• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.349-366
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• 2016

Objectives: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize current evidence regarding the association of parity and duration of breastfeeding with the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Methods: A systematic search of relevant studies published by December 31, 2015 was performed in PubMed and EMBASE. A random-effect model was used to obtain the summary relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Thirty-two studies had parity categories of 1, 2, and ${\geq}3$. The summary RRs for EOC were 0.72 (95% CI, 0.65 to 0.79), 0.57 (95% CI, 0.49 to 0.65), and 0.46 (95% CI, 0.41 to 0.52), respectively. Small to moderate heterogeneity was observed for one birth (p<0.01; Q = 59.46; $I^2=47.9%$). Fifteen studies had breastfeeding categories of <6 months, 6-12 months, and >13 months. The summary RRs were 0.79 (95% CI, 0.72 to 0.87), 0.72 (95% CI, 0.64 to 0.81), and 0.67 (95% CI, 0.56 to 0.79), respectively. Only small heterogeneity was observed for <6 months of breastfeeding (p = 0.17; Q = 18.79, $I^2=25.5%$). Compared to nulliparous women with no history of breastfeeding, the joint effects of two births and <6 months of breastfeeding resulted in a 0.5-fold reduced risk for EOC. Conclusions: The first birth and breastfeeding for <6 months were associated with significant reductions in EOC risk.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.3731-3740
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• 2012

Background: There have been few studies of Asian ovarian cancer and benign tumors. The primary aim of this paper was to report the protocol of the Ko-EVE study to examine epidemiological and molecular factors for ovarian cancer and benign neoplasms and to ascertain the major risk factors for ovarian cancer control in Korea. Methods: This case-control study covers incident epithelial ovarian cancers and benign neoplasms, four major centers participating in enrolling incident cases and 3 hospitals enrolling healthy controls among health examinees. Standardized questionnaires were administered by trained interviewers, including sections on socio-demographics characteristics, past medical history, medication usage, family history, lifetime consumption of alcohol and tobacco, diet, physical activity, and reproductive factors for women. Various biological specimens were collected in the biorepository according to the standardized protocol. Annual follow-up for cancer cases and follow-up at the 1st year for benign tumor cases are performing to evaluate treatment effect and progression. Passive follow to see long-term survival will be conducting using record linkage with national data. Results: The total number recruited in 2010-2011 was 246 epithelial ovarian cancer cases, 362 benign epithelial tumors and 345 controls. We are planning to collect subjects for at least 1,500 sets of ovarian cancer, 2,000 benign tumors and 1,500 controls till 2018. Conclusions: The Ko-EVE will provide unique and important data to probe the etiology and natural history of Korean epithelial ovarian cancer. It will be continued by genomic and proteomic epidemiological analyses and future intervention studies for the prevention of ovarian cancer among Koreans.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.543-548
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• 2010

Objectives: The objective of this study was to calculate sample size and power in an ongoing cohort, Korea radiation effect and epidemiology cohort (KREEC). Method: Sample size calculation was performed using PASS 2002 based on Cox regression and Poisson regression models. Person-year was calculated by using data from '1993-1997 Total cancer incidence by sex and age, Seoul' and Korean statistical informative service. Results: With the assumption of relative risk=1.3, exposure:non-exposure=1:2 and power=0.8, sample size calculation was 405 events based on a Cox regression model. When the relative risk was assumed to be 1.5 then number of events was 170. Based on a Poisson regression model, relative risk=1.3, exposure:non-exposure=1:2 and power=0.8 rendered 385 events. Relative risk of 1.5 resulted in a total of 157 events. We calculated person-years (PY) with event numbers and cancer incidence rate in the nonexposure group. Based on a Cox regression model, with relative risk=1.3, exposure:non-exposure=1:2 and power=0.8, 136 245PY was needed to secure the power. In a Poisson regression model, with relative risk=1.3, exposure:non-exposure=1:2 and power=0.8, person-year needed was 129517PY. A total of 1939 cases were identified in KREEC until December 2007. Conclusions: A retrospective power calculation in an ongoing study might be biased by the data. Prospective power calculation should be carried out based on various assumptions prior to the study.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.329-335
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• 2007

Objectives : To identify the effects of supplemental private health insurance on health care utilization and expenditure under the mandatory National Health Insurance(NHI) system in Korea. Methods : The data were collected by the National Cancer Center in Korea. Cancer patients who were newly diagnosed with stomach (ICD code, C16), lung(C33-C34), liver (C22), colorectal cancer(C18-C20) or breast(C50) cancer were included as study subjects. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire from face-to-face interviews, the hospital Order Communication System (OCS) and medical records. Clinical, socio-demographic and private health insurance related factors were also gathered. The differences of health care utilization and expenditure were compared between those who have private health insurance and those who do not using t-test and multivariable regression analysis. Results : Individuals with private health insurance spent larger inpatient costs than those without, but no differences were found in utilization in other service such as hospital admissions, hospital days and physician visits. Conclusions : We found that private health insurance exerts a significant effect on the health care expenditure in inpatient service. These study results can provide a rational basis to plan a national health policy regarding private health insurance. Further studies are needed to investigate the impacts of private health insurance on cancer patients' outcomes and survival rates.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.115-119
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• 2003

There has been continuing interest in the development of synthetic and natural compounds that modify the immune response particularly for the treatment of AIDS and cancer. During the past fifty years, numerous scientific studies have been published on ginseng. Modem human studies have investigated preventive effect of ginseng on several kinds of cancer, its long term immunological effect on HIV patients, its effect on cell mediated immune functions in healthy volunteers. Similarly non clinical studies on animal model system have studied the chemopreventive action of ginseng on cancer and immunological properties of ginseng. The precise mechanism of action of ginseng, however, not clearly understood. Considering its wide-ranging therapeutic effects, this study is being undertaken to elucidate the general mode of action of ginseng, especially to test our hypothesis that its biological action may be mediated by the immune system.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.366-375
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• 2002

There has been continuing interest in the development of synthetic and natural compounds that modify the immune response particularly for the treatment of AIDS and cancer. During the past fifty years, numerous scientific studies have been published on ginseng (Foster and Chongxi, 1992). Modern human studies have investigated preventive effect of ginseng on several kinds of cancer (Yun et al, 1993,Yun, 1995,Yun and Choi, 1998), its long term immunological effect on HIV patients (Sankang, 1989, Cho et al, 1997), its effect on cell mediated immune functions in healthy volunteers (Scaglione et al, 1990). Similarly non clinical studies on animal model system have studied the chemopreventive action of ginseng on cancer (Kumar, 1993,98) and immunological properties of ginseng (Kim et al, 1990, Tomoda et al, 1993, Yun et al, 1993, Mizuno et al, 1994,Lee et al, 1997, Park et al, 2001,Yoshikawa et al, 2001, Wang et al, 2001). The precise mechanism of action of ginseng, however, not clearly understood. Considering its wide-ranging therapeutic effects, this study is being undertaken to elucidate the general mode of action of ginseng, especially to test our hypothesis that its biological action may be mediated by the immune system.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.223-230
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• 2019

This study aimed to analyze previous studies on cervical cancer preventive education programs for parents. Data from January 2007 to November 2017 were searched via PubMed, Science Direct and CINAHL in foreign search databases, and RISS and Dbpia in domestic search databases. A total of 329 papers were searched, and 7 papers were finally selected based on the selection criteria and the exclusion criteria. Power point(PPT), leaflet, brochure and text messages were used as method for program education and among which, PPT were used the most. As a result of education program effect, it is found that parent's knowledge on HPV and intention for preventive inoculation became increased and rate of actual inoculation indeed higher. This analysis indicates there is a big need for cervical cancer preventive education program developing for parents in Korea and accordingly, various study for programs are expected to be performed.

• The Korean Journal of Gastroenterology
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• v.72 no.5
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• pp.245-251
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• 2018

Gastric cancer is the most common cancer in Korea and the fifth most common cancer globally. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is considered the main etiologic agent for gastric cancer development. Most regional guidelines for H. pylori treatment recommend treating the organism to prevent gastric cancer in the high-risk group. However, evidence that such a strategy can also be applied to the general population, especially in terms of the preventive effect and safety, has not been adequately presented yet. Although a meta-analysis in the general population suggested effectiveness in decreasing gastric cancer incidence, individual studies should be critically reviewed to evaluate the soundness of the evidence. Recently published, long-term, Korean studies on metachronous gastric cancer prevention ended the controversies from previous short-term studies and confirmed the effectiveness. Currently, further prospective, large, randomized studies are ongoing in the general population and will provide more definitive, high-level evidence on this gastric cancer prevention strategy in the next decade.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.4909-4913
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• 2015

Objective: To explore the preventive effect of aspirin on the cardiovascular complications in prostate cancer after endocrinotherapy. Materials and Methods: A total of 92 patients with prostate cancer were divided into observation group (n=44) and control group (n=48). The control group was treated with medical castration plus anti-androgenic drugs. Based on the above treatment, the observation group was added aspirin. The follow-up duration was 2 years. The changes of partial prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), platelet aggregation rate (PAG), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and serum testosterone (T) before and after treatment as well as incidence of cardiovascular disease were observed. Results: The 2-year survival rates of patients without cardiovascular disease in observation group and control group were 95.45% (42/44) and 72.92% (35/48), respectively, and significant difference was presented between two groups by comparison to the survival rates ($x^2=8.5453$, p=0.0035). There was no statistical significance between two groups as well as before and after treatment regarding PT (p>0.05). After treatment, APTT went down and PAG was gradually on the rise in control group, while PAG down and APTT on the rise increasingly in observation group. Significant differences were presented between two groups as well as before and after treatment (p<0.01). Both PSA and T levels were decreased significantly in two groups after treatment (p<0.01), but there was no statistical significant between two groups (p>0.05). Conclusions: Application of endocrinotherapy in prostate cancer can easily lead to occurrence of cardiovascular disease, but cardiovascular complications can be prevented by aspirin, without affecting the effect of endocrinotherapy.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.159-164
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• 2008

Objectives : The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the association between dietary intake of citrus fruits and prostate cancer risk. Methods : Authors searched electronic databases and the reference lists of publications of diet and prostate cancer studies until August 2007. All of the epidemiological studies that obtained individual data on dietary intake of citrus fruits and presented risk estimates of the association between intake of citrus fruits and risk of prostate cancer were identified and included. Using general variance-based methods, study-specific odds ratios (OR)/ relative risk (RR) and associated confidence interval (CI)/ standard error (SE) for highest versus lowest intake of citrus fruits level were extracted from each paper. Results : Eleven articles including six case-control studies, one nested case-control study and four cohort studies, proved eligible. Overall summary OR using random effect model did not show an association in risk of prostate caner with intake of citrus fruits (summary OR=1.03, 95% CI=0.89-1.19) with large heterogeneity across studies that we were unable to explain ($I^2$=67.88%). The summary ORs in case-control studies and cohort studies were 1.10 (95% CI=0.97-1.22) and 1.05 (95% CI=0.96-1.14), respectively. Conclusions : Pooled results from observational studies did not show an association between intake of citrus fruits and the risk of prostate cancer, although results vary substantially across studies.