• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2006

Purpose: It is well known from clinical experience that acute complications of chemoradiation therapy vary from patients to patients. However, there are no known factors to predict these acute complications before treatment starts. The human XRCC1 gene is known as a DNA base excision repair gene. We investigated the possibilities of XRCC1 gene polymorphisms as a predictor for the acute complications of chemoradiation therapy in colorectal cancer patients. Materials and Methods: From July 1997 to June 2003, 86 colorectal cancer patients (71 rectal cancer, 13 sigmoid colon cancer and 2 colon cancer patients) were treated with chemoradiation therapy at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Inha University Hospital. Twenty-two patients were in stage B, 50 were in stage C, 8 were in stage D and 6 patients were unresectable cases. External radiation therapy was delivered with 10MV X-ray at a 1.8 Gy fraction per day for a total dose of radiation of $30.6{\sim}59.4 Gy$ (median: 54 Gy). All the patients received 5-FU based chemotherapy regimen. We analyzed the acute complications of upper and lower gastrointestinal tract based on the RTOG complication scale. The initial and lowest WBC and platelet count were recorded during both the RT period and the whole treatment period. Allelic variants of the XRCC1 gene at codons 194, 280 and 399 were analyzed in the lymphocyte DNA by performing PCR-RFLP. Statistical analyses were carried out with the SAS (version 6.12) statistical package. Results: When all the variables were assessed on the multivariate analysis, recurrent disease revealed the factors that significantly correlated with upper gastrointestinal acute complications. Arg399Gln polymorph isms of the XRCC1 gene, the radiation dose and the frequencies of chemotherapy during radiation therapy were significantly correlated with lower gastrointestinal complications. Arg399Gln polymorph isms also affected the decrease of the WBC and platelet count during radiation therapy. Conclusion: Although the present sample size was too small for fully evaluating this hypothesis, this study suggests that Arg399Gln polymorph isms of the XRCC1 genes may be used as one of the predictors for acute complications of chemoradiation therapy in colorectal cancer patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2771-2774
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• 2012

Aim: Tumors of upper gastrointestinal tract are among the cancers that have a quite lethal course. Cytotoxic chemotherapy is the most efficient therapeutic modality for metastatic gastric cancer. In patients who do not respond to first-line treatment, the response rate to second-line therapies is generally low and the toxicity rates high. This study concerned the efficacy and the side effect profile of second-line therapy with irinotecan in the patients who were being followed-up with the diagnosis of metastatic gastric cancer in $\dot{I}$zmir, Turkey. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and toxicity in 31 patients with metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma who presented to the polyclinic of Medical Oncology of Izmir Ataturk Education and Research Hospital between May 2008 and July 2011. All received chemotherapy regimens containing cisplatin, fluoropyrimidine (5-FU) and docetaxel as the first-line therapy for late stage disease. Irinotecan as a single agent was given at a dose of 210 mg/$m^2$ on each 21 days. Irinotecan (180 mg/$m^2$ on day 1), 5-FU (500 mg/$m^2$ on days 1-2) and leucovorin (LV; 60 mg/$m^2$ on days 1-2) as a combined regimen were given over a 14 day period. Results: Median age was 54 (range, 31-70). Irinotecan was given as a combined regimen for median 6 cycles (range, 3-12) and as a single agent for median 3 cycles (range, 1-10). Metastases were detected in one site in six patients (19%), in two different sites in 17 patients (55%) and in three or more sites in eight patients (26%). Four patients (12.9%) showed partial response and six patients (19.3%) showed stable disease. Progression-free survival (PFS) was found to be 3.26 months (95% CI, 2.3-4.2). Median overall survival (OS) was found to be 8.76 months (95% CI, 4.5-12.9). The most commonly seen grade 3/4 side effect was neutropenia but the the therapy was generally well-tolerated. Conclusions: In this study, it was demonstrated that second-line therapy with irinotecan given following the first-line therapy with cisplatin, fluoropyrimidine (5-FU) and docetaxel was efficient and safe. Further studies are needed for confirmation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.273-280
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• 1999

This is a report of gastric metastases secondary from a primary small cell carcinoma of the lung in two men. Blood-borne metastatic involvement of the stomach by cancer is a rare entity. According to the reports in the literature the prevalence of metastasis to the stomach occurs in 0.4% and the most common cell type of the primary lung carcinoma is large cell type(3.7%) followed by adenocarcinoma(2.4%), small cell carcinoma(1.7%) and squamous cell carcinoma(0.7%). The most common tumors that spread to the stomach through the blood stream are malignant melanoma, breast carcinoma and lung carcinoma. Most of the gastrointestinal tract metastases had no specific symptoms because of its submucosal involvement. The prognosis was poor and the mean survival period from the onset of symptoms was 49 days. The first patient was a 56-year-old man who had primary lung carcinoma with brain metastasis. Gastroscopic findings showed two elevated mass lesions in the anterior wall of the mid body with central ulcer and the posterior wall of the fundus with intact surface mucosa. Pathologic examination of stomach tissue revealed small cell type tumor cells infiltrate in the stomach wall segmentally without destruction of the glands. The second patient was a 67-year-old man who had no other evidence of the distant metastasis. Gastroscopic findings showed a huge, oval shaped, ulcerofungating mass with deep penetrating central ulcer coated with dirty exudate in the anterior wall from mid to upper body of the stomach, and thickened elevated rugal folds in the posterior wall of the fundus. Pathologic examination of stomach tissues revealed the small cell type tumor cells showing small smudged nucleus infiltrate into the mucosa of the stomach and the architecture of mucosa intact. We report the two cases of metastatic gastric cancer from the primary small cell lung carcinoma with the literature review.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.215-222
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• 2020

Metformin is a recommended first-line therapy drug for type 2 diabetes patients. However, compared to other oral antidiabetic drugs (OAD), metformin has a large unit dosage, with bioavailability of 40-60%. This limiting bioavailability is because metformin is absorbed only in the upper gastrointestinal tract as a BCS class 3 drug. Hence, we propose that applying the Gastroretentive Drug Delivery System (GRDDS) and extending drug release time in the stomach will result in improved bioavailability. We selected the swelling type delivery system, as it is considered the most stable gastroretention technology compared to other GRDDSs. We modified the swelling excipient by using a natural swelling excipient to form a swelling tablet made of carrageenan and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC). Our results indicate that the swelling complex tablet made of carrageenan and HPMC has a good swelling ability and shows required sustained release in a dissolution pattern. In addition, the carrageenan complex has a better swelling ability than the marketed metformin tablet, as determined by the ratio, (swelling ability)/(excipient weight). Taken together, our results indicate that the carrageenan complex can be developed as a good swelling excipient. Further optimizations are required for the commercialization of the carrageenan complex.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.488-509
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• 2021

Purpose: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a chronic syndrome accompanied by repetitive digestive symptoms that appear in the upper gastrointestinal tract and are not caused by specific diseases. Psychological symptoms like anxiety, depression, insomnia, and somatization are frequently observed in FD. The purpose of this study was to review the effect of herbal medicine on the psychological symptoms that accompany FD. Methods: Database search (PubMed, EMBASE, KISS, Kmbase, KoreanMed, NDSL, OASIS, CNKI) was performed on February 24, 2021; a total of 1825 studies were searched. After the screening, 22 studies were included. Results: The studies were assessed by Cochrane RoB 2 and sorted into a table according to psychological symptoms. Meta-analysis was performed to estimate the effect of herbal medicine. Twenty of the twenty-two studies reported that herbal medicine was significantly more effective than the control group. Only three of the studies did not have a high risk of bias. Conclusion: Herbal medicine was significantly effective with or without Western medicine and had fewer adverse effects. Severe adverse effect was not reported. Psychological symptoms in FD affect onset and duration of FD, and some FD patients want to be treated for their anxiety before other symptoms. Reliable information about treatment for the psychological symptoms of FD is lacking. We reviewed the effect of herbal medicine treatment in this study, the results of which could be selected for primary or secondary treatment for FD.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.526-534
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• 2009

Purpose: We retrospectively investigated the diagnostic performance of $^{18}F$-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/CT for cancer detection in asymptomatic health-check examinees. Materials and Methods: This study consisted of 5091 PET or PET/CT conducted as part of annual health examination at one hospital from March 1998 to February 2008. To find the incidence of cancers, medical records of the subjects were thoroughly reviewed for a follow-up period of one year. The patterns of formal readings of PET and PET/CT were analyzed to assess the sensitivity and specificity for cancer detection. The histopathology and stage of the cancers were evaluated in relation to the results of PET. Results: Eighty-six cancers (1.7%) were diagnosed within one year after PET or PET/CT. When PET and PET/CT results were combined, the sensitivity was 48.8% and specificity was 81.1% for cancer detection. PET only had a sensitivity of 46.2% and a specificity of 81.4%, and PET/CT only had a sensitivity of 75.0% and a specificity of 78.5% respectively. There were no significant differences in cancer site, stage and histopathology between PET positive and PET negative cancers. In 19.3% of formal readings of PET and PET/CT, further evaluation to exclude malignancy or significant disease was recommended. Head and neck area and upper gastrointestinal tract were commonly recommended sites for further evaluation. Conclusions: PET and PET/CT showed moderate performance for detecting cancers in asymptomatic adults in this study. More experience and further investigation are needed to overcome limitations of PET and PET/CT for cancer screening.