• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.77-81
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• 2024

This case report explores the challenges and complexities associated with opioid management of cancer pain, emphasizing the importance of early involvement of a hospice consultation team and the adoption of a multidisciplinary approach to care. A 56-year-old man with advanced pancreatic cancer experienced escalating pain and inappropriate opioid prescriptions, highlighting the shortcomings of traditional pain management approaches. Despite procedural intervention by the attending physician and increased opioid dosages, the patient's condition deteriorated. Subsequently, the involvement of a hospice consultation team, in conjunction with collaborative psychiatric care, led to an overall improvement. The case underscores the necessity of early hospice engagement, psychosocial assessments, and collaborative approaches in the optimization of patient-centered palliative care.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권18호
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• pp.7737-7740
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• 2014

Background: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a strong predictor of mortality in patients with pancreatic, colorectal, lung, gastric cancer and renal cell carcinoma. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between pathological complete response (pCR) and pretreatment NLR values in locally advanced breast cancer (BC) patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Materials and Methods: Datawere collected retrospectively from the Akdeniz University School of Medicine Database for locally advanced BC patients treated with NACT between January 2000-December 2013. Results: A total of 78 patients were analyzed. Sixteen (20%) patients achieved pCR. Estrogen receptor (ER) positivity was lower in pCR+ than pCR-cases (p=0.011). The median NLR values were similar in both arms. The optimum NLR cut-off point for BC patients with PCR+ was 2.33 (AUC:0.544, 95%CI [0.401-0.688], p=0.586) with sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value (NPV) of 50%, 51,6%, 21,1%, and 80%, respectively. Conclusions: This study showed no relationship between the pCR and pretreatment NLR values. Because of a considerable high NPV, in the patients with higher NLR who had luminal type BC in which pCR is lower after NACT, such treatment may not be recommended.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.413-418
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• 2016

Objective: To assess the safety and effectiveness of a mouth-rinse with G-CSF (JiSaiXin, produced by NCPC Biotechnology Co., Ltd) in treating patients with chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis (CIM). Method: A consecutive cohort of patients with advanced cancers and CIM were treated with mouth-rinse G-CSF. All chemotherapy for patients with advanced cancers was adopted from regimens suggested by NCCN guidelines. The mouth-rinse with G-CSF at a dose of 150-300ug plus 100ml-500ml normal saline was started from the time of oral mucositis was confirmed and continuously used for at least 7 days as one course. After at least two courses of treatment, safety and efficacy were evaluated. Results: There were 7 female and 7 male patients with advanced cancer and CIM recruited into this study, including 5 with colorectal, 2 with lung, 1 patient with gastric, 1 with cervical and 1 with pancreatic cancer, as well as 2 patients with diffuse large B cell lymphomas, 1 with nasopharyngeal and 1 with gastric cancer. The median age was 57 (41-79) years. Grade 1 to 2 myelosuppression was observed in 3/14 patients, and Grade 4 myelosuppression in 1/14. Adverse effects on the gastrointestinal tract were documented in 5/14 patients, and were Grade 1 to Grade 3. No treatment related death was documented. Regarding CIM, the median response time to mouth rinse of G-CSF was 2 (1-5) days, and all patients with CIM demonstrated a positive response. Conclusions: Mouth-rinse with G-CSF proved to be safe and effective in treating patients with advanced cancers and CIM. However, further randomized controlled studies should be conducted to clarify the effectiveness of this treatment with other lesions.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.155-168
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• 2021

Purpose: Previous studies have demonstrated the usefulness of the controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score in nutritional assessment and survival prediction of patients with various malignancies. However, its value in advanced gastric cancer (GC) treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and curative gastrectomy remains unclear. Materials and Methods: The CONUT score at different time points (pretreatment, preoperative, and postoperative) of 272 patients with advanced GC were retrospectively calculated from August 2004 to October 2015. The χ² test or Mann-Whitney U test was used to estimate the relationships between the CONUT score and clinical characteristics as well as short-term outcomes, while the Cox proportional hazard model was used to estimate long-term outcomes. Survival curves were estimated by using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Results: The proportion of moderate or severe malnutrition among all patients was not significantly changed from pretreatment (13.5%) to pre-operation (11.7%) but increased dramatically postoperatively (47.5%). The pretreatment CONUT-high score (≥4) was significantly associated with older age (P=0.010), deeper tumor invasion (P=0.025), and lower pathological complete response rate (CONUT-high vs. CONUT-low: 1.2% vs. 6.6%, P=0.107). Pretreatment CONUT-high score patients had worse progression-free survival (P=0.032) and overall survival (OS) (P=0.026). Adjusted for pathologic node status, the pretreatment CONUT-high score was strongly associated with worse OS in pathologic node-positive patients (P=0.039). Conclusions: The pretreatment CONUT score might be a straightforward index for immune-nutritional status assessment, while being a reliable prognostic indicator in patients with advanced GC receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy and curative gastrectomy. Moreover, lower pretreatment CONUT scores might indicate better chemotherapy responses.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.331-334
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• 2016

목적: 진행성 암 환자에서 발열이 동반되지 않은, 암성 발한에서 NSAID (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug) 치료 효과를 알아보고자 함이 목적이다. 방법: 다음과 같은 조건을 만족하는 환자를 대상으로 후향적으로 의무 기록을 조사하였다. 1) 수술적 절제나 항암방사선 치료로 완치가 불가능한 진행성 암 환자 2) 숫자평가등급 4점 이상의 식은 땀을 호소하며 발열이 동반되지 않은 환자 3) 식은 땀의 원인이 될 만한 감염이 없고, 마약성 진통 및 호르몬 차단제를 현재 최근 1개월 이내 새롭게 사용하지 않는 환자 4) 식은 땀 치료를 위해 NSAID를 사용하고, NRS 평가가 치료 전 후 시행한 환자. 결과: 총 13명의 환자가 등록되었다. 남자가 9명(69%)이었고, 평균 59세(범위: 50~71)였다. 암종별 빈도는 담도암, 췌장암, 위암, 전립선암 순이었다. 치료 전 환자들의 식은 땀은 평균 NRS 6.5 (최소값: 4, 최대값: 10) 이었고, 치료 후에는 NRS 1.9 (최소값: 0, 최대값: 5)이었다. 평균 추적 관찰 기간은 9.1일이었다. 결론: 진행성 암 환자에서 열이 동반되지 않은 중등도 이상의 식은 땀 환자에서 NSAID는 효과적인 치료방법이다.

• 대한두경부종양학회지
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• 제35권2호
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

The 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, which took place May 31-June 4 in Chicago, drew more than 32,000 oncology specialists from around the world. The theme of 2019 ASCO conference was "Caring for Every Patient, Learning from Every Patient". Among the topics of interest covered were new approaches to surmount limited access to cancer care and the latest advances in targeted therapies for pancreatic, prostate cancers and soft tissue sarcomas. In the field of head and neck cancer, 8 oral abstracts and 75 poster abstracts were presented at this meeting. In this review, we are going to summarize the eight studies that have been presented orally. The topics are recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma for two abstracts (#6000, #6002), salivary duct carcinoma for one abstract (#6001), locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma for two abstracts (#6003, #6004), oropharyngeal carcinoma for two abstracts (#6006, #6008), and oral cavity cancer for one abstract (#6007).

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제41권6호
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• pp.591-602
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• 2018

Gastric cancer is the fifth most common type of malignancy worldwide, and the survival rate of patients with advanced-stage gastric cancer is low, even after receiving chemotherapy. Here, we validated neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1) as a potential therapeutic target in gastric cancer. We compared NTSR1 expression levels in sixty different gastric cancer-tissue samples and cells, as well as in other cancer cells (lung, breast, pancreatic, and colon), by assessing NTSR1 expression via semi-quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, immunocytochemistry and western blot. Following neurotensin (NT) treatment, we analyzed the expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and further determined the effects on cell migration and invasion via wound-healing and transwell assays. Our results revealed that NTSR1 mRNA levels were higher in gastric cancer tissues than non-cancerous tissues. Both of NTSR1 mRNA levels and expression were higher in gastric cancer cell lines relative to levels observed in other cancer-cell lines. Moreover, NT treatment induced MMP-9 expression and activity in all cancer cell lines, which was significantly decreased following treatment with the NTSR1 antagonist SR48692 or small-interfering RNA targeting NTSR1. Furthermore, NT-mediated metastases was confirmed by observing epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers SNAIL and E-cadherin in gastric cancer cells. NT-mediated invasion and migration of gastric cancer cells were reduced by NTSR1 depletion through the Erk signaling. These findings strongly suggested that NTR1 constitutes a potential therapeutic target for the inhibition of gastric cancer invasion and metastasis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제28권5호
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• pp.473-481
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• 2020

Axl receptor tyrosine kinase has been implicated in cancer progression, invasion, and metastasis in various cancer types. Axl overexpression has been observed in many cancers, and selective inhibitors of Axl, including R428, may be promising therapeutic agents for several human cancers, such as breast, lung, and pancreatic cancers. Here, we examined the cell growth inhibition mediated by R428 and auranofin individually as well as in combination in the human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 to identify new advanced combination treatments for human breast cancer. Our data showed that combination therapy with R428 and auranofin markedly inhibited cancer cell proliferation. Isobologram analyses of these cells indicated a clear synergism between R428 and auranofin with a combination index value of 0.73. The combination treatment promoted apoptosis as indicated by caspase 3 activation and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. Cancer cell migration was also significantly inhibited by this combination treatment. Moreover, we found that combination therapy significantly increased the expression level of Bax, a mitochondrial proapoptotic factor, but decreased that of the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein. Furthermore, the suppression of cell viability and induction of Bax expression by the combination treatment were recovered by treatment with N-acetylcysteine. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that combined treatment with R428 and auranofin synergistically induced apoptosis in human breast cancer cells and may thus serve as a novel and valuable approach for cancer therapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권9호
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• pp.4537-4540
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• 2012

Background: The pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET) is relatively rare and generally felt to follow an indolent course. EUS has an important role in detection of pNET. This is a review of clinical and radiological presentation and pathologic reports of 22 patients with pNET. Patients and methods: In this study we analyzed clinical and radiological presentations and pathologic reports of all relevant cases who were referred to Taleghani hospital for 3 years since 2008. Results: A total of 22 patients 28-74 years old (mean=49) were enrolled between 2008 and 2011. Among the total, 13 (59%) were male, 9 (41%) were female and 16 (72.7%) had functional tumors. The results of CT were negative in 12 (54%) cases but EUS was capable of detecting the lesions in these patients, cysts being found in 4 (19%) patients. Conclusion: EUS is a highly sensitive procedure for the localization of functional pNETs and especially insulinomas. Nonfunctional tumors were detected in more advanced and late stages and cystic lesions were more common in this group.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• 제5권1호
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• pp.23-27
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• 2017

Although laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD) is considered as minimally invasive surgery, an advanced level of laparoscopic skill is still required. LPD comprises various procedures including reconstruction. Therefore, establishment of a safe approach at each step is needed. Prevention of intraoperative bleeding is the most important factor in safe completion of LPD. The establishment of effective retraction methods is also important at each site to prevent vascular injury. I also recommend the "uncinate process first" approach during initial cases of LPD, in which the branches of the inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery are dissected first, at points where they enter the uncinate process. This approach is performed at the left side of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) before isolating the pancreatic head from the right aspect of the SMA, which allows safe dissection without bleeding. Safe and reliable reconstruction is also important to prevent postoperative complications. Laparoscopic pancreatojejunostomy requires highly skilled suturing technique. Pancreatojejunostomy through a small abdominal incision, as in hybrid-LPD, facilitates reconstruction. In LPD, the surgical view is limited. Therefore, we must carefully verify the position of the pancreaticobiliary limb. A twisted mesentery may cause severe congestion of the pancreaticobiliary limb following reconstruction, resulting in severe complications. We must secure the appropriate position of the pancreaticobiliary limb before starting reconstruction. We describe the incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications and appropriate technique for safe performance of LPD.