• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.106-111
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• 2004

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPCa) is a rare variant of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. This variant is associated with a set of peculiar cytological findings and aggressive biological behaviors. In most reported cases, IMPCa has involved massive axillary lymph node metastases at the time of diagnosis. We experienced four cases of cytological features of IMPCa, all of which were verified by histological examination. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) revealed malignant epithelial cells, which formed small, oval to angulated papillary clusters, which lacked central fibrovascular cores. The histological findings of the four cases revealed both pure and mixed forms of IMPCa, composed of cohesive malignant epithelial cells, surrounded by distinctive clear spaces and separated by thin fibrous septa. All patients evidenced axillary lymph node metastases at the time of diagnosis. It is important to identify the peculiar cytological findings which would differentiate IMPCa from other diseases.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.113-117
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• 2008

Biomonitoring of nonylphenol (NP), an endocrine disrupting chemical, is required in Korea to perform its proper regulation. Thus, we analyzed exposure levels of nonlyphenol (NP) in breast milk from the mothers who delivered babies within 10 days (N=325). We analyzed free and total forms of NP in breast milk with LC/MS/MS (LOD, 0.5 ppb). In addition, we obtained questionnaires concerning lifestyle from the subject. As results, ranges of total NP were ${\mu}g/L$ (median, $3.51{\pm}4.98{\mu}g/L$ vs. normal, N=281, $2.07{\pm}3.76{\mu}g/L$; p<0.05). In conclusion, we suggest that exposure monitoring of NP should be continuously performed, even though the risks of NP are not clear, yet.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.265-273
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• 2017

Objective: Orthosiphon pallidus (O. pallidus), which belongs to the Lamiaceae family, is a popular garden plant that is widely used for the treatment of various diseases, such as urinary lithiasis, fever, hepatitis, cancer and jaundice. The objective of the present work was to investigate the antioxidant free-radical scavenging and the anticancer activities of O. pallidus against human breast-cancer cell lines. Methods: The antioxidant activity of Orthosiphon pallidus aqueous extract (OPAE) was investigated using different models, such as the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and the 2, 2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) models, as were the $Fe^+$ chelation, the hydroxyl radical and superoxide radical scavenging, and total reducing power activities. The anticancer activities of the extract were determined by using the 3-(4, 5- dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and the sulforhodamine (SRB) assays on the MCF-7 and the MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines. Results: The aqueous Orthosiphon pallidus extract showed potent activity in in-vitro models. It significantly inhibited the scavenging of hydroxyl and superoxide radicals, but induced a remarkable $Fe^+$ chelation activity. For both cell lines, the percent cytotoxicity was found to increase steadily with increasing OPAE concentration up to $240{\mu}g/mL$. Conclusion: These results suggest that Orthosiphon pallidus has excellent antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities against human breast-cancer cell lines.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.19
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• pp.8279-8285
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• 2014

A meta-analysis incorporating 34 case-control studies from 19 articles involving 12,197 cases and 13,488 controls was conducted to assess the effects of three genetic variants of Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9): rs187084, rs352140, and rs5743836. Studies on associations between TLR9 polymorphisms and cancer risk were systematically searched in electronic databases. The reported odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were pooled to assess the strength of any associations. The results showed that the rs187084 polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased risk of cancer (CC vs TC+TT: OR=1.14, 95% CI=1.02-1.28), specifically cervical cancer (C vs T: OR=1.19, 95% CI=1.05-1.34; TC vs TT: OR=1.32, 95% CI=1.10-1.58; CC vs TT: OR=1.31, 95% CI=1.03-1.68; CC+TC vs TT: OR=1.32, 95% CI=1.11-1.56), and that this association was significantly positive in Caucasians (CC vs. TC+TT: OR=1.18, 95% CI=1.01-1.38). The rs352140 polymorphism had a protective effect on breast cancer (GA vs GG: OR=0.77, 95% CI=0.66-0.89), whereas the rs5743836 polymorphism was likely protective for digestive system cancers (CC+TC vs TT: OR=0.81, 95% CI=0.66-0.98). In conclusion, our results suggest that the rs187084 polymorphism may be associated with an elevated cancer risk, whereas polymorphisms of rs352140 and rs5743836 may play protective roles in the development of breast and digestive system cancers, respectively. From the results of this meta-analysis further large-scale case-control studies are warranted to verify associations between TLR9 polymorphisms and cancer.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.9
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• pp.355-361
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• 2016

The menarcheal age of Korean women has been rapidly decreasing for the last 50 years, and the average menarcheal age of women born in the 1990s is approaching 12.6 years. In addition, interest in early puberty has been increasing recently owing to the rapid increase in precocious puberty. Generally, out of concern for short stature and early menarche, idiopathic central precocious puberty in female adolescents is treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs. Studies to date have described the association between early menarche and psychosocial problems such as delinquency and risky sexual behavior, as well as physical health problems such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and breast cancer throughout the lifespan of women. However, the pathophysiological mechanism underlying this association has not been clarified thus far. In this article, we review and discuss the existing literature to describe the current understanding of the effects of early menarche on the physical and psychosocial health of adolescent girls and adult women.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2003.11c
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• pp.898-902
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• 2003

In this paper we proposes a new technique for identification of breast cancer by classification of proteome pattern generated from 2-D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE) and development of cancer diagnosis system : HABIT. Proteome patterns reflect the underlying pathological state of a human organ and it is believed that the anomalies or diseases of human organs are identified by the analysis or classification of the patterns. Proteome patterns consist of quantitative information of the spots such as their size, position, and density in the proteome image produced from 2-D PAGE, for the Image mining of proteome pattern, SVM(support vector machine) and GA(genetic algorithm) are used to generate a decision model for the identification of breast cancer The decision model was then used to classify an independent set of test proteome patterns into the affecter and unaffecter classes. The proposed technique was tested by actual clinical test samples and showed a good performance of a hit ratio of 90%.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.585-589
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• 2015

Physical inactivity may an important outcome in the prognosis of breast cancer. Physical activity levels decrease significantly for breast cancer patients following the treatment and remain low after oncology treatment is completed. The aim of this study was to determine physical activity levels and to examine associations among physical activity, comorbidity, functional capacity, peripheral muscle strength, and psychosocial status in breast cancer patients. Forty breast cancer survivors were included in this study. Demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded. Physical activity was assessed with a short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). We defined comorbid diseases according to the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Functional capacity was evaluated with a six-minute walk test (6MWT). Peripheral muscle strength was measured for quadriceps femoris muscle with a hand-held dynamometer. Psychosocial status was measured with the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS). Forty percent of patients were inactive. The IPAQ total score was significantly related with quadriceps muscle strength (r=0.492; p<0.001) and HADS depression score (r=0.341; p<0.05). Marked correlations were also observed between IPAQ walking score and quadriceps muscle strength (r=0.449; p<0.001), HADS depression score (r=0.341; p<0.05), and CCI (r=-0.433; p<0.001). The CCI score was also markedly associated with quadriceps muscle strength (r=-0.413; p<0.001). 6MWT distance was not significantly correlated with any of the parameters. Regression analyses revealed that psychosocial status and peripheral muscle strength were significant predictors of physical activity estimated with the IPAQ short form and when combined, they explained 35% of the variance. Comorbidities, peripheral muscle strength and psychosocial status partially explain the variability of physical activity level in breast cancer survivors. These results suggest that physical inactivity contributes to worsening health in breast cancer survivors.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.15
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• pp.6285-6288
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• 2015

Background: Breast cancer is commonly diagnosed at late stages in countries with limited resources. In Morocco, breast cancer is ranked the first female cancer (36.1%) and screening methods could reduce the proportion presenting with a late diagnosis. Morocco is currently adopting a breast cancer screening program based on clinical examination at primary health facilities, diagnosis at secondary level and treatment at tertiary level. So far, there is no systematic information on the performance of the screening program for breast cancer in Morocco. The aim of this study was to analyze early performance indicators. Materials and Methods: A retrospective evaluative study conducted in Temara city. The target population was the entire female population aged between 45-70 years. The study was based on process and performance indicators collected at the individual level from the various health structures in Tamara between 2009 and 2011. Results: A total of 2,350 women participated in the screening program; the participation rate was 35.7%. Of these, 76.8% (1,806) were married and 5.2% (106) of this group had a family history of breast cancer. Of the women who attended screening, 9.3% (190) were found to have an abnormal physical examination findings. A total of 260 (12.7%) were referred for a specialist consultation. The positive predictive value of clinical breast examination versus mammography was 23.0%. Forty four (35.5%) of the lesions found on the mammograms were classified as BI-RADs 3; 4 or 5 category. Cancer was found in 4 (1.95%) of the total number of screened women and benign cases represented 0.58%. Conclusions: These first results of the programme are very encouraging, but there is a need to closely monitor performance and to improve programme procedures with the aim of increasing both the participation rate and the proportion of women eligible to attend screening.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.311-317
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of tumor marker CA 15-3 in the following: the diagnosis of breast cancer relapse after curative mastectomy, and the differentiation or the value of tumor marker by site of metastases. Materials and Methods: Two hundred two patients (median age 48 years) with breast cancer included in the follow-up after curative mastectomy. The tumor marker CA 15-3 was determined by IRMA (CIS BIO INTERNATIONAL, France). Test values > 30 U/ml were considered elevated (positive). Results: Among 202 patients, recurrent diseases were found in 16 patients. CA 15-3 was elevated in 5 of 16 patients with recurrences. There was no false-positive patient who had elevated CA 15-3. Sensitivity and specificity of CA 15-3 for detection of breast cancer recurrence were 31%, and 100%. CA 15-3 was elevated in all of the 4 patients with liver metastases. CA 15-3 was elevated in none of the patients who relapsed with metastasis to bone-only or contralateral breast-only. Conclusion: The tumor marker CA 15-3 in the detection of breast cancer relapse after curative mastectomy is specific, but not sensitive. However, it is useful to rule out liver metastases of breast cancer, which indicates bad prognosis.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the major influencing factors of breast cancer death and to suggest policy measures to promote the health of breast cancer patients. Methods: The method of this study performed statistical analysis by applying weights to 2,300 cases of breast cancer registration statistics in Korea collected in 2018 due to the relatively small number of mortality data compared to survival. Statistical processing of the collected data was analyzed using SPSS 26.0. Results: The epidemiologic characteristics of death in breast cancer patients were 31.8% in those aged 70 years or older, and the mortality rate was 5.25 times higher in patients aged 70 years or older than those aged 39 years or younger. The anatomical site code was 36.4% in C50.4~C50.6, and the mortality rate was 1.82 times higher in C50.4~C50.6 than in C50.0~C50.1. The tumor size was 40.4% and larger than 4cm, and the mortality rate was 4.53 times higher in tumors larger than 4cm than those smaller than 1cm. The degree of differentiation was 13.9% in the poorly differentiated group, and the mortality rate was 4.38 times higher in the poorly differentiated group than in the highly differentiated group. In the hormone receptor test, non-triple negative cases were 59.6%, and the mortality rate was 0.57 times lower in non-triple negative cases than in triple negative cases. As for lymph node involvement, the presence or absence of lymph node involvement was 78.8%, and the mortality rate with lymph node involvement was 1.36 times higher than that without lymph node involvement. The survival period of 13 to 24 months was the highest at 26.5%, and the average survival period was 25.68 months (±14.830). Conclusion: A policy to advance the timing of national health examinations for early detection of breast cancer is necessary. In addition, a bill for the mandatory placement of health educators in medical institutions for patients with special diseases such as breast cancer should be prepared.