• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.99-107
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• 2012

Purpose: Gastric mucosal neoplastic lesions should have characteristic endoscopic features for successful endoscopic submucosal dissection. Materials and Methods: Out of the 1,010 endoscopic submucosal dissection, we enrolled 62 patients that had the procedure cancelled. Retrospectively, whether the reasons for cancelling the endoscopic submucosal dissection were consistent with the indications for an endoscopic submucosal dissection were assessed by analyzing the clinical outcomes of the patients that had the surgery. Results: The cases were divided into two groups; the under-diagnosed group (30 cases; unable to perform an endoscopic submucosal dissection) and the over-diagnosed group (32 cases; unnecessary to perform an endoscopic submucosal dissection), according to the second endoscopic findings, compared with the index conventional white light image. There were six cases in the under-diagnosed group with advanced gastric cancer on the second conventional white light image endoscopy, 17 cases with submucosal invasion on endoscopic ultrasonography findings, 5 cases with a size greater than 3 cm and ulcer, 1 case with diffuse infiltrative endoscopic features, and 1 case with lymph node involvement on computed tomography. A total of 25 patients underwent a gastrectomy to remove a gastric adenocarcinoma. The overall accuracy of the decision to cancel the endoscopic submucosal dissection was 40% (10/25) in the subgroup that had the surgery. Conclusions: The accuracy of the decision to cancel the endoscopic submucosal dissection, after conventional white light image and endoscopic ultrasonography, was low in this study. Other diagnostic options are needed to arrive at an accurate decision on whether to perform a gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2012

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to assess the association between the pre-operative plasma fibrinogen level and the adjacent organ involvement in advanced gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 923 pre-operative plasma samples were obtained from 923 patients diagnosed clinically as having advanced gastric cancer, and fibrinogen levels were measured by immunoassay. Associations between fibrinogen levels and clinicopathologic findings (depth of tumor, adjacent organ involvement, and lymph node metastasis), along with survival were examined by univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Tumor size, tumor depth, and the presence of lymph node metastasis were found to be positively correlated with the preoperative plasma fibrinogen levels (P<0.001). Fifty (5.4%) patients had adjacent organ involvement. Lymphatic invasion (P<0.001), tumor size (P<0.001), clinical T (depth of invasion) stage (P<0.001), and clinical nodal stage (P=0.018) were found to be associated with adjacent organ involvement. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses showed that a preoperatively elevated plasma fibrinogen level was associated with adjacent organ involvement (P<0.001, 0.028), and Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that it was associated with poorer survival (P<0.001). Conclusions: Plasma fibrinogen was found to be a clinically useful marker of adjacent organ involvement and overall survival. When a high fibrinogen level is encountered, preoperatively, adjacent organ involvement should be suspected in clinically advanced gastric cancer.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.26-30
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• 2009

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of the peripheral blood lymphocyte count before surgery in those patients with gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: The study group was comprised of a series of 1,054 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy. The appropriate lymphocyte count cutoff value was determined. The prognostic factors were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: The lymphocyte count cutoff value was 1,500/ul. The patients were classified into two groups: Group A had a lymphocyte count $\geq$ 1,500/ul (n=765) and Group B had a lymphocyte count <1,500/ul (n=289). There were statistically significant differences between the groups according to their age (P<0.001), the tumor stage (P=0.038) and the tumor size (P<0.001). The 5- and 10-year survival rates of Group A were 80.1% and 76.6%, respectively and those of Group B were 72.4% and 63.5%, respectively (P=0.002). When multivariate analysis was performed by the Cox proportional hazards model, the lymphocyte count was not an independent prognostic factor. Conclusion: Although the prognosis of patients with a high lymphocyte count was better than that of the patients with a low lymphocyte count, our results did not support using the preoperative peripheral blood lymphocyte count as an independent prognostic factor for patients with gastric cancer.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.160-166
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• 2007

Purpose: Recently, chemosensitivity tests have become widely used for the selection of effective drugs in gastric cancer patients. In this study, a chemosensitivity test was performed to select agents to increase the effectiveness of adjuvant chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: Chemosensitivity testing was performed in 81 gastric cancer patients that received a gastrectomy at the Yeungnam University Hospital. An ATP (adenosine triphosphate) based chemotherapy response assay was used. Clinicopatholgical factors such as sex, age, expression of tumor markers (CEA and CA19-9 levels), location of the tumor, morphology of advanced cancer, histological type, cell differentiation, depth of invasion, Lauren classification, Ming classification, lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion, neural invasion, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage were used to correlate the chemosensitivity and clinicopathological factors. Results: The most effective antitumor agents in gastric cancer patients were (in order of effectiveness) 5-FU, Epirubicin, lrinotecan and Oxaliplatin in our series. The chemosensitivity test showed a significant difference in susceptibility according to clinicopathological factors. Conclusion: Further studies on multidrug therapy are needed to evaluate synergistic effects of drugs. Therefore, for effective chemotherapy, it is more efficacious to select a chemosensitive drug than continue to use the same drug regimen.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.930-936
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• 2001

Background: The origin site of carcinoma invading esophagogastric junction is variable. It may arise from squamous cell carcinoma of low esophagus, adenocarcinoma arising from Barrett's esophagus, adenocarcinoma of gastric cardia, or extension from proximal stomach cancer. In Korea, the majority of adenocarcinoma invading esophago-gastric junction seems to arise from proximal gastric carcinoma. Material and Method: We reviewed the data of surgically-resected gastric adenocarcinoma involving esophagogastric junction in KCCH between 1988 and 1999. Result: There were 212 cases. Male to female ratio was 156 to 56. Age distribution was between 22 and 78. Variable surgical approaches including median laparotomy, laparotomy with left or right thoracotomy, left thoracotomy, and thoracoabdominal approach were used. Postoperative pathologic stages were : Stage IA-7, IB-11, Ⅱ-25, ⅢA-73, ⅢB-34, and Ⅳ-57. Curative resection was performed in 199 patients, and total gastrectomy was performed in 200 patients. There were 77.4%(164 cases) with esophageal involvement, 74.1％(157 cases) with tumor involvement in the abdominal LN, and 8%(17 cases) with mediastinal LN metastasis. Operative mortality was 3.3%, and over-all 5 year survival rate was 35%. Conclusion: There are various surgical approaches and many things to consider for surgical resection, thoracic and abdominal approach may need for obtain proper resection margin and adequate lymph node dissection in stomach cancer invading esophagogastric junction.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.191-202
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• 2021

Purpose: A near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging is a promising tool for cancer-specific image guided surgery. Human epidermal receptor 2 (HER2) is one of the candidate markers for gastric cancer. In this study, we aimed to synthesize HER2-specific NIR fluorescence probes and evaluate their applicability in cancer-specific image-guided surgeries using an animal model. Materials and Methods: An NIR dye emitting light at 800 nm (IRDye800CW; Li-COR) was conjugated to trastuzumab and an HER2-specific affibody using a click mechanism. HER2 affinity was assessed using surface plasmon resonance. Gastric cancer cell lines (NCI-N87 and SNU-601) were subcutaneously implanted into female BALB/c nu (6-8 weeks old) mice. After intravenous injection of the probes, biodistribution and fluorescence signal intensity were measured using Lumina II (Perkin Elmer) and a laparoscopic NIR camera (InTheSmart). Results: Trastuzumab-IRDye800CW exhibited high affinity for HER2 (K_D=2.093(3) pM). Fluorescence signals in the liver and spleen were the highest at 24 hours post injection, while the signal in HER2-positive tumor cells increased until 72 hours, as assessed using the Lumina II system. The signal corresponding to the tumor was visually identified and clearly differentiated from the liver after 72 hours using a laparoscopic NIR camera. Affibody-IRDye800CW also exhibited high affinity for HER2 (K_D=4.71 nM); however, the signal was not identified in the tumor, probably owing to rapid renal clearance. Conclusions: Trastuzumab-IRDye800CW may be used as a potential NIR probe that can be injected 2-3 days before surgery to obtain high HER2-specific signal and contrast. Affibody-based NIR probes may require modifications to enhance mobilization to the tumor site.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.39-43
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• 2022

Plasmodium vivax exhibits dormant liver-stage parasites, called hypnozoites, which can cause relapse of malaria. The only drug currently used for eliminating hypnozoites is primaquine. The antimalarial properties of primaquine are dependent on the production of oxidized metabolites by the cytochrome P450 isoenzyme 2D6 (CYP2D6). Reduced primaquine metabolism may be related to P. vivax relapses. We describe a case of 4 episodes of recurrence of vivax malaria in a patient with decreased CYP2D6 function. The patient was 52-year-old male with body weight of 52 kg. He received total gastrectomy and splenectomy 7 months before the first episode and was under chemotherapy for the gastric cancer. The first episode occurred in March 2019 and each episode had intervals of 34, 41, and 97 days, respectively. At the first and second episodes, primaquine was administered as 15 mg for 14 days. The primaquine dose was increased with 30 mg for 14 days at the third and fourth episodes. Seven gene sequences of P. vivax were analyzed and revealed totally identical for all the 4 samples. The CYP2D6 genotype was analyzed and intermediate metabolizer phenotype with decreased function was identified.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.107-145
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• 2023

The first edition of 'A Standardized Pathology Report for Gastric Cancer' was initiated by the Gastrointestinal Pathology Study Group of the Korean Society of Pathologists and published 17 years ago. Since then, significant advances have been made in the pathologic diagnosis, molecular genetics, and management of gastric cancer (GC). To reflect those changes, a committee for publishing a second edition of the report was formed within the Gastrointestinal Pathology Study Group of the Korean Society of Pathologists. This second edition consists of two parts: standard data elements and conditional data elements. The standard data elements contain the basic pathologic findings and items necessary to predict the prognosis of GC patients, and they are adequate for routine surgical pathology service. Other diagnostic and prognostic factors relevant to adjuvant therapy, including molecular biomarkers, are classified as conditional data elements to allow each pathologist to selectively choose items appropriate to the environment in their institution. We trust that the standardized pathology report will be helpful for GC diagnosis and facilitate large-scale multidisciplinary collaborative studies.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.355-364
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• 2023

Background: There are no clear guidelines to determine whether to perform D1 or D1+ lymph node dissection in early gastric cancer (EGC). This study aimed to develop a nomogram for estimating the risk of extraperigastric lymph node metastasis (LNM). Materials and Methods: Between 2009 and 2019, a total of 4,482 patients with pathologically confirmed T1 disease at 6 affiliated hospitals were included in this study. The basic clinicopathological characteristics of the positive and negative extraperigastric LNM groups were compared. The possible risk factors were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses. Based on these results, a risk prediction model was developed. A nomogram predicting extraperigastric LNM was used for internal validation. Results: Multivariate analyses showed that tumor size (cut-off value 3.0 cm, odds ratio [OR]=1.886, P=0.030), tumor depth (OR=1.853 for tumors with sm2 and sm3 invasion, P=0.010), cross-sectional location (OR=0.490 for tumors located on the greater curvature, P=0.0303), differentiation (OR=0.584 for differentiated tumors, P=0.0070), and lymphovascular invasion (OR=11.125, P<0.001) are possible risk factors for extraperigastric LNM. An equation for estimating the risk of extraperigastric LNM was derived from these risk factors. The equation was internally validated by comparing the actual metastatic rate with the predicted rate, which showed good agreement. Conclusions: A nomogram for estimating the risk of extraperigastric LNM in EGC was successfully developed. Although there are some limitations to applying this model because it was developed based on pathological data, it can be optimally adapted for patients who require curative gastrectomy after endoscopic submucosal dissection.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.30-34
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• 2015

We report a case of a 55-year-old man who diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer (AGC), with A review of the literature. A 55-year old man was transferred to our hospital for further evaluation and treatment after being diagnosed with adenocarcinoma through endoscopic biopsy during a regular health examination. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed AGC, stage IIA (T3N3M0), while an endoscopic examination showed AGC, Borrmann type 2. The patient is currently under observation after undergoing radical subtotal gastrectomy with gastroduodenostomy and subsequent administration of oral chemotherapeutic agents. As an abdominal CT response assessment performed after surgery revealed new metastasis to the liver, the patient received palliative chemotherapy as progressive disease was suspected. After receiving chemotherapy in the order of FOLFOX (5-fluorouracil (5-FU)) + Leucovorin + Oxaliplatin), FOLFIRI (5-FU + Leucovorin + Irinotecan), EAP-II (Etoposide + Doxorubicin + Cisplatin), ELF (Etoposide + Leucovorin + 5-FU), TS-1 (Tegafur + Gimeracil) + Cisplatin, an abdominal CT response assessment showed progressive disease for which the regimen was altered to PFL (Paclitaxel + 5-FU + Leucovorin). The patient has currently completed his second cycle of chemotherapy and after an abdominal CT response assessment, further course of therapy will be decided.