• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.149-157
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• 2021

Scars vary from mature linear scars to abnormal excessive scars such as hypertrophic scars and keloid scars. Keloid scars are fibro-proliferative disease entities that reflect an abnormal process of wound healing. They can cause pain, itching, stiffness, and psychological distress, all of which can affect quality of life. Various treatment options have been advocated as ways to prevent and treat keloid scars. These include noninvasive treatments such as use of silicone gel sheeting and compression therapy, and invasive treatments such as intralesional corticosteroid injections, surgery, and radiotherapy. Novel treatments include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and anti-inflammatory therapies. Unfortunately, keloids continue to pose a significant challenge due to the lack of efficacious treatments. Therefore, clinicians should be familiar with various therapeutic options and apply the most suitable treatment plan for patients. In this review, we introduce the current therapeutic options for the management of keloid scars.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2022

Thyroid cancer is one of the slow-growing tumors with excellent oncological outcomes. However, a small set of patients with unexpectedly severe outcomes are usually ignored. Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) remains one of the most aggressive and lethal solid tumors. Recently, dabrafenib and trametinib combination therapy or neoadjuvant BRAF induction therapy has shown promising results. In addition, a combination of targeted drugs, immunotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy can improve overall survival in ATC patients. Another disease for which there is no breakthrough treatment is radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). To date, multikinase inhibitors (sorafenib, lenvatinib) targeting the growth factor signaling pathway have been developed and approved as anticancer agents for patients with advanced DTC. This review includes results from multikinase inhibitors to the emergence of new target molecules, including rearrangements during transformation (RET) and tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK).

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.539-542
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• 2021

Resection and reconstruction of the chest wall for the radical surgical treatment of malignant soft tissue tumors are currently considered a substantial challenge for thoracic surgeons. We present an unusual case of infantile fibrosarcoma with tropomyosin 3-neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase 1 fusion in a 13-year-old patient. The surgical treatment consisted of radical resection of the right posterior chest wall and reconstruction with the use of the STRATOS (Strasbourg Thoracic Osteosynthesis System) titanium rib bridge system. The patient had a favorable postoperative course and received respiratory-ventilatory rehabilitation, adjuvant therapy with chemotherapeutic agents, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.59-66
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• 2022

The Cyr61/CTGF/NOV (CCN) family is dynamically expressed in various tissues, including the nervous system, from the prenatal period to adulthood. However, major studies have been conducted only in limited fields, such as the cardiovascular and muscular systems, skeletal development, and cancer. In addition, although the CCN family is a secretory protein, very few studies have described its mechanism of secretion. Recently, it has been suggested that overexpression of CCN3 or intracellular accumulation due to problems in the secretory pathway can inhibit neuronal axonal growth. In this review, we have briefly summarized the structure and characteristics of the CCN family and its related diseases, with particular emphasis on the secretory mechanism and modifiers of the CCN family, newly identified in the nervous system.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.8
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• pp.513-521
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• 2022

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) is an immune checkpoint molecule that is mainly expressed on activated T cells and regulatory T (Treg) cells that inhibits T-cell activation and regulates immune homeostasis. Due to the crucial functions of CTLA-4 in T-cell biology, CTLA-4-targeted immunotherapies have been developed for autoimmune disease as well as cancers. CTLA-4 is known to compete with CD28 to interact with B7, but some studies have revealed that its downstream signaling is independent of its ligand interaction. As a signaling domain of CTLA-4, the tyrosine motif plays a role in inhibiting T-cell activation. Recently, the lysine motif has been shown to be required for the function of Treg cells, emphasizing the importance of CTLA-4 signaling. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of CTLA-4 biology and molecular signaling events and discuss strategies to target CTLA-4 signaling for immune modulation and disease therapy.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Reports
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-4
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• 2019

It is important to choose the appropriate treatment option for patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), because it could affect the prognosis of patients. Chemotherapy is effective in prolonging survival and time to progression in patients with advanced CRC. Adjuvant chemotherapy have been reported to reduce the recurrence rate of colorectal cancer by 30% in patients with stage 3 or high risk of stage 2 CRC. Although palliative chemotherapy does not offer long-term benefits, as life expectancy remains below 12 months in most of those receiving treatment, recent developments in the treatment including target agents and immunotherapy have improved the median overall survival time in patients with metastatic CRC by up to 30 months. Chemotherapy for patients with CRC is classified into neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and palliative therapy according to the status of patients. In this review, I summarized the chemotherapy for patients with CRC, which applying in clinical practice.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.203-210
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• 2023

Angiosarcoma is a very rare soft tissue sarcoma that originates from endothelial cells and typically has a poor prognosis. It is most commonly found in elderly white men and can occur anywhere in the body, particularly in the head, neck, and scalp. Patients who have undergone previous radiation treatment or who have chronic lymphedema also face an elevated risk of this condition. Various genetic changes are suspected to contribute to the development of angiosarcoma, and these changes have been identified as potential targets for treatment. For localized disease, wide surgical resection is often the prudent course of action. A multidisciplinary approach, which may include surgery, radiotherapy, systemic chemotherapy, or immunotherapy, is typically the most effective way to achieve favorable outcomes. In this review, we discuss the general understanding of angiosarcoma and its management, with a particular focus on the current evolving treatments for the disease.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.15-19
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• 2024

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a systemic necrotizing vasculitis that predominantly affects small vessels of the body. The two most common ANCAs are myeloperoxidase ANCA and proteinase 3 ANCA. Neurological manifestations are frequent in patients with AAV, including peripheral neuropathy, meningitis, and stroke. AAV-associated ischemic stroke usually affects small vessels supplying the white matter or brainstem. This case report details the presentation and treatment course of a 70-year-old man with rapidly progressive multiple intracranial large artery involvement attributed to myeloperoxidase ANCA-associated vasculitis. Despite treatment with high-dose steroids and a rituximab infusion, the patient developed new speech difficulties and respiratory distress, and brain imaging confirmed new stroke lesions with progressive multiple intracranial large cerebral artery involvement. The patient died from SARS-CoV-2 infection 4 months after the diagnosis. This case emphasized the rare presentation of rapidly progressive large vessel involvement in a patient with myeloperoxidase ANCA-associated vasculitis despite active immunotherapy.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.430-434
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• 2023

Intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) instillation is an adjuvant treatment for non-muscle-invasive urinary bladder cancer. Although most complications associated with BCG immunotherapy are mild and self-limiting, rare albeit serious complications have been reported. Only a few cases of BCG-related rhabdomyolysis have been reported. In this study, we present the case of a 72-year-old woman who developed severe weakness and hyperCKemia following intravesical BCG instillation. A muscle biopsy was performed, and a diagnosis of drug-induced myopathy was made.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.399-402
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• 2024