• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.126-132
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• 2012

Objective : The purpose of this study was to present the MRI and CT findings of solitary spinal bone lesions (SSBLs) with the aims of aiding the differential diagnoses of malignant tumors and benign lesions, and proposing a diagnostic strategy for obscure SSBLs. Methods : The authors retrospectively reviewed the imaging findings of 19 patients with an obscure SSBL on MRI at our hospital from January 1994 to April 2011. The 19 patients were divided to benign groups and malignant groups according to final diagnosis. MRI and CT findings were evaluated and the results of additional work-up studies were conducted to achieve a differential diagnosis. Results : At final diagnoses, 10 (52.6%) of the 19 SSBLs were malignant tumors and 9 (47.4%) were benign lesions. The malignant tumors included 6 metastatic cancers, 3 multiple myelomas, and 1 chordoma, and the benign lesions included 4 osteomyelitis, 2 hemangiomas, 2 nonspecific chronic inflammations, and 1 giant cell tumor. No MRI characteristics examined was found to be significantly different in the benign and malignant groups. Reactive sclerotic change was observed by CT in 1 (10.0%) of the 10 malignant lesions and in 7 (77.8%) of the 9 benign lesions (p=0.005). Conclusion : Approximately half of the obscure SSBLs were malignant tumors. CT and MRI findings in combination may aid the differential diagnosis of obscure SSBLs. In particular, sclerotic change on CT images was an important finding implying benign lesion. Finally, we suggest a possible diagnostic strategy for obscure SSBLs on MRI.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 2013

In case of neoplasm claims, it is important to make a decision of differentiating malignant and benign. In Korean insurance market, there are many insurance products that cover cancer. In the insurance claims adjustment, differentiation between malignant and benign is according to histologic findings. However there are many neoplasms of bad clinical course in spite of benign histopathologic classification. In this article; astrocytoma, thymoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, colonic intramucosal carcinoma, gastric high grade adenoma/dysplasia, carcinoid tumor, MALT lymphoma, revision of Korean Classification of Disease-6th edition, and bladder tumors are reviewed in terms of differentiation between malignant and benign in the insurance claims. It may be helpful for claims staff to review important neoplasms in terms of differentiation between malignant and benign.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2007

Purpose: Tumors arising in the foot and ankle are uncommon and the malignant tumors are known to be rare compared with those of the other sites. We analyzed the clinical data of patients who have been diagnosed as having a tumor of the foot and ankle. Materials and Methods: From 1989 to 2006, we analyzed 185 patients who have been treated surgically and were pathologically confirmed of having tumors of the foot and ankle. Their clinical characteristics were reviewed retrospectively. Results: One hundred and fifty-seven cases were benign (84.9%) and 28 cases (15.1%) were malignant. 108 cases (58.4%) were benign soft tissue tumors and 49 cases (26.5%) were benign bone tumors. Malignant tumors included 17 cases (9.2%) of soft tissue tumors, 8 cases (4.3%) of primary bone tumors and 3 cases (1.6%) of metastatic bone tumors. The most common benign soft tissue tumor was ganglion (23 cases). Enchondroma (9 cases) was the most common among the benign bone tumors. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor was the most common malignant tumor (4 cases). The predilection site for benign tumors was at the forefoot around toes while for the malignant tumor was around the ankle. 4.6% of benign soft tissue tumors and 8.2% of benign bone tumors had locally recurred and 14 cases (50%) of malignant tumor were confirmed as having distant metastasis. Conclusion: The ratio of malignant tumor and its metastasis rate was high. Therefore, the histopathologic confirmation is essential when treating tumors of the foot and ankle.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8335-8338
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• 2016

Purpose: To make a comparison of single voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy (SV-MRS) and dynamic contrast enhancement (DCE) MRI for differentiation of benign and malignant breast lesions in a sample of Iranian women. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 women with abnormal breast lesions detected in mammography, ultrasound, or clinical breast exam were examined with DCE and SV-MRS. tCho (total choline) resonance in MRS spectra was qualitatively evaluated and detection of a visible tCho peak at 3.2 ppm was defined as a positive finding for malignancy. Different types of DCE curves were persistent (type 1), plateau (type 2), and washout (type 3). At first, lesions were classified according to choline findings and types of DCE curve, finally being compared to pathological results as the standard reference. Results: this study included 19 patients with malignant lesions and 11 patients with benign ones. While 63.6 % of benign lesions (7 of 11) showed type 1 DCE curves and 36.4% (4 of 11) showed type 2, 57.9% (11of 19) of malignant lesions were type 3 and 42.1% (8 of 19) type 2. Choline peaks were detected in 18 of 19 malignant lesions and in 3 of 11 benign counterparts. 1 malignant and 8 benign cases did not show any visible resonance at 3.2 ppm so SV-MRS featured 94.7% sensitivity, 72.7 % specificity and 86.7% accuracy.Conclusions: The present findings indicate that a combined approach using MRS and DCE MRI can improve the specificity of MRI for differentiation of benign and malignant breast lesions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5123-5126
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• 2014

Background: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of IOTA simple rules in differentiating between benign and malignant ovarian tumors. Materials and Methods: A study of diagnostic performance was conducted on women scheduled for elective surgery due to ovarian masses between March 2007 and March 2012. All patients underwent ultrasound examination for IOTA simple rules within 24 hours of surgery. All examinations were performed by the authors, who had no any clinical information of the patients, to differentiate between benign and malignant adnexal masses using IOTA simple rules. Gold standard diagnosis was based on pathological or operative findings. Results: A total of 398 adnexal masses, in 376 women, were available for analysis. Of them, the IOTA simple rules could be applied in 319 (80.1%) including 212 (66.5%) benign tumors and 107 (33.6%) malignant tumors. The simple rules yielded inconclusive results in 79 (19.9%) masses. In the 319 masses for which the IOTA simple rules could be applied, sensitivity was 82.9% and specificity 95.3%. Conclusions: The IOTA simple rules have high diagnostic performance in differentiating between benign and malignant adnexal masses. Nevertheless, inconclusive results are relatively common.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.91-101
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• 1994

Nodular thyroid disease is a common clinical problem. The problem in clinical practice is to distinguish malignant or potentially malignant tumor from harmless nodules. The cases of thyroid nodule surgically managed at Department of General Surgery, Soon Chun Hyang Univ. Hospital during the period Jan. 1985 to July. 1992 were reviewed retrospectively. To assess method of distinguishing malignant from benign lesions of the thyroid gland, we reviewed 162 patients with thyroid nodule. There were 61(37.7%) malignant nodules and 101(62.3%) benign nodules. According to the review, distinguishing the benign from the malignant nodule with history, physical examination, clinical manifestation, and duration of illness was not suggested sufficiently. In ultrasonogram of 73 cases, 57.5% of nodules were solid, 20.6% were cystic, 21.9% were mixed solid and cystic. Of these, 28.5% of the operated solid lesions, 12.5% of the mixed lesions, and only 6.7% of the cystic lesions were malignant. Thyroid scanning of 82 cases revealed cold nodules in 60 patients(73.2%), of which 26 cases were malignant(36.6%) 137 patients underwent fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC), and these results were as follow: sensitiviey was 70.6%, specificity was 93.0%, false-positive rate was 14.3%, and false-negative rate was 15.8%. 41 patients underwent frozen biopsy, and the results as follow: sensitivity was 80.0%, specificity was 89.7%. Neither scintigraphy nor ultrasonogram has sufficient specificity to distinguish benign from malignant nodule. But FNAC and frozen biopsy have sufficient accuracy to differentiate benign from malignant nodule. In the benign nodules, the most common type of operation was total lobectomy (60.4%). Of the malignant nodules, total thyroidectomy with or without modified radical neck dissection was performed in 30 cases(49.2%). We conclude that the single technique used to determine the differential diagnosis of a thyroid nodule are unrealiable. It is therefore essential to combine all avaiable clinical and laboratory information.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.723-729
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• 1987

A retrospective study of 21 cases of chest wall tumors, 12 benign and 9 malignant, was carried out to review their clinical radiological and pathological features. On age distribution, most cases [80.9%] were found in 4th to 6th decades. The sex ration [M:F] was represented as 2.5:1. Of the 21 lesions, there were 8 cases of soft tissue tumors, 4 cases of bone and cartilage origined tumors and 9 malignant tumors which included 3 metastatic tumors. The overall mortality was 22.2% and all of the deaths were found in the malignant tumors. All of the patients with benign tumors were treated by excision without recurrence. Distinction between benign and malignant chest wall tumors was not possible using radiographic criteria unless cortical destruction and involvement of soft tissue were visualized. On the basis of our analysis, we believe that all tumors of chest wall should be considered malignant until proven otherwise and that wide excision should be carried out. This is necessary not only to obtain as adequate diagnosis but also to provide the best chance for cure in both benign and malignant lesions.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.234-243
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• 1993

The thyroid nodules are the most common endocrine disease requiring surgical management. Up to date, various diagnostic techniques and surgical management have been developed. Authors analysed 2285 cases of thyroid nodules who were treated at Department of Surgery, Pusan National University for the duration of 10 years from January 1980 to December 1989 and the results obtained were summerized as follows: 1) Patients were composed of 1727 cases(75.8%) of benign nodule and 558 cases(24.5%) of malignant nodule. Benign nodule was prevalent in forth and fifth decade comparing with malignant nodule was sixth and fifth decade. The sexual distribution revealed female preponderance with 1:10.8 in benign nodule and 1:9.3 in malignant nodule. 2) The histopathologic classfication of benign nodule in decreasing order of frequency were follicular adenoma 1009 cases(54.8%), adenomatous goiter 573 cases(33.3%), simple cyst 65 cases(3.8%), and Hashimoto's thyroiditis 52 cases(3.0%). The malignant disease were papillary adenocarcinoma 460 cases(82.4%), follicular adenocarcinoma 69 cases(12.4%), undifferentiated carcinoma 13 cases (2.0%), and medullary carcinoma 7 cases(1.0%). 3) Fine needle aspiration cytology was performed in 1758 cases and it showed 80.5% of sensitivity, 96.5% of specificity, 19.5% of false negative and 80% of accuracy. 4) The location of nodule was 87.7%, in unilateral, 12.2% in bilateral. 5) On the radioiodine scanning, the incidence of benign nodule with cold nodule was 83.9% and the incidence of benign nodule with hot nodule was 7.5%. The incidence of thyroid carcinoma with cold nodule was 88.3% and the incidence of thyroid carcinoma with hot nodule was 4.6%. 6) Most cases of benign nodules were treated with lobectomy 82.6%, subtotal thyroidectomy 10.1% and subtotal lobectomy 3.0%. Malignant nodules were treated with lobectomy and/or isthmusectomy 37.6%, total thyroidectomy 17.7%, subtotal thyroidectomy 15.4%, and any thyroidectomy and neck dissection 13.5%. 7) Postoperative complications were developed in 3.8% of benign nodules and 13.8% of malignant nodules.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6485-6489
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• 2012

Aims: To investigate the incidence of ordering tests for tumor markers which are used in cancer diagnosis, follow-up treatment and detection of recurrence, the rate of elevation in benign diseases and which clinics order them frequently. Materials and Method: Data for the tumor markers carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer antigen 125 (CA 125), cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) that were ordered by all the clinics in our Hospital between 2010 and 2011 were screened. When excluding repeated orders the results of 3,416 patients were available. It has been determined that in which benign diseases were the tumor markers frequently ordered and which of these conditions had high levels of them. Results: CA 19-9 was ordered for 1,858 patients 191 (10.3%) were malignant while 1667 (89.7%) were ordered in benign diseases. For CEA the total was 1,710, 226 (13.2%) malignant and 1484 (86.8%) benign, and for CA 125 1267, 111 (8.8%) malignant and 1156 (91.2%) benign. AFP was ordered for 1687 cases, 80 (4.7%) malignant but 1607 (95.3%) benign. CA 15-3 was ordered 1449 times, 174 (12%) for malignant and 1275 (88%) for benign diseases. In all cases, considerable proportions were positive. Conclusions: It was shown that clinicians frequently order tumor markers for benign conditions. The findings of this study has shown that tumor markers are used widely without indications as cancer screening tests.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2001

Objectives: The clinical efficacy of the color and pulsed Doppler ultrasound with spectral waveform analysis for differentiation of malignant from benign cervical lymphadenopathy was prospectively evaluated in cervical lymphadenopathy. Materials and Methods: Color and pulsed Doppler ultrasound examination was prospectively performed in 32 cervical lymph nodes in 28 patients. These 10 nodes from 10 patients were malignant and 22 nodes from 18 patients were benign, proved by operation, biopsy, and follow-up examination. Another 12 lymph nodes from 12 normal volunteers were evaluated as control group. The peak systolic velocity (PSV), minimal diastolic velocity (MDV) , and resistive indexes (RI) of arterial flows within the 32 lymph nodes were assessed to differentiate the malignant from benign nodes with pulsed Doppler ultrasonography. The results were qualitified with one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni method of multiple comparison. Results: The mean values of PSV of malignant, benign, and control nodes were 38.2(10.1-134)cm/sec, 23.3(9-38.5) cm/sec and 11.8(6.7-18.1) cm/sec, respectively. The mean values of MDV of them were 0.9(-7.5-10.7)cm/sec, 9.7(2.9-18.6)cm/sec and 6.5(3.7-9.3)cm/sec, respectively. However, there was no statistical significance in differentiation of malignant from benign nodes with PSV and MDV. The mean values of RI of malignant, benign, and control nodes were 0.99(0.80-1.30), 0.59(0.46-0.77) and 0.45(0.38-0.50), respectively. RI value of 0.8 is suggestive value for discrimination of malignant from benign lymphadenopathy during examination of color Doppler ultrasound of cervical lymphadenopathy. Conclusion: Color and pulsed Doppler ultrasound examination with spectral waveform analysis may be quite helpful in the differentiation between benign and malignant alterations of cervical lymph nodes.