• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.59-64
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• 2016

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in females (27% of the total) and the main cause of death (16%) due to cancer in women in developed and developing countries. Variations in its incidence rate among geographical areas are due to various contributing factors. Since there have been a lack of studies on this topic in our country, the present spatial analysis of breast cancer incidence in Iran in 2009 was conducted using data from the national cancer registry system. The reported incidences of the disease were standardized according to the World Health Organization population and the direct method. Then data was inserted into the GIS software and finally, using the Hot Spot Analysis (Geties-Ord Gi), high-risk areas were drawn. Provinces with incidences 1.96 SD higher or lower than the national average were considered as hot spots or cold spots, at the significance level of 0.05%. In 2009, a total of 7,582 cases of BC occurred in Iran. The annual incidence was 33.2 per hundred thousand people. Our study showed that the highest incidence of BC in women occurred in the central provinces of the country, Tehran, Isfahan, Yazd, Markazi and Fars. The results of hot spots analysis showed that the distribution of high-risk BC was focused in central parts of Iran, especially Isfahan province (p <0.01). The other provinces were not significantly different from the national average. The higher incidence in central provinces may be due to greater exposure to carcinogens in urban areas, a Western lifestyle and high prevalence of other risk factors. Further epidemiological studies about the etiology and early detection of BC are essential.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1093-1096
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• 2012

Background: Cervical cancer is common among women worldwide. A multitude of risk factors aggravate the disease. This study was conducted to: (1) determine the prevalence and (2) make a comparative analysis of the socio-demographic and behavioural risk factors of cervical cancer and knowledge, attitude and practice between rural and urban women of North Bengal, India. Study Design: Community-based cross-sectional study. Methods: A survey (first in North Bengal) was conducted among 133 women in a rural area (Kawakhali) and 88 women in an urban slum (Shaktigarh) using predesigned semi-structured questionnaires. The respondents were informed of the causes (including HPV), signs and symptoms, prevention of cervical cancer and treatment, and the procedure of the PAP test and HPV vaccination. Results: The prevalence of risk factors like multiparity, early age of marriage, use of cloth during menstruation, use of condom and OCP, early age of first intercourse was 37.2%, 82%, 83.3%, 5.4%, 15.8% and 65.6% respectively. Awareness about the cause, signs and symptoms, prevention of cervical cancer, PAP test and HPV vaccination was 3.6%, 6.3%, 3.6%, 9.5% and 14.5% respectively. Chi-square testing revealed that in the study population, significant differential at 5% exists between rural and urban residents with respect to number of children, use of cloth/sanitary napkins, family history of cancer and awareness regarding causes of cervical cancer. Regarding KAP, again using chi-square tests, surprisingly, level of education is found to be significant for each element of KAP in urban areas in contrast to complete absence of association between education and elements of KAP in rural areas. Conclusions: A large number of risk factors were present in both areas, the prevalence being higher in the rural areas. The level of awareness and role of education appears to be insignificant determinants in rural compared to urban areas. This pilot study needs to be followed up by large scale programmes to re-orient awareness campaigns, especially in rural areas.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.93-98
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• 1995

Arthritis is one of the most common disease of mankind. Major of arthritis is osteoarthritis(OA), but the cause is not clear and the characters are chronic and often progressive. So the management and the pain control of OA are very difficult and adequate ways of controlling it have not been discovered. In the present study we investigated the effects of Knee Intra-articular Injection(KII) of lidocaine with aspirin on OA of the knee. Thirty OA patients with Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) above 8 were studied and they were divided into two groups as follows; Group I(n=15); KII with 1% lidocaine 5 ml Group II(n=15); KII with 2% lidocaine 2 ml and aspirin 2 ml(180 mg, diluted with normal saline) In two groups, KII was done 2 times a week for 4 weeks and we compared the changes of VAS between two groups. The results were as follows; 1) Before the KII, initial mean VAS of group I and II was 8.8 and 8.9. After KII 2 times, VAS of group I and II was 6.6 and 6.4. These deceases were statistically significant, but there was no significant difference of VAS between two groups. 2) After KII 4 times, VAS of group I and II was 6.3 and 5.5, significant decrease was observed in group II. 3) After KII 6 times and 8 times, VAS of group I and II was not decreased anymore, but the VAS of group II was maintained in significant decreased state that of group I. We experienced that KII of lidocaine with aspirin was more effective than that of lidocaine only. So we suggest that KII of mixed solution of lidocaine and apsirin may be one of treatments for OA of the knee.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.211-227
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• 1998

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia(BPH) is the most common benign tumor seen in the western male, and it is found in 50% of men over 50 years of age. It is characterized by the formation of large discrete lesions in the periurethral region. As they enlarge, these nodules tend to compress the urethra and cause partial or almost complete obstruction of .urine flow. The etiology of BPH is uncertain, but the increasing incidence with advancing age suggests the possibility of an imbalance between male and female sex hormones. In the past, most patients have had multiple indications to support the decision to initiate therapy. But both the urologic surgeon and the patient must be clearly aware of the results that can be expected and the risks involved in achieving them. The aims of this study are to investigate and summarize the current trends of treatment for BPH so as to suggest the effective and available way to treat the disease. In Oriental medicine, the BPH is recognized as uroschesis and ischuria, and the etiology is mainly in stagnated blood and insufficiency of the kidneys. The point of treatment of BPH is recovery of urination, and the treatment can be approached in two ways through herb drugs and acupuncture. Some of the herb drugs have substances which reduce BPB. Acupuncture therapy stimulates the pelvic plexus and is reported to be effective for voiding. Suppository, massotherapy, rectal injection, locus injection and attachment of herb drugs to the navel or the acupoint are announced as the effective treatments. So, this study of the approach and application of these treatments on BPH would be necessary.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.187-191
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• 2005

Background: Discogenic leg pain is a major cause of health problems, often due to herniation of the intervertebral disc, and has traditionally been treated conservatively or with an open surgical discectomy. Conventional open surgery has many complications, such as nerve root injury, discitis and a relatively high mortality rate; failure of conservative treatments is also common. Recently, the $Dekompressor^{(R)}$ Percutaneous Lumbar Discectomy probe was developed. Herein, we present the early results for a percutaneous lumbar discectomy in herniated lumbar disc disease. Methods: Eleven patients, including 8 men and 3 women, with ages ranging from 22 to 78 years, were enrolled in this study. Those patients with a previous history of back surgery were not excluded from the study. All patients were postoperatively evaluated for their clinical outcomes, such as visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain after 1 and 3 months, reduction in analgesics, functional improvement and overall satisfaction. Results: The percutaneous lumbar discectomy was completed in 11 patients (17 levels), with average reductions in pre-VAS of 61.3 and 60.2% at 1 and 3 months, respectively. Also, 72.7% of patients reported functional improvement, with 81.1% expressing overall satisfaction. There were no procedural related complications. Conclusions: We concluded that a percutaneous lumbar discectomy is a safe and effective treatment modality for a herniated lumbar disc.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.14
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• pp.5883-5888
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• 2014

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancers in female populations. The exact cause is not known, but is most likely to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Log-logistic model (LLM) is applied as a statistical method for predicting survival and it influencing factors. In recent decades, artificial neural network (ANN) models have been increasingly applied to predict survival data. The present research was conducted to compare log-logistic regression and artificial neural network models in prediction of breast cancer (BC) survival. Materials and Methods: A historical cohort study was established with 104 patients suffering from BC from 1997 to 2005. To compare the ANN and LLM in our setting, we used the estimated areas under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) and integrated AUC (iAUC). The data were analyzed using R statistical software. Results: The AUC for the first, second and third years after diagnosis are 0.918, 0.780 and 0.800 in ANN, and 0.834, 0.733 and 0.616 in LLM, respectively. The mean AUC for ANN was statistically higher than that of the LLM (0.845 vs. 0.744). Hence, this study showed a significant difference between the performance in terms of prediction by ANN and LLM. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the ability of prediction with ANN was higher than with the LLM model. Thus, the use of ANN method for prediction of survival in field of breast cancer is suggested.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.191-194
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• 2020

Free-living amoebas (FLAs) can cause severe disease in humans and animals when they become infected. However, there are no accurate survey reports on the prevalence of FLAs in Korea. In this study, we collected 163 tap water samples from buildings, apartments, and restrooms of highway service areas in 7 Korean provinces with high population density. All these buildings and facilities have water storage tanks in common. The survey was separated into categories of buildings, apartments, and highway service areas. Five hundred milliliters of tap water from each building was collected and filtered with 0.2 ㎛ pore filter paper. The filters were incubated in agar plates with heated E. coli at 25℃. After axenization, genomic DNA was collected from each FLA, and species classification was performed using partial 18S-rDNA PCR-sequencing analysis. We found that 12.9% of tap water from buildings with storage tanks in Korea was contaminated with FLAs. The highway service areas had the highest contamination rate at 33.3%. All of the FLAs, except one, were genetically similar to Vermamoeba vermiformis (Hartmannella vermiformis). The remaining FLA (KFA21) was very similar to Acanthamoeba lugdunensis (KA/E26). Although cases of human infection by V. vermiformis are very rare, we must pay attention to the fact that one-third of tap water supplies in highway service areas have been contaminated.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.225-230
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• 1973

Five cases of esophageal cancer developed at the site of esophageal lye stricture were reported. Duration of lye stricture was between 13 and 40years, and all 5 cases had taken normal diet without appreciable troubles after recovery from the acute stage of burn till the suspected onset of esophageal malignaney. Outstanding symptoms of this grave condition were rather acute progressive dysphagia and frequent episodes of esophageal foreign bodies, Diagnosis could be confirmed easily by endoscopic biopsy in suspected eases, and all were epidermoid carcinoma histopathologically. Curative resection of this condition was made in neither of the cases, and their prognoses were more grave than other esophageal malignancies in our experience. The development of esophageal carcinoma at the site of corrosive esophagitis with resulting benign stricture has now been suspected as a cause and effect relationship between these two conditions, and Kiviranta: stated that the incidence of esophageal cancer in patients with lye stricture of longer duration is a thousand times higher than normal population. During last one decade the authors experienced 5 cases of esophageal carcinoma developed at the site of lye stricture of the esophagus among about 350 cases of lye burned esophagus at the Department of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, the National Medical Center in Seoul, Korea. In Korea they still use lye as a detergent in rural area, and there are still many persons ingesting lye for suicidal attempt or on accident. Lye stricture of the esophagus is, therefore, the most common esophageal disease needing surgical procedures, and the authors believe that there will be much more eases of lye stricture complicated by esophageal eareinoma repoted in near future in this Country.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.21-30
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• 2004

Objectives : The purpose of this study is case report of stroke in childhood. The childhood cerebrovascular diseases are interesting than those seen in adulthood, because the etiology and prognosis of the disease in children are quite different from those of adults. Cerebrovascular diseases in children is more common than once recognized. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the epidemiology of childhood stroke. Methods : We experienced one case of ischemic stroke in childhood whose symptoms are similar to that of adults. There is no evidence of cerebrovascular malformation at MRI, MRA film. The cause of stroke is undetermined and just we can see the little infarction lesion on Lt. pons. We treated the patient with herb medicine, acupuncture-Tx, negative-Tx, moxa-Tx and physical treatment. Results : After the treatment of oriental medicine, the patient recovered from the stroke symptoms. Conclusion : we thought that the more follow-up is needed. So we repoert one case of cerebral infarction in children that recovered from stroke symptoms after the treatment of oriental medicine.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.189-197
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• 1993

Tempormandibular Joint pain and dysfunction is a common and important clinical problem. With the recent advances in imaging technology, radiologists have made major contribution to the understanding of TMJ disease. The MRI has several advantages over the conventional imaging methods. It is possible to obtain surprisingly precise images of internal hard and soft tissues with MRI. It is not invasive without ionizing radiation. The abnormal disk position has been thought as the cause of TMJ internal derangement. But there are few methods to relate disk position to TMJ internal derangement quantatively. The object of our study is to determine the amount of anterior displacement fo articular disk in symptomatic patients related each symptoms. Using the method of Dr. Drace, we studied the 38 joints of 22 persons with susceptable TMJ internal derangement. 1. In determining the anterior displacement of TMJ articular disk, the junction between the posterior band and bilaminar zone was useful. 2. The mean anterior displacement of disk in reduction group and without reduction group were $51.0^{\circ}C$ and $81.1^{\circ}C$ respectively. The difference was significant. 3. In the mean anterior displacement of disk, the pain without clicking group showed $84.8^{\circ}C$ and the clicking and pain group $70.8^{\circ}C$, the clicking group respectively.