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A New Exploratory Research on Franchisor's Provision of Exclusive Territories (가맹본부의 배타적 영업지역보호에 대한 탐색적 연구)

  • Lim, Young-Kyun;Lee, Su-Dong;Kim, Ju-Young
    • Journal of Distribution Research
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    • 제17권1호
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    • pp.37-63
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    • 2012
  • In franchise business, exclusive sales territory (sometimes EST in table) protection is a very important issue from an economic, social and political point of view. It affects the growth and survival of both franchisor and franchisee and often raises issues of social and political conflicts. When franchisee is not familiar with related laws and regulations, franchisor has high chance to utilize it. Exclusive sales territory protection by the manufacturer and distributors (wholesalers or retailers) means sales area restriction by which only certain distributors have right to sell products or services. The distributor, who has been granted exclusive sales territories, can protect its own territory, whereas he may be prohibited from entering in other regions. Even though exclusive sales territory is a quite critical problem in franchise business, there is not much rigorous research about the reason, results, evaluation, and future direction based on empirical data. This paper tries to address this problem not only from logical and nomological validity, but from empirical validation. While we purse an empirical analysis, we take into account the difficulties of real data collection and statistical analysis techniques. We use a set of disclosure document data collected by Korea Fair Trade Commission, instead of conventional survey method which is usually criticized for its measurement error. Existing theories about exclusive sales territory can be summarized into two groups as shown in the table below. The first one is about the effectiveness of exclusive sales territory from both franchisor and franchisee point of view. In fact, output of exclusive sales territory can be positive for franchisors but negative for franchisees. Also, it can be positive in terms of sales but negative in terms of profit. Therefore, variables and viewpoints should be set properly. The other one is about the motive or reason why exclusive sales territory is protected. The reasons can be classified into four groups - industry characteristics, franchise systems characteristics, capability to maintain exclusive sales territory, and strategic decision. Within four groups of reasons, there are more specific variables and theories as below. Based on these theories, we develop nine hypotheses which are briefly shown in the last table below with the results. In order to validate the hypothesis, data is collected from government (FTC) homepage which is open source. The sample consists of 1,896 franchisors and it contains about three year operation data, from 2006 to 2008. Within the samples, 627 have exclusive sales territory protection policy and the one with exclusive sales territory policy is not evenly distributed over 19 representative industries. Additional data are also collected from another government agency homepage, like Statistics Korea. Also, we combine data from various secondary sources to create meaningful variables as shown in the table below. All variables are dichotomized by mean or median split if they are not inherently dichotomized by its definition, since each hypothesis is composed by multiple variables and there is no solid statistical technique to incorporate all these conditions to test the hypotheses. This paper uses a simple chi-square test because hypotheses and theories are built upon quite specific conditions such as industry type, economic condition, company history and various strategic purposes. It is almost impossible to find all those samples to satisfy them and it can't be manipulated in experimental settings. However, more advanced statistical techniques are very good on clean data without exogenous variables, but not good with real complex data. The chi-square test is applied in a way that samples are grouped into four with two criteria, whether they use exclusive sales territory protection or not, and whether they satisfy conditions of each hypothesis. So the proportion of sample franchisors which satisfy conditions and protect exclusive sales territory, does significantly exceed the proportion of samples that satisfy condition and do not protect. In fact, chi-square test is equivalent with the Poisson regression which allows more flexible application. As results, only three hypotheses are accepted. When attitude toward the risk is high so loyalty fee is determined according to sales performance, EST protection makes poor results as expected. And when franchisor protects EST in order to recruit franchisee easily, EST protection makes better results. Also, when EST protection is to improve the efficiency of franchise system as a whole, it shows better performances. High efficiency is achieved as EST prohibits the free riding of franchisee who exploits other's marketing efforts, and it encourages proper investments and distributes franchisee into multiple regions evenly. Other hypotheses are not supported in the results of significance testing. Exclusive sales territory should be protected from proper motives and administered for mutual benefits. Legal restrictions driven by the government agency like FTC could be misused and cause mis-understandings. So there need more careful monitoring on real practices and more rigorous studies by both academicians and practitioners.

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A survey on daily physical activity level, energy expenditure and dietary energy intake by university students in Chungnam Province in Korea (충남지역 대학생의 신체활동수준, 에너지소비량 및 에너지섭취량 조사)

  • Kim, Sun Hyo
    • Journal of Nutrition and Health
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    • 제46권4호
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    • pp.346-356
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    • 2013
  • This study investigated the daily physical activity level, energy expenditure, energy balance, and body composition and their relationship with university students. The participants were 130 male students ($19.5{\pm}0.5$ yrs) and 139 female students ($19.5{\pm}0.3$ yrs) at a university in Chungnam province. Physical activity level was evaluated by an equation based on 24 hr-activity record and dietary nutrient intake was evaluated using the food record method during a three-day period consisting of two week days and one weekend. Body composition was measured using Inbody 430 (Biospace Co., Cheonan, Korea). As a result, mean body mass index (BMI) of subjects indicated that they had normal weight, however mean body fat ratio was $19.1{\pm}5.4%$ for males and $28.4{\pm}5.0%$ for females, indicating that they had higher than normal weight. Daily mean physical activity level was 1.55 for males and 1.47 for females, which was regarded as 'low active', respectively. Females had more light activity than males (p<0.01). Daily mean energy expenditure was $2,803.5{\pm}788.9$ kcal/d for males and $1,915.4{\pm}510.2$ kcal/d for females (p<0.001). Daily mean dietary energy intake was $2,327.0{\pm}562.5$ kcal/d for males and $1,802.1{\pm}523.6/d$ for females (p<0.001), and daily mean energy balance was $-476.5{\pm}955.9$ kcal/d for males and $-113.3{\pm}728.1$ kcal/d for females (p<0.01). Daily mean dietary intake of protein, vitamins, and minerals, except Ca, satisfied recommended nutrient intake. Daily energy expenditure was positively related to body weight (p<0.01), BMI (p<0.01), and fat free mass ratio (p<0.05), but was negatively related to body fat ratio (p<0.01). In conclusion, subjects had a negative energy balance and low physical activity. They had a normal weight by BMI but had a more fat than normal weight by body fat ratio. This appears to be related to their low physical activity. Thus, nutrition education should be provided for university students in order to increase their physical activity for maintenance of normal weight by body composition and health promotion.

Physicochemical Properties of Pearl Oyster Muscle and Adductor Muscle as Pearl Processing Byproducts (진주 가공부산물(육 및 패주)의 이화학적 특성)

  • Kim, Jin-Soo;Kim, Hye-Suk;Oh, Hyeun-Seok;Kang, Kyung-Tae;Han, Gang-Uk;Kim, In-Soo;Jeong, Bo-Young;Moon, Soo-Kyung;Heu, Min-Soo
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • 제35권4호
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    • pp.464-469
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    • 2006
  • This study was conducted to evaluate a knowledge on food components of muscle and adductor muscle of pearl oyster (Pinctada fucata martensii) as pearl processing byproducts. The concentrations of mercury and chromium as heavy metal were not detected in both pearl oyster muscle and adductor muscle, and those of cadmium and lead were 0.06 ppm and 0.11 ppm in only pearl oyster muscle, respectively. Thus, the heavy metal levels of pearl processing byproducts were below the reported safety limits. The volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) content and pH of pearl oyster muscle were 11.6 mg/100g and 6.31 and those of abductor muscle were 8.6 mg/100 g and 6.33, respectively. It was concluded that pearl oyster muscle and adductor muscle might not invoke health risk in using food resource. The contents of crude protein (16.5%) and total amino acid (15,691 mg/100 g) of adductor muscle were higher than those of muscle (11.2% and 10,131 mg/100 g) and oyster (12.1% and 11,213 mg/100 g) as a control. The contents of calcium and phosphorus were 95.4 mg/100 g and 116.0 mg/100 g in muscle, 75.2 mg/100g and 148.1 mg/100 g in adductor muscle, respectively. The calcium level based on phosphorus was a good ratio for absorbing calcium. The free amino acid contents and taste values were 635.5 mg/100 g and 40.2 in muscle, and 734.9 mg/100 g and 24.1 in adductor muscle, respectively, but that (882.8 mg/100 g and 40.2) of oyster was higher than those of pearl processing byproducts. Based on the results of physicochemical and nutritional properties, pearl oyster muscle and adductor muscle can be utilized as a food resource.

Purchasing Status and Supplier Performance Evaluation of School Foodservice in Chanwon, Korea (창원시 학교급식 식재료 구매 실태 및 공급업체 수행도 평가)

  • Jung, Hoi-Jung;Kim, Hyun-Ah
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • 제41권6호
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    • pp.861-869
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    • 2012
  • This study was conducted to investigate the purchasing status and to compare supplier performance evaluations between competitive bidding and negotiated contracts in school foodservice in Changwon, Korea. A total of 190 questionnaires were distributed and 167 (return rate 87.9%) were collected from June 29 to September 28, 2010, and then a total of 151 (analysis rate 79.5%) were used for the final analysis. First, 91.4% of food product purchases for school meals were contracted through competitive bidding, especially limited competitive bidding. It mainly consisted of agricultural products, processed food, and eco-friendly agricultural products (fruit). Second, 78.8% of schools purchased food products by negotiated contracts, while single negotiation accounted for 59.7%. Food products by negotiated contract consisted of meat, kimchi, and fish. Third, the purchase status of competitive bidding and negotiated contracts showed a significant difference in agricultural products (p<0.001), fish (p<0.001), meats (p<0.001), poultry (p<0.001), antibiotic-free poultry (p<0.001), eco-friendly grain (p<0.001), eco-friendly agricultural products (fruit) (p<0.001), eco-friendly processed food (p<0.001), processed products (p<0.001), milk (p<0.001) and general grain (p<0.001) except for kimchi. Fourth, comparative analysis of supplier performance evaluation (on a 5-point Likert scale) of school foodservice showed that price of product of competitive bidding (3.73) was significantly higher than that of negotiated contract (2.95) (p<0.001), and the overall performance level of the negotiated contract (3.85) was significantly higher than that of competitive bidding (3.61) (p<0.01). The supplier performance evaluation levels of product packaging (p<0.01), product quality at the time of delivery (p<0.001), hygiene of products (p<0.001), consistency to specification (p<0.001), swiftness of return and exchange (p<0.001), emergency delivery (p<0.001), service of delivery staff (p<0.05), and handling of complaints (p<0.001) of negotiated contracts were significantly higher than those of competitive bidding of school foodservice. In conclusion, school foodservice selected food suppliers both by adopting competitive bidding and negotiated contracts. And there was a significant difference of school foodservice supplier performance between competitive bidding and negotiated contracts in Changwon, Korea.

The meaning based on Yin-Yang and Five Elements Principle in Semantic Landscape Composition of 'the Forty Eight Poems of Soswaewon' ('소쇄원(瀟灑園) 48영'의 의미경관 구성에 있어서 음양오행론적(陰陽五行論的) 의미(意味))

  • Jang, Il-Young;Shin, Sang-Sup
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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    • 제31권2호
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    • pp.43-57
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    • 2013
  • The purpose of this study is to identify potential semantic landscape makeup of "the Forty Eight Poems of Soswaewon" according to Yin-Yang and Five Elements Principle(陰陽五行論). that speculation system between human's nature and cosmical universal order. Existing academic discussions made so far concerning this topic can be summed up as follows: 1. Among Yin-Yang-based landscape makeups of the Forty Eight Poems of Soswaewon, poetic writings for embodiment of interactions between nature and human behaviors focused on depicting dynamic aspects of a poetic narrator when he appreciates or explores hills and streams as of to live free from worldly cares. Primarily, many of those writings were created on the east and south primarily through assignment of yang. On the other hand, poetic writings for embodiment of nature and seasonal scenery - as static landscape makeup of yin - were often created on or near the north and west for many times. Those writings focusing on embodiment of nature and artificial scenery as a work are divided into two categories: One category refers to author Kim In-hu's expression of semantic landscape from seasonal scenery in nature. The other refers to his depiction of realistic garden images as they are. In the Forty Eight Poems of Soswaewon, the poetic writings show that author Kim focused on embodying seasonal scenery rather than expressing human behaviors. In addition, both Poem No. 1 and Poem No. 48(last poem; titled 'Jangwon Jeyeong') were created in a same place, which author Kim sought to understand the place as a space of beginning and end where yin and yang - i.e. the principle of natural cycle - are inherent. 2. According to construction about landscape in the Forty Eight Poems of Soswaewon on the basis of Ohaeng-ron (five natural element principle), it was found that tree(木) and fire(火) are typical examples of a world combined by emanation. First, many of poetic writings depicting the sentiments of tree focused on embodying seasonal scenery and were located in the place of Ogogmun(五曲門) area in the east, from overall perspective of Soswaewon. The content of these poems shows generation and curve / straightness in flexibility and simplicity. Many of poems depicting the sentiments of fire(火) focused on embodying human behaviors, and they were created in Aeyangdan area on the south of Soswaewon over which sun rises at noon. These poems are all on a status of side movement that is characterized by emanation and ascension which belong to attributes of yang. 3. With regard to Ohaeng-ron's interpretation about landscape in the Forty Eight Poems of Soswaewon, it was found that metal(金) and water(水) are typical examples of world combined by convergence. First, it was found that all of poems depicting sentiments of metal focused on embodying seasonal scenery, and were created in a bamboo grove area on the west from overall perspective of Soswaewon. They represent scenery of autumn among 4 seasons to symbolize faithfulness vested in a man of virtue(seonbi) with integrity and righteousness. Poems depicting sentiments of water were created in vicinity of Jewoldang on the north, possibly topmost of Soswaewon. They were divided into two categories: One category refers to poems embodying actions of welcoming the first full moon deep in the night after sunset, and the other refers to poems embodying natural scenery of snowscape. All of those poems focused on expressing any atmosphere of turning into yin via convergence. 4. With regard to Ohaeng-ron's interpretation of landscape in the Forty Eight Poems of Soswaewon, it was found that poems depicting sentiments of earth(土), a complex body of convergence and emanation, were created in vicinity of mountain stream around Gwangpunggak which is located in the center of Soswaewon. These poems focused on carrying actions of author Kim by way of natural phenomena and artificial scenery.

Therapeutic Results of Radiotherapy in Rectal Carcinoma - Comparison of Sandwich Technique Radiotherapy with Postoperative Radiotherapy (직장암의 방사선 치료 결과 - Sandwich Technique 방사선 치료와 수술후 방사선 치료의 비교)

  • Huh Cil Cha;Suh Hyun Suk;Lee Hyuk Sang;Kim Re Hwe;Kim Chul Soo;Kim Hong Yong;Kim Sung Rok
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • 제14권1호
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    • pp.25-31
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    • 1996
  • Purpose : To evaluate the potential advantage for 'sandwich' technique radiotherapy compared to Postoperative radiotherapy in resectable rectal cancer. Materials and Methods : Between January 1989 and Mar 1994, 60 patients with resectable rectal cancer were treated at Inje University Seoul and Sanggye Paik Hospital. Fifty one patients were available for analysis: 20 patients were treated with sandwich technique radiotherapy and 31 patients were treated with Postoperative radiotherapy. In sandwich technique radiotherapy(RT), Patients were treated with preoperative RT 1500 cGy/5fx, followed by immediate curative resection. Patients staged as Astler-Coiler B2, C were considered for postoperative RT with 2500-4500 cGy. in postoperative RT total radiation dose of 4500-6120 cGy, 180 cGy daily at 4-Sweets was delivered. Patients were followed for median period of 25 months. Results : The overall 5-year survival rates for sandwich RT group and postoperative RT group were $60\%$ and $71\%$, respectively(p>0.05). The 5-rear disease free survival rates for each group were $63\%$. There was no difference in local failure rate between two groups($11\%$ versus $7\%$) Incidence of distant metastasis was $11\%$(2/20) in the sandwich technique RT group and $20\%$(6/31) in the postoperative RT group(p>0.05). The frequencies of acute and chronic complications were comparable in both groups. Conclusion : The sandwich technique radiotherapy group shows local recurrence and survival similar to those of Postoperative RT alone group but reduced distant metastasis compared to Postoperative RT group. But long term follow-up and large number of patients is needed to make an any firm conclusion regarding the value of this sandwich technique RT.

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A Prospective Randomized Trial Comparing the Seciuence of Adiuvant Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy following Curative Resection of Stage II, III Rectal Cancer (직장암의 근치적 수술 루 방사선치료와 화학요법의 순서에 대한 고찰 -전향적 무작위 3상 임상연구 중간 결과 보고-)

  • Kim Kyoung Ju;Kim Jong Hoon;Choi Eun Kyung;Chang Hyesook;Ahn Seung Do;Lee Je Hwan;Kim Jin Cheon;Yu Chang Sik
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • 제18권1호
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    • pp.17-25
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    • 2000
  • Purpose : To evaluate the side effects, pattern of failure, and survival rate according to the sequence of postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy, patients with stages II and III rectal cancer who had undergone curative resection were randomized to 'early radiotherapy group (arm I)' or' late radiotherapy group (arm II)', then we intend to determine the most effective sequence of the radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Materials and Methods . From January 1996 to March 1999, 313 patients with curatively resected stages II and III rectal cancer have been randomized to' early' or' late' radiation therapy group and received combined chemotherapy (5-FU 375 mg/m$^{2}$/day, ieucovorin 20 mg/m$^{2}$, IV bolus daily Dl-5, 8 cycles) and radiation therapy (whole pelvis with 45 Gy/25 fractions/s weeks). Arm I received radiation therapy from day 1 with first cycle of chemotherapy and arm II received radiation therapy from day 57 with third cycle of chemotherapy after completion of first two cycles. Preliminary analysis was peformed with 228 patients registered up to Jun 1998. Two out of the 228 patients were excluded because of double primary cancer. Median follow-up period was 23 months. Results :Local recurrence occurred in 11 patients (9.7$\%$) for arm I and 9 patients (8$\%$) for arm 11. There was no significant difference between both groups ( p=0.64). However, distant metastasis was found in 22 patients (19.5$\%$) for arm I and 35 patients (31.0$\%$) for arm II and which showed statistically significant difference between the two groups ( p=0.046). And neither 3-year disease-free survival (70.2$\%$ vs 59.2$\%$, p=0.2) nor overall survival (89.4$\%$ vs 88.0$\%$, p=0.47) showed significant differences. The incidence of leukopenia during radiation therapy and chemotherapy was 78.3$\%$ and 79.9$\%$ respectively but leukopenia more than RTOG grade 3 was only 2.1$\%$ and 6.0$\%$ respectively. The incidence of diarrhea more than 10 times per day was significantly higher in the patients for arm I than for arm II (71.2$\%$ vs 41.6$\%$, p=0.02) but this complication was controlled with supportive cares. Conclusion : Regardless of the sequence of postoperative adjuvant radiation therapy and chemotherapy after curative resection for rectal cancer, local recurrence rate was low with combined chemoradlotherapy. But distant metastasis rate was lower in early radiation therapy group than in late radiation therapy group and the reason is unclear. Most patients completed these treatments without severe complication, so these were thought to be safe treatments but the treatment compliance should be improved.

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Division of the N2 Stage According to the Multiplicity of the Involved Nodal Stations May be Necessary in the N2-NSCLC Patients Who are Treated with Postoperative Radiotherapy (비소세포성 폐암으로 수술 후 방사선치료가 시행된 N2병기 환자들에서 다발 부위 종격동 림프절 전이 여부에 따른 N2병기 구분의 임상적 의미)

  • Yoon, Hong-In;Kim, Yong-Bae;Lee, Chang-Geol;Lee, Ik-Jae;Kim, Song-Yih;Kim, Jun-Won;Kim, Joo-Hang;Cho, Byung-Chul;Lee, Jin-Gu;Chung, Kyung-Young
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • 제27권3호
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    • pp.126-132
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    • 2009
  • Purpose: We wanted to evaluate the prognostic factors for the pathologic N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who were treated by postoperative radiotherapy. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 112 pN2 NSCLC patients who underwent surgery and postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) From January 1999 to February 2008. Seventy-five (67%) patients received segmentectomy or lobectomy and 37 (33%) patients received pneumonectomy. The resection margin was negative in 94 patients, and it was positive or close in 18 patients. Chemotherapy was administered to 103 (92%) patients. Nine (8%) patients received PORT alone. The median radiation dose was 54 Gy (range, 45 to 66), and the fraction size was 1.8~2 Gy. Results: The 2-year overall survival (OS) rate was 60.2% and the disease free survival (DFS) rate was 44.7% for all the patients. Univariate analysis showed that the patients with multiple-station N2 disease had significantly reduced OS and DFS (p=0.047, p=0.007) and the patients with an advanced T stage ($\geq$T3) had significantly reduced OS and DFS (p<0.001, p=0.025). A large tumor size ($\geq$5 cm) and positive lymphovascular invasion reduced the OS (p=0.035, 0.034). Using multivariate analysis, we found that multiple-station N2 disease and an advanced T stage ($\geq$T3) significantly reduced the OS and DFS. Seventy one patients (63.4%) had recurrence of disease. The patterns of failure were loco-regional in 23 (20.5%) patients, distant failure in 62 (55.4%) and combined loco-regional and distant failure in 14 (12.5%) patients. Conclusion: Multiple involvement of mediastinal nodal stations for the pN2 NSCLC patients with PORT was a poor prognostic factor in this study. A prospective study is necessary to evaluate the N2 subclassification and to optimize the adjuvant treatment.

The Results of Postoperative Radiation Therapy for Perihilar Cholangiocarcinoma (간문부 담도암에서 수술 후 방사선 치료의 결과)

  • Lee, Yu-Sun;Park, Jae-Won;Park, Jin-Hong;Choi, Eun-Kyung;Ahn, Seung-Do;Lee, Sang-Wook;Song, Si-Yeol;Lee, Sung-Gyu;Hwang, Shin;Lee, Young-Joo;Park, Kwang-Min;Kim, Ki-Hun;Ahn, Chul-Soo;Moon, Deok-Bog;Chang, Heung-Moon;Ryu, Min-Hee;Kim, Tae-Won;Lee, Jae-Lyun;Kim, Jong-Hoon
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • 제27권4호
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    • pp.181-188
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    • 2009
  • Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of postoperative radiotherapy in a case of perihilar cholagiocarcinoma by analyzing overall survival rate, patterns of failure, prognostic factors for overall survival, and toxicity. Materials and Methods: Between January 1998 and March 2008, 38 patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma underwent a surgical resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. The median patient age was 59 years (range, 28 to 72 years), which included 23 men and 15 women. The extent of surgery was complete resection in 9 patients, microscopically positive margins in 25 patients, and a subtotal resection in 4 patients. The tumor bed and regional lymphatics initially received 45 Gy or 50 Gy, but was subsequently boosted to a total dose of 59.4 Gy or 60 Gy in incompletely resected patients. The median radiotherapy dose was 59.4 Gy. Concurrent chemotherapy was administered in 30 patients. The median follow-up period was 14 months (range, 6 to 45 months). Results: The 3-year overall survival and 3-year progression free survival rates were 30% and 8%, respectively. The median survival time was 28 months. A multivariate analysis showed that differentiation was the only significant factor for overall survival. The 3-year overall survival was 34% in R0 patients and 20% in R1 patients. No statistically significant differences in survival were found between the 2 groups (p=0.3067). The first site of failure was local in 18 patients (47%). No patient experienced grade 3 or higher acute toxicity and duodenal bleeding developed in 2 patients. Conclusion: Our results suggest that adjuvant RT might be a significant factor in patients with a positive margin following a radical resection. However, there was still a high locoregional recurrence rate following surgery and postoperative radiotherapy. Further study is necessary to enhance the effect of the adjuvant radiotherapy.

A Study on BRCA1/2 Mutations, Hormone Status and HER-2 Status in Korean Women with Early-onset Breast Cancer (젊은 한국인 유방암 환자에서 BRCA1/2 돌연변이와 호르몬 수용체, HER-2 상태에 관한 연구)

  • Choi, Doo-Ho;Jin, So-Young;Lee, Dong-Wha;Kim, Eun-Seog;Kim, Yong-Ho
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • 제26권1호
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    • pp.65-73
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    • 2008
  • Purpose: Women with breast cancer diagnosed at an age of 40 years or younger have a greater prevalence of germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations than the prevalence of women with breast cancer diagnosed at older ages. Several immunohistochemical characteristics have been identified in breast cancers from studies of Caucasian women with BRCA1/2 mutations having familial or early-onset breast cancers. The aim of this study is to determine whether early-onset breast cancer in BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers, who were not selected from a family history, could be distinguished by the use of immunohistochemical methods and could be distinguished from breast cancer in women of a similar age without a germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. We also analyzed the prognostic difference between BRCA1/2 related and BRCA1/2 non-related patients by the use of univariate and multivariate analysis. Materials and Methods: Breast cancer tissue specimens from Korean women with early-onset breast cancers were studied using a tumor tissue microarray. Immunohistochemical staining of estrogen receptor(ER), progesterone receptor(PR) and HER-2, as well as the histology and grade of these specimens, were compared. The prognostic impact of immunohistochemical and histological factors as well as the BRCA1/2 mutation status was investigated separately. Results: There were 14 cases and 16 deleterious BRCA1/2 mutations among 101 patients tested. A family history(4/14) and bilateral breast cancers(3/9) were high risk factors for BRCA1/2 mutations. BRCA1/2-associated cancers demonstrated more expression of ER-negative(19.4% versus 5.1%, p=0.038) and HER-2 negative than BRCA1/2 negative tumors, especially for tumors with BRCA1 tumors The BRCA1/2 mutation rate for patients with triple negative tumors(negative expression of ER, PR and HER-2) was 24.2%. Tumor size, nodal status, and HER-2 expression status were significantly associated with disease free survival, as determined by univariate and multivariate analysis, but the BRCA1/2 status was not a prognostic factor. Conclusion: Breast cancer that occurs in women with a germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations have recognizable immunohistochemical features, which may be useful in identifying individuals that are more likely to carry germline mutations. Although the BRCA1/2 mutation status was not a prognostic factor in Korean women with early-onset breast cancer, more cases with a longer follow-up period are needed for further study.