• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.108-118
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• 1999

Background: To evaluate the risk factor and long-term result of arterial switch operation , a retrospective study was done. Material and Method: A retrospective analysis was done to evaluate the early and long-term results on 58 patients who underwent an arterial switch operation(ASO) for transposition of the great arteries(TGA) with intact ventricular septum, between January 1988 and December 1996. Beforesurgery, 36 patients(62.1%) underwent balloon atrial septostomy, 32 patients(51.7%) received PGE1 infusion, and preparatory banding of pulmonary artery was performed on 6 patients(mean LV/RV pressure ratio 0.53$\pm$0.11). Result: The age at operation ranged from 1 to 137 days(mean 24$\pm$26 days) and the weights ranged from 1.8 to 6.8 kg (mean 3.5$\pm$0.8 kg). There were 14 early deaths(24.1%), but of the last 24 patients operated on since 1994, there were only 2 early deaths(8.3%). In the risk factor analysis, the date of operation was the only risk factor for early death(p-value < 0.01). Eight of the 14 early deaths were due to acute myocardial failure(mainly inadequate coronary blood flow). The length of follow-up ranged from 2 months to 8 years, average of 36$\pm$27 months. The follow-up included sequential noninvasive evaluations and 21 catheterizations and angiographic studies performed 5 to 32 months postoperatively with particular attention to the great vessel and coronary anastomosis, ventricular function, valvular competence, and cardiac rhythm. There were 5 late deaths(11.4%), one of thesedeaths was related to the late coronary problems, two to aspiration, one to uncontrolled chronic mediastinitis, and one to progressive aortic insufficiency and heart failure. The most frequent postoperative hemodynamic abnormality was supravalvular stenosis and the degree of pulmonary or aortic obstruction had slowly progressed in some cases, however there were no children who had to undergo a reoperation for supravalvular pulmonary or aortic stenosis. Aortic regurgitation was identified in 9 patients, which was mild in 7 and moderate in 2 and had progressed in some cases. Two patients who had an unremarkable perioperative course were identified as having coronary artery obstructions. The other late survivors were in good condition, were in sinus rhythm, and had normal LV functions. Actuarial survival rate at 8 years was 68.8%. Conclusion: We concluded that anatomic correction will be established as the optimal approach to the TGA with intact ventricular septum, though further long-term evaluations are needed.

• 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.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.11
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• pp.1158-1164
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• 2008

Purpose : To investigate the discriminative ability of pediatric index of mortality 2 (PIM2) and pediatric risk of mortality III (PRISM III) in predicting mortality in children admitted into the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods : We retrospectively analyzed variables of PIM2 and PRISM III based on medical records with children cared for in a single hospital ICU from January 2003 to December 2007. Exclusions were children who died within 2 h of admission into ICU or hopeless discharge. We used Students t test and ANOVA for general characteristics and for correlation between survivors and non-survivors for variables of PIM2 and PRISM III. In addition, we performed multiple logistic regression analysis for Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for discrimination, and calculated standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for estimation of prediction. Results : We collected 193 medical records but analyzed 190 events because three children died within 2 h of ICU admission. The variables of PIM2 correlated with survival, except for the presence of post-procedure and low risk. In PRISM III, there was a significant correlation for cardiovascular/neurologic signs, arterial blood gas analysis but not for biochemical and hematologic data. Discriminatory performance by ROC showed an area under the curve 0.858 (95% confidence interval; 0.779-0.938) for PIM2, 0.798 (95% CI; 0.686-0.891) for PRISM III, respectively. Further, SMR was calculated approximately as 1 for the 2 systems, and multiple logistic regression analysis showed ${\chi}^2(13)=14.986$, P=0.308 for PIM2, ${\chi}^2(13)=12.899$, P=0.456 for PRISM III in Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit. However, PIM2 was significant for PRISM III in the likelihood ratio test (${\chi}^2(4)=55.3$, P<0.01). Conclusion : We identified two acceptable scoring systems (PRISM III, PIM2) for the prediction of mortality in children admitted into the ICU. PIM2 was more accurate and had a better fit than PRISM III on the model tested.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.69-77
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• 1993

Treatment of cerebellar medulloblastoma has been much improved with modern surgical technique for gross total tumor removal and adequate radiation therapy for the whole craniospinal axis. Questions have been arosen about the optimal radiation dose for the preventive treatment of whole cranium and whole spinal axis. Recently, many authors have reported their treatment results as comparable to older data, using lower than conventional dose of 3,600 cGy-4,000 cGy. For 50 patients treated between 1981 and 1990 at the Department of Radiation Therapy of SNUH, retrospective analysis was done for the treatment result, especially the neuraxis control, by radiation dose for the presymptomatic area of the disease. Analysis only by total spinal dose did not give any significant difference. But further analysis by following patient group; 3,600 cGy/150 cGy (n=6), 3,000 cGy/150 cGy (n=10), 2,400 cGy/150 cGy (n=17) and 2,400 cGy/100-120 cGy (n=11) showed significant improvement of neuraxis control by decreasing order (p =0.003). There was no significant difference in overall survival between the groups. For the 19 patients who had been confirmed initially as having no neuraxis disease, TDF 30 was the cur-off value that could prevent neuraxis failure (p =0.004). We couldn't define any TDF value that give reasonable control for the patient group with positive CSF study at initial diagnosis.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.295-302
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• 2002

Purpose : The Purpose of this study was to establish general guidelines for the treatment of patients with early glottic carcinoma (T1-2N0M0), by assessing the role of primary radiotherapy and by analyzing the tumor-related and treatment-related factors that have an influence on the treatment results. Materials and Methods : This retrospective study was composed of 80 patients who suffered from early glottic carcinoma and were treated by primary radiotherapy at Pusan National University Hospital, between August 1987 and December 1996. The distribution of patients according to T-stage was 66 for stage T1 and 14 for stage T2. All of the patients were treated with conventional radical radiotherapy using a 6MV photon beams, a total tumor dose of $60\~75.6\;Gy$ (median 68.4 Gy), administered in 5 weekly fractions of $1.8\~2.0\;Gy$. The overall radiation treatment time was from 40 to 87 days, median 51 days. All patients were followed up for at least 3 years. Univariate and multivariate analysis was done to identify the prognostic factors affecting the treatment results. Results : The five-years survival rate was $89.2\%$ for all patients, $90.2\%$ for T1 and $82.5\%$ for T2. The local control rate was $81.3\%$ for all patients, $83.3\%$ for T1 and $71.4\%$ for T2. However, when salvage operations were taken into account, the ultimate local control rate was $91.3\%,\;T1\;94.5\%,\;T2\;79.4\%$, reprosenting an increase of $8\~12\%$ in the local control rate. The voice preservation rate was $89.2\%,\;T1\;94.7\%,\;T2\;81.3\%$. Fifteen patients suffered a relapse after radiotherapy, among whom 12 patients underwent salvage surgery. We included T-stage, tumor location, total radiation dose, fraction size, field size and overall radiation treatment time as potential prognostic factors. T-stage and overall treatment time were found to be statistically significant in the univariate analysis, but in the multivariate analysis, only the over-all treatment time was found to be significant. Conclusion : The high cure and voice preservation rates obtained when using a procedure, comprising a combination of radical radiotherapy and salvage surgery, may make this the treatment of choice for patients with early glottic carcinoma. However, the prognostic factors affecting the treatment results must be kept in mind, and more accurate treatment planning and further optimization of the radiation dose are necessary.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.226-232
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• 2000

Purpose :This study was performed to find out the prognostic factors affecting local control in early glottic cancer treated with radiation therapy alone. Materials and Methods :We analysed 37 patients of histologically confirmed early glottic cancer treated at Chonnam National University Hospital between July Im and December 1995, retrospectively. Age of patients ranged from 30 to 73 years (median; 59 years). Thirty-five (95$\%$) patients were male. Histological type was all squamous cell carcinoma. According to the staging system of 1997 American Joint Committee on Cancer, 37 patients were restaged as follows: Tla; U (73$\%$), Tlb; 3 (8$\%$), 72: 7 (19$\%$). Radiation therapy was done using 6 MV X-ray of linear accelerator The range of total radiation dose delivered to the glottic lesion was between 5,040 cGy and 7,020 cGy (median; 6,600 cGy). Median follow-up period was U months. local control rates were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. Generalized Wilcoxon test was used to evaluate the difference of control rates between comparable groups. Multivariate analysis using Cox proportional hazard model was done to find out prognostic factors affecting local control. Results:5 year survival rate of 37 patients was 89$\%$. Local control rate of 37 patients was 74$\%$ in 5 years. We included age, 7-stage, anterior commissure involvement, fraction size, total radiation dose, treatment time of radiotherapy as potential prognostic factors in univariate and multivariate analysis. As a result, treatment time had statistical significance in local control rate in both univariate (p=0.026) and multivariate (p=0.017) analysis. Complication was not recorded except one patient with hypothyroidism. Conclusion :This study revealed that overall treatment time of radiation was a significant factor affecting local control rate.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.136-142
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• 2009

Bone density in the recipient implant site seems to be an important factor for long term success of endosseous implants. Preoperative evaluation of bone density is very helpful to assist the clinician with the treatment planning of implant therapy. Accurate information on bone density will help the surgeon identify suitable implant sites, thereby improving the success rate of the procedure. Purpose; The aim of this study was to evaluate a correlation between bone density measured preoperatively with computerized tomography and histologically measured bone density by bone biopsy. Patients and methods; Twenty seven patients were selected. All the patients were in good health, with no systemic disorder and additional bone graft. Preoperatively the patients underwent CT scanning to evaluate Houmsfield Unit(HU). Each patients wore a surgical template for implant placement. During surgery 2mm in diameter and 6mm in length specimens were taken. Histomorphometric analysis was performed using digitalized image analysis software Axiovision 4.3. Also, the Resonance frequency analysis(RFA) and insertion torque values were recorded. Results; The highest histomorphometric values was found in the posterior mandible $32.3{\pm}3.8$, followed by $29.9{\pm}2.6$ for the posterior maxilla, $29.4{\pm}2.6$ for the anterior maxilla, $28.6{\pm}2.3$ for the anterior mandible(p=0.214). The hounsfield unit was $989.2{\pm}258.1$ in the posterior mandible, $845.0{\pm}241.5$ in the anterior maxilla, $744.5{\pm}92.6$ in the anterior mandible, $697.3{\pm}136.9$ in the posterior maxilla(p=0.045). This results may suggest that there are strong correlation between the histomorphometric values and hounsfield unit(r=0.760, p<0.05). The RF measurements were $81.9{\pm}2.4$ ISQ in the posterior mandible, $79.0{\pm}1.4$ ISQ in the anterior mandible, $78.3{\pm}4.6$ ISQ in the posterior maxilla, $76.5{\pm}5.0$ ISQ in the anterior maxilla(p=0.048). The insertion torque values was $43.2{\pm}4.2\;Ncm$ in the posterior mandible, $42.0{\pm}0.0\;Ncm$ in the anterior mandible, $41.3{\pm}4.1\;Ncm$ in the posterior maxilla, $40.8{\pm}3.8\;Ncm$ in the anterior maxilla(p=0.612). This results may suggest that there are statistical significance between the hounsfield unit and the insertion torque values(r=0.494, p<0.05), the histomorphometric values and the insertion torque values(r=0.689, p<0.05). But there was no correlation between histomorphometric values and ISQ. There was no statistical significance in age and gender effect on parameters. Conclusions; There was significant correlations between bone density and implant stability parameters. The bone density measurements using preoperative CT may help clinicians to predict primary stability before implant insertion, which is associated with implant survival rates.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.124-131
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• 2007

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify prognostic factors in gastric cancer without lymph node metastasis and to specifiy which prognostic factors can be available in detail according to the depth of invasion. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was based on the medial records of 268 gastric cancer patients who received resectional therapy from 1990 to 1999. The patients who revealed pT2NOMO, pT3NOMO, pT4NOMO on postoperative pathologic reports were enrolled. The survival rate was analyzed according to clinicopathologic and therapeutic factors. Results: According to the depth of invasion, the number of patients with pT2a, pT2b, pT3 and pT4 were 86 (32.1%), 56 (20.9%), 108 (40.3%), and 18 (6.7%) respectively. Age, depth of invasion, histological type, Borrmann type, and Lauren classification were statistically significant in the univariate analysis, and the age, the depth of invasion, and Lauren classification were independent prognostic factors identified by multivariate analysis. On multivariate analysis of subgroups according to the depth of invasion, the independent prognostic factors were age, Borrmann type, and Lauren classification in pT2, and age, Lauren classification, and vascular invasion in pT3. The prognostic factors of pT4 patients could not be analyzed due to limited sample size. Conclusion: In advanced gastric cancer patients without lymph node metastasis, age, the depth of invasion, and Lauren classification should be checked to predict prognosis. In patients with pT2 lesion among the above patients, the Borrmann type should be added in check-list.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.40 no.12
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• pp.817-824
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• 2007

Background: There are two choices for heart valve replacement-the use of a tissue valve and the use of a mechanical valve. Using a tissue valve, additional surgery will be problematic due to valve degeneration. If the risk of additional surgery could be reduced, the tissue valve could be more widely used. Therefore, we analyzed the risk factors and mortality of patients undergoing repeated heart valve replacement and primary replacement. Material and Method: We analyzed 25 consecutive patients who underwent repeated heart valve replacement and 158 patients who underwent primary heart valve replacement among 239 patients that underwent heart vale replacement in out hospital from January 1995 to December 2004. Result: There were no differences in age, sex, and preoperative ejection fraction between the repeated valve replacement group of patients and the primary valve replacement group of patients. In the repeated valve replacement group, the previously used artificial valves were 3 mechanical valves and 23 tissue valves. One of these cases had simultaneous replacement of the tricuspid and aortic valve with tissue valves. The mean duration after a previous operation was 92 months for the use of a mechanical valve and 160 months for the use of a tissue valve. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic cross clamp time were 152 minutes and 108 minutes, respectively, for the repeated valve replacement group of patients and 130 minutes and 89 minutes, respectively, for the primary valve replacement group of patients. These results were statistically significant. The use of an intra aortic balloon pump (IABP) was required for 2 cases (8%) in the repeated valve replacement group of patients and 6 cases (3.8%) in the primary valve replacement group of patients. An operative death occurred in one case (4%) in the repeated valve replacement group of patients and occurred in nine cases (5.1%) in the primary valve replacement group of patients. Among postoperative complications, the need for mechanical ventilation over 48 hours was different between the two groups. The mean follow up period after surgery was $6.5{\pm}3.2$ years. The 5-year survival of patients in the repeated valve replacement group was 74% and the 5-year survival of patients in the primary valve replacement group was 95%. Conclusion: The risk was slightly increased, but there was little difference in mortality between the repeated and primary heart valve replacement group of patients. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider the issue of avoiding the use of a tissue valve due to the risk of additional surgery, and it is encouraged to use the tissue valve selectively, which has several advantages over the use of a mechanical valve. In the case of a repeated replacement, however, the mortality rate was high for a patient whose preoperative status was not poor. A proper as sessment of cardiac function and patient status is required after the primary valve replacement. Subsequently, a secondary replacement could then be considered.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.428-437
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• 2000

Background : Five year survival rate of postoperative stage I non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) reaches to 66%. In the remaining one third of patients, however, cancer recurs and the overall survival of NSCLC remains dismal. To evaluate clinical and pathologic characteristics of recurred NSCLC, the patterns and factors for postoperative recurrence in patients with staged I and II NSCLC were studied. Method : A retrospective analysis was performed in 234 patients who underwent radical resection for pathologic stage I and II NSCLC. All patients who were followed up for at least one year were included in this study. Results : 1) There were 177 men and 57 women The median age was 63. The median duration of the follow up period was 732 days (range 365~1,695 days). The overall recurrence rate was 26.5%, and the recurrence occurred $358.8{\pm}239.8$ days after operation. 2) The ages of recurred NSCLC patients were higher ($63.2{\pm}8.8$ years) than those of non-recurred patients ($60.3{\pm}9.8$ years)(p=0.043). The recurrence rate was higher in stage II (46.9%) than in stage I (18.8%) NSCLC p<0.001. The size of primary lung mass was larger in recurred ($5.45{\pm}3.22\;cm$) than that of non-recurred NSCLC ($3.74{\pm}1.75\;cm$, p<0.001). Interestingly, there were no recurrent cases when the resected primary tumor was less than 2cm. 3) Distant recurrence was more frequent than locoregional recurrence (66.1% vs. 33.9%). Distant recurrence rate was higher in females and in cases of adenocarcinoma. Brain metastasis was more frequent in patients with adenocarcinoma than in those with squamous cell carcinoma (p=0.024). Conclusion: The tumor size and stage were two important factors for determining the possibility of a recurrence. Because distant brain metastasis was more frequent in patients with adenocarinoma, a prospective study should be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of preoperative brain imaging.