• 한국병원경영학회지
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.46-55
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• 2024

Objective: This study was conducted to provide basic data for the establishment of effective health policies for the unmet medical experience that may occur among the elderly depending on whether they live in a singleperson household or not. Methodology: This study used data from the 8th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2019-2020) and excluded cases with missing values in variables for the total number of respondent participants of 15,469. Finally, 2,850 subjects aged 65 or older were selected for final analysis. This study examined the relationship between experiences of unmet medical needs, attempting to confirm the relationship between single-person households and unmet medical needs through subgroup analysis considering gender, age, and household income. Results: According to the results, in the case of single-person households, the odds ratio (OR) for unmet medical needs was significantly higher at 1.60 times (95% CI: 1.16-2.21). Upon conducting subgroup analyses for gender, age, and household income quintiles, the OR was significantly higher at 2.24 times (95% CI: 1.14-4.41) for males and 1.48 times (95% CI: 1.02-2.14) for females, statistically significant in both cases. For individuals aged 65-69, the OR was significantly higher at 1.90 times (95% CI: 1.04-3.47), but for those aged 70-74 and over 75, it was not statistically significant. In the case of households with 'low' income, the OR was higher at 1.62 times (95% CI: 1.16-2.26), and for 'middle' income, it was significantly higher at 3.21 times (95% CI: 1.08-9.51). Conclusion: This study confirmed that the experience of unmet medical care is high among men who make up single-person households and low-income seniors. Therefore, this study suggests that policies to expand medical services and support welfare for single-person households should be established to resolve these problems, showing that health policies that take into account individual and regional characteristics are needed to improve medical accessibility for single-person households.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.624-633
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• 2021

Objective: To evaluate the reliability of CT measurements of muscle quantity and quality using variable CT parameters. Materials and Methods: A phantom, simulating the L2-4 vertebral levels, was used for this study. CT images were repeatedly acquired with modulation of tube voltage, tube current, slice thickness, and the image reconstruction algorithm. Reference standard muscle compartments were obtained from the reference maps of the phantom. Cross-sectional area based on the Hounsfield unit (HU) thresholds of muscle and its components, and the mean density of the reference standard muscle compartment, were used to measure the muscle quantity and quality using different CT protocols. Signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) were calculated in the images acquired with different settings. Results: The skeletal muscle area (threshold, -29 to 150 HU) was constant, regardless of the protocol, occupying at least 91.7% of the reference standard muscle compartment. Conversely, normal attenuation muscle area (30-150 HU) was not constant in the different protocols, varying between 59.7% and 81.7% of the reference standard muscle compartment. The mean density was lower than the target density stated by the manufacturer (45 HU) in all cases (range, 39.0-44.9 HU). The SNR decreased with low tube voltage, low tube current, and in sections with thin slices, whereas it increased when the iterative reconstruction algorithm was used. Conclusion: Measurement of muscle quantity using HU threshold was reliable, regardless of the CT protocol used. Conversely, the measurement of muscle quality using the mean density and narrow HU thresholds were inconsistent and inaccurate across different CT protocols. Therefore, further studies are warranted in future to determine the optimal CT protocols for reliable measurements of muscle quality.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권18호
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• pp.7653-7664
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• 2014

Background: Colorectal ranked first among cancers reported in males and ranked second amongst females in Jordan, accounting for 12.7% and 10.5% of cancers in males and females, respectively. Colorectal cancer patients can suffer several consequences after treatment that include pain and fatigue, constipation, stoma complications, sexual problems, appearance and body-image concerns as well as psychological dysfunction. There is no published quantitative data on the health-related quality of life and psychological wellbeing of Jordanian colorectal cancer survivors. Method: This project was a cross-sectional study of colorectal cancer survivors diagnosed in 2009 and 2010. Assessment was performed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), the colorectal cancer specific module (EORTC QLQ-CR 29) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Data on potential predictors of scores were also collected. Results: A total of 241 subjects completed the study with mean age of $56.7{\pm}13.6$. Males represented 52.3% of study participants. A majority of participants reported good to high overall health; the mean Global health score was $79.74{\pm}23.31$ with only 6.64% of study participants scoring less than 33.3%. The striking result in this study was that none of the study participants participated in a psychosocial support group; only 4 of them (1.7%) were even offered such support. The mean scores for HADS, depression score, and anxiety score were $8.25{\pm}9$, $4.35{\pm}4.9$ and $3.9{\pm}4.6$, respectively. However, 77.1% of study participants were within the normal category for the depression score and 81.7% were within this category for anxiety score; 5.4% of participants had severe anxiety and 5.4% of them had severe depression. Discussion: Patients with colorectal cancer in Jordan have a good quality of life and psychological wellbeing scores when compared with patients from western countries. None of the colorectal cancer patients managed at the Ministry of Health received any formal counselling, or participated in psychological or social support programmes. This highlights the urgent need for a psychosocial support programme, psychological screening and consultations for patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer at the Ministry of Health Hospitals.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.223-230
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the association between adenosine triphosphate-based chemotherapy response assays (ATP-CRAs) and subsets of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: In total, 15 gastric cancer tissue samples were obtained from gastrectomies performed between February 2007 and January 2011. Chemotherapy response assays were performed on tumor cells from these samples using 11 chemotherapeutic agents, including etoposide, doxorubicin, epirubicin, mitomycin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), oxaliplatin, irinotecan, docetaxel, paclitaxel, methotrexate, and cisplatin. TILs in the tissue samples were evaluated using antibodies specific for CD3, CD4, CD8, Foxp3, and Granzyme B. Results: The highest cancer cell death rates were induced by etoposide (44.8%), 5-FU (43.1%), and mitomycin (39.9%). Samples from 10 patients who were treated with 5-FU were divided into 5-FU-sensitive and -insensitive groups according to median cell death rate. No difference was observed in survival between the two groups (P=0.216). Only two patients were treated with a chemotherapeutic agent determined by an ATP-CRA and there was no significant difference in overall survival compared with that of patients treated with their physician's choice of chemotherapeutic agent (P=0.105). However, a high number of CD3 TILs was a favorable prognostic factor (P=0.008). Pearson's correlation analyses showed no association between cancer cell death rates in response to chemotherapeutic agents and subsets of TILs. Conclusions: Cancer cell death rates in response to specific chemotherapeutic agents were not significantly associated with the distribution of TIL subsets.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권22호
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• pp.10021-10025
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• 2014

Background: The study aimed to describe the age distribution of breast cancer diagnosis among Chinese females for comparison with the United States and the European Union, and provide evidence for the screening target population in China. Materials and Methods: Median age was estimated from hospital databases from 7 tertiary hospitals in China. Population-based data in China, United States and European Union was extracted from the National Central Cancer Registry, SEER program and GLOBOCAN 2008, respectively. Age-standardized distribution of breast cancer at diagnosis in the 3 areas was estimated based on the World Standard Population 2000. Results: The median age of breast cancer at diagnosis was around 50 in China, nearly 10 years earlier than United States and European Union. The diagnosis age in China did not vary between subgroups of calendar year, region and pathological characteristics. With adjustment for population structure, median age of breast cancer at diagnosis was 50~54 in China, but 55~59 in United States and European Union. Conclusions: The median diagnosis age of female breast cancer is much earlier in China than in the United States and the European Union pointing to racial differences in genetics and lifestyle. Screening programs should start at an earlier age for Chinese women and age disparities between Chinese and Western women warrant further studies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권16호
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• pp.6571-6574
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• 2014

Background: Alcohol is well established as a risk factor for cancer development in many organ sites. To assess the reliability and validity of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - Consumption (AUDIT-C) for detecting alcohol use disorders or risky drinking in Japanese adults the present study was conducted. Materials and Methods: A test-retest method was applied with a 2-week interval with 113 health care employees. The k coefficient, Cronbach's coefficient alpha, Spearman's correlation coefficient, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were determined and the validity of the AUDIT-C was analyzed using the data from a nationwide survey on adult alcohol use conducted in 2008 (n=4,123). Results: The reliability of the AUDIT-C score was high (${\kappa}$ coefficient=0.63, Cronbach's alpha=0.98, correlation coefficient=0.95, and ICC=0.95). According to the likelihood ratio and Youden index, appropriate cutoffs for the AUDIT-C were ${\geq}5points$ in men and ${\geq}4$ points in women. The sensitivity and specificity of these cutoffs for identifying ${\geq}8$ points on the AUDIT were 0.88 and 0.80, respectively, for men (positive likelihood ratio [LR+]=4.5) and 0.96 and 0.87, respectively, for women (LR+=7.7). The sensitivity and specificity of the cutoffs for identifying ${\geq}12$ points on the AUDIT were 0.90 and 0.84, respectively, for men (LR+=5.8) and 0.93 and 0.94, respectively, for women (LR+=15.8). The sensitivity and specificity of the cutoffs for identifying ${\geq}16$ points on the AUDIT were 0.93 and 0.80, respectively, for men (LR+=4.7) and 0.92 and 0.98, respectively, for women (LR+=55.6). With higher scores on the AUDIT, the specificity decreased and false-positives increased. The appropriate cutoffs for identifying risky drinking were the same for both genders. Conclusions: The reliability and validity of the AUDIT-C are high, indicating that it is useful for identifying alcohol use disorders or risky drinking among the general population in Japan, a group at high risk of cancer development.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• 제43권6호
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• pp.526-534
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• 2009

목적: 무증상 성인을 대상으로 시행된 PET과 PET/CT 검사 결과를 분석하여 이들 검사의 암 조기 진단을 위한 선별검사로서의 유용성을 평가하고자 하였다. 대상 및 방법: 1998년 3월부터 2008년 2월까지 서울 소재 1개 대학병원에서 건강검진 프로그램의 일부로 시행된 PET과 PET/CT 검사자 중 1년 이상 추적관찰이 이루어진 5,091명을 대상으로 하였다. PET과 PET/CT 시행 후 1년 이내에 암이 확진된 경우를 조사하여 PET과 PET/CT의 판독결과와 비교하고 민감도와 특이도를 평가하였으며, 판독에서 명확한 결론을 내기 어려워 추가 검사를 권고한 경우를 분석하였다. 결과: PET 또는 PET/CT 검사 시행 후 1년이내에 암을 진단 받은 경우는 총 86건으로 전체 조사 대상의 1.7%(86/5,091)였다. PET과 PET/CT 검사를 합친 전체검사의 민감도는 48.8%였으며 특이도는 81.1%였다. PET 단독검사의 민감도와 특이도는 각각 46.2%, 81.4% 였으며, PET/CT 단독 검사의 민감도와 특이도는 각각 75.0%, 78.5%였다. 판독에서 암이 의심되었던 경우와 판독에서 암이 의심되지 않았던 경우를 비교하여 보았으나 암부위, 조직학적 진단, 암 병기 등에서 두 군 사이에 통계학적으로 유의한 차이가 없었다. PET과 PET/CT에서 양성 혹은 악성의 의미 있는 병변이 의심되거나 양성 및 악성을 구분하기 어려워 추가 검사를 권고한 경우는 전체의 19.3%(981/5,091)였다. 이중에서 두경부 및 상부 위장관 부위에 대한 추가 검사를 권고한 경우가 가장 많았다. 결론: 무증상 성인의 건강검진에서 사용한 PET과 PET/CT 의 암 진단 정확도는 중간 정도로 평가되었다. PET과 PET/CT의 효용성을 높이기 위해서는 검사 대상집단의 연령이나 위험요인과 같은 임상적 특성을 고려해야 할 것이다. 또한 검사법과 판독 기술의 향상이 필요하며, 검사에 대한 충분한 이해를 바탕으로 수진자가 현명한 선택을 하도록 하여야 한다.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제48권6호
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• pp.837-852
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• 2000

연구배경 : 이 연구는 우리나라 각 기초자치단체에서 발행하는 "통계연보" 등을 활용하여 결핵관리사업의 성과를 결핵예방사업, 환자발견 및 지속관리사업, 그리고 결핵 치료사업 측면에서 소규모 지역간 사계열분석 모형에 의해 연도별 인구천명당 결핵등록률 및 결핵 치료순응도 등의 성과지표로 산출하여 비교분석하고 이에 영향을 미치는 요인을 규명하고자 하였다. 방법 : 전국 234개 시 군 구 기초자치단체별로 발간된 "통계연보"나 광역자치단체별 "통계연보"를 원주시청 행정자료실, 강원도청 행정자료실, 통계청 민원실 등을 방문, 1980년도부터 2000년도까지 순차적으로 열람하여 결핵관리사업등 관련 정보를 지난 1년여동안 추적 조사하였다. 결핵관리사업의 성과지표인 연도별 결핵유병률 등을 산정, 이를 종속변수로 하여 다중 희귀모형을 구축하여 Micro TSP와 SAS 패키지를 이용하여 확률론적안 시계열분석을 하였다. 결과 : 1998년까지의 지역별 현황을 비교하면, 인구지표 중 인구이동률을 제외한 나머지 변수들의 경우 모두 구지역, 시지역, 군지역의 순으로 유의하게 감소하였다. 사회 경제학적 지표로는 인구천명당 자동차 등록대수, 지방세, 담배소비세 모두 시 군 구지역간에 유의한 차이를 보였다. 또한 보건의료지표는 시 군 구지역간 인구천명당 의사수 및 병상수 모두 통계적으로 유의하게 지역 규모의 크기에 따라 감소하였다. 지역별 관련 결핵지표의 시계열 분포의 변화를 비교하면, BCG접종률의 경우 1980년부터 1984년까지 약간의 증가 추세를 보이다가 그 이후 1993년도까지는 일정한 평형 수준 (plateau state) 을 유지한 이후 다시 감소추세를 보였다. 1985년 이전에는 시지역이, 1985년 이후에는 군지역의 접종률이 타지역에 비해 유의하게 높았다. 폐결핵양성자수 시점유병률, 폐결핵 음성자수 시점유병률 및 결핵사망률의 분포를 보면, 세가지 결핵지표 모두 1981년 이후 지속적으로 감소하는 영향을 보여주되, 군지역이 가장 높았고 시간이 경과할수록 시 군 구지역간 차이도 점차 줄어들었다. 이는 지역 특성상 민간의료기관의 분포가 적은 군 지역에서의 결핵등록 및 관리사업이 상대적으로 시 구(광역도시)지역보다 보건소 중심으로 용이하게 운영되어지고 있음을 시사한다. 결핵 치료순응도의 경우 기간유병률이나 사망률과는 반대로 1982년 이후 점차 증가하는 추세였다. 결론 : 이 연구결과는 현재 보건소 중심으로 관리되어 매년 집계, 보고, 발간되는 시 군 구 기초자치단체별 "통계연보"의 결핵보건사업 결과정보에 대한 이용의 실증연구에 해당된다. 따라서 지난 제7차까지 시행해 오던 전국결핵실태조사 대신에 향후 시행될 결핵정보 감시체계 운영등의 기초자료로서 가능성을 제공해주고 있다. 결국 이를 바탕으로 결핵관리사업과 관련 지역 특성에 맞는 지역보건의료계획 수립의 기초자료 및 정부의 국가결핵보건사업 기획의 근거를 제공함으로써 결핵관리 대책 수립시 우선순위 결정과 예산배분, 기대효과 산정에 필수적인 정보로 활용되기를 기대한다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권19호
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• pp.8483-8488
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• 2014

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer-induced mortalities in Iranian women, following gastric carcinoma. The survival of these patients depends on several factors, which are very important to identify in order to understand the natural history of the disease. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, 313 consecutive women with pathologically-proven diagnosis of breast cancer who had been treated during a seven-year period (January 2006 until March 2014) at Towhid hospital, Sanandaj city, Kurdistan province of Iran, were recruited. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for data analysis, and finally those factors that showed significant association on univariate analysis were entered in a Cox regression model. Results: the mean age of patients was $46.10{\pm}10.81$ years. Based on Kaplan-Meier method median of survival time was 81 months and 5 year survival rate was $75%{\pm}0.43$. Tumor metastasis (HR=9.06, p=0.0001), relapse (HR=3.20, p=0.001), clinical stage of cancer (HR=2.30, p=0.03) and place of metastasis (p=0.0001) had significant associations with the survival rate variation. Patients with tumor metastasis had the lowest five-year survival rate (37%)and among them patients who had brain metastasis were in the worst condition (5 year survival rate= $11%{\pm}0.10$). Conclusions: Our findings support the observation that those women with higher stages of breast malignancies (especially with metastatic cancer) have less chance of surviving the disease. Furthermore, screening programs and early detection of breast cancer may help to increase the survival of those women who are at risk of breast cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제17권10호
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• pp.4791-4796
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the association between endometrial cancer and possible etiological agents. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Iran between March 2012 and May 2016. The demographic and reproductive factors of 205 women with endometrial cancer were compared, and 590 healthy cases were participated in the control group. For each endometrial cancer case, there were three controls, who were matched in terms of age and residence. The data were considered significant at $p{\leq}0.05$. Results: After adjusting the variables, the nulliparity (OR 6.23, 95% CI 2.86-13.59), the nulligravidity (OR 5.94, 95% CI 2.51-14.06), the positive family history of reproductive cancer (OR 4.97, 95% CI 2.33-10.59), the infertility history (OR 2.38, 95%CI 1.32-4.31), the obesity ($BMI{\geq}25$) (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.16-2.52), the early menarche age (<12 years) (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.17-3.75), and the hormonal contraception use (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.15-2.49) were found to be associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer. Nevertheless, the education level, the job of women, the marital age, the leisure activities, and the breast feeding were not found to be associated with the endometrial cancer after adjusting the variables. Conclusion: Scheduling of the screening program is vitally indispensable to identify endometrial cancer in women with nulliparity, nulligravidity and the positive family history of cancer. In addition, women with early menarche, those with the history of infertility, the obese ones, and those who use contraception pills need to be particularly aware of the potential risks.