oxide(4NQO) against TA98. In the meanwhile, ethyl acetate fraction showed 78% and 85% inhibitory effect on the mutagenesis induced by benzo(${\alpha}$)pyrene[B(${\alpha}$)P] against TA98 and TA100, respectively, while 83% inhibition was observed on the mutagenesis induced by 3-amino-l,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido(4,3-b) indole(Trp-P-1) against TA98. Ethyl acetate fraction (0.125 mg/ml) showed the strongest cytotoxic effect against K562, KATOIII, Hep3B and MCF-7 at the same concentration compared to those of other fractions. Ethanol extract and water fraction showed the least inhibitory effect.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6129-6132
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• 2012

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of simultaneous accelerated radiation therapy (SMART) and concurrent weekly paclitaxel in the treatment of locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods: Forty-one patients with pathologically confirmed nasopharyngeal carcinoma were treated by SMART with concurrent weekly paclitaxel. Daily fraction doses of 2.5 Gy and 2.0 Gy were prescribed to the gross tumor volume (GTV) and clinical target volume (CTV) to a total dose of 70 Gy and 56 Gy, respectively. Paclitaxel of $45mg/m^2$ was administered concurrently with radiation therapy every week. Adjuvant chemotherapy was given four weeks after the completion of the radiotherapy (RT) if the tumor demonstrated only a partial response (PR). Results: All patients completed the radiotherapy (RT) course. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered to 12 patients due to PR. The CR (complete remission) rate was 82.9% three months after RT. Thirty-nine (95.1%) patients completed the concurrent weekly chemotherapy with paclitaxel, and two patients skipped their sixth course. Seven patients had a 15% dosage reduction at the fifth and sixth course due to grade 3 mucositis. The median follow-up was 30 (range, 14-42) months. The three-year overall survival (OS), metastases-free survival (MFS), and local control rates were 77.0%, 64.4%, and 97.6%, respectively. No correlation between survival rate and T or N stage was observed. Grade 3 acute mucositis and xerostomia were present in 17.1% and 7.1%, respectively. Conclusion: SMART with concurrent weekly paclitaxel is a potentially effective and toxicity tolerable approach in the treatment of locally advanced NPC.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.144-156
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• 1998

This study has been carried out to investigate the cause, pathological mechanism and treatment of symptoms regarded as the ischemic heart disease in Nei-jing(內經). I've got the following conclusions. 1. From the side of xing-bi(胸痺), the ischemic heart disease(IHD) was caused by that the energy in one's heart wasn't extended in the way of Yin-xie(飮邪), namely waste matter of human body and symptoms and treatment wern't written. 2. From the side of xin-bi (心痺), HID was catched by the mechanisms that the blood vessel is blocked. or the heart's blood was deficient owing to the mutation of mo-bi(脈痺), the lack of yang-ming(陽明) and excessive thoughts and worry and others. The symptoms were feeling oppressed in one's brest, palpitating, sudden dyspnea, the dryness of thorat, frequent belching and the fear by the inverse flow of the energy(氣). The treatment was that the yin(陰) was cured immediately, but the yang(陽) mustn't be attacked. 3. From the side of xing-tong(心痛), IHD was suffered from by mechanisms that following the han-sa(寒邪), namely the cold makes a invasion on humanbody, the vessel was blocked, spasm, filled and the amount of blood flow was poor, or caused by injury of vessel, the inverse flow and the disease of shi-dong(是動病) of shou-shao-xin-jing(手少陰心經) and so on. The pain was cramped into the upper and lower back or lower abdomen or throat and accompanied with nausea, abdominal dropsy, constipation, the impending of breathing and so on. The cure was mainly that acupuncture was applied at the jin-su(筋縮) region or meridian in relation to symptoms, but if the pain were severe, acupuncture mustn't be applied. The prog nosis was worse. 4. From the side of xing-tonge(心痛), IHD was divided into zhen-xing-tong(眞心痛) and jue-xing-tong(厥心痛), but pi-xiog-tong(脾心痛) and wei-xing-tong(胃心痛) out of jue-xing-tong(厥心痛) also included the symptoms of the digestive disease.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5957-5961
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• 2015

Background: We designed this randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess whether lobaplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy might be superior to cisplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy for FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer in terms of efficacy and safety. Materials and Methods: This prospective, open-label RCT aims to enroll 180 patients with FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer, randomly allocated to one of the three treatment groups (cisplatin $15mg/m^2$, cisplatin $20mg/m^2$ and lobaplatin $35mg/m^2$), with 60 patients in each group. All patients will receive external beam irradiation (EBRT) and high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy (HDR-ICBT). Patients in cisplatin $15mg/m^2$ and $20mg/m^2$ groups will be administered four cycles of $15mg/m^2$ or $20mg/m^2$ cisplatin intravenously once weekly from the second week to the fifth week during EBRT, while patients inthe lobaplatin $35mg/m^2$ group will be administered two cycles of $35mg/m^2$ lobaplatin intravenously in the second and fifth week respectively during pelvic EBRT. All participants will be followed up for at least 12 months. Complete remission rate and progression-free survival (PFS) will be the primary endpoints. Overall survival (OS), incidence of adverse events (AEs), and quality of life will be the secondary endpoints. Results: Between March 2013 and March 2014, a total of 61 patients with FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer were randomly assigned to cisplatin $15mg/m^2$ group (n=21), cisplatin $20mg/m^2$ group (n=21) and lobaplatin $35mg/m^2$ group (n=19). We conducted a preliminary analysis of the results. Similar rates of complete remission and grades 3-4 gastrointestinal reactions were observed for the three treatment groups (P=0.801 and 0.793, respectively). Grade 3-4 hematologic toxicity was more frequent in the lobaplatin group than the cisplatin group. Conclusions: This proposed study will be the first RCT to evaluate whether lobaplatin-based chemoraiotherapy will have beneficial effects, compared with cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy, on complete remission rate, PFS, OS, AEs and quality of life for FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.771-804
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• 2014

The concept of the center of gravity is presently being introduced in elementary school curriculums and is broadly applied to Mathematics, Physics, and the Engineering field in University education which are mostly theoretical classes much separated from actual life in the practical educational field. In 2013, ${\bigcirc}{\bigcirc}$ University of Science and Gifted Education, had developed the multidisciplinary approach program of verifying the center of gravity for gifted students, but this program was reconstructed and applied to ordinary students and the effectiveness was analyzed to lay the foundation and generalize this convergence education. Including experiments for verifying the center of gravity in an object with a hollow interior and the existence of a center of gravity outside an object, I proposed realizing the calculations by considering the weight of the lever, the Principle of the lever being a core factor when finding the center of gravity. We altered the existing 8 step program to a 4 step program for the told 65 students from elementary, Junior and High School students, letting them freely select the class lecture by themselves. The analysis attained from surveys, debates and interviews showed that by precise error analysis, students achieved a higher success experience, showing us the importance of the development of a new convergence program.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.5263-5272
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• 2012

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common cancers in China. Adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) is a routine auxiliary treatment for GC recommended by the guidelines issued in 2011 by the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China, but the relevant credible consequences in China have been insufficient because of China's late start and ethical concerns. Methods: A series of databases, including Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Chinese database of the National Knowledge Infrastructure and the VIP database, were searched by 2 reviewers independently for studies investigating AC for GC through March 2012. The retrieved literature was screened according to the eligibility criteria. Results: A total of 35 randomized control trials (RCTs) were subjected to the final analysis, including 4,043 patients in treatment group and 3,884 in the control group, as well as 4 clinical-control trials (CCTs), which accessed the final analysis with 238 and 252 patients, respectively. AC reduced the risk of death as a protective treatment with statistical significance (HR=0.91, 95%CI: [0.85, 0.97], P=0.002), and it seemed more effective for Asian than non-Asian patients. The effects of AC were not influenced by the starting time (P>0.05). D2 lymphadenectomy-based chemotherapy was effective (HR=0.89, 95%CI: [0.80, 0.99], P=0.04). Oral S-1 40 mg/m2 after D2 lymphadenectomy might be a better choice for Asians with advanced GC and might result in a greater reduction of adverse events than in non-Asian patients. GRADE quality assessment determined that the strength of the evidence from foreign studies from Europe, the United States and Asian countries other than China was high, while it was moderate for Chinese studies. Conclusion: AC was effective or even curative in Chinese patients in general, although it is still necessary to optimize a targeted AC scheme for Chinese patients with GC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.24
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• pp.10613-10619
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• 2015

Background: Both alcohol and aqueous extracts of Sauromatum giganteum(Engl.) Cusimano and Hett, the dried root tuber of which is named Baifuzi in Chinese, have been used for folklore treatment of cancer in Northeast of China. However, little is known about which is most suitable to the cancer therapy. Materials and Methods: Serum pharmacology and MTT assays were adopted to detect the effects of ethanol and aqueous extracts of Sauromatum giganteum(Engl.) Cusimano and Hett, prepared by heat reflux methods, on proliferation of different cancer cells. Results: Cancer cells treated with medium supplemented with 10%, 20%, 40% serum(v/v) containing ethanol extract had a decline in viability, with inhibition rates of 7.69%, 21.8%, 41.9% in MCF-7 cells, 42.8%, 48.1%, 51.8% in SGC-7901 cells, 44.1%, 49.2%, 53.7% in SMMC-7721 cells, 6.8%, 15.2%, 39.8% in HepG2 cells, 7.57%, 16.3%, 36.2% in HeLa cells, 6.24%, 12.5%, 27.4% in A549 cells, and 7.20%, 17.5%, 31.3% in MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively. Viability in the aqueous extract groups was no different with that of controls. Conclusions: An ethanol extract of Sauromatum giganteum(Engl.) Cusimano and Hett inhibited the proliferation of SMMC-7721, SGC-7901 and MCF-7 cells, which supports the use of alcoholic but not aqueous extracts for control of sensive cancers, which might include hepatocarcinoma, gastric cancer and breast cancer.