• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4469-4475
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• 2012

Background: The potential use of hypomethylation of Long INterspersed Element 1 (LINE-1) and Alu elements (Alu) as a biomarker has been comprehensively assessed in several cancers, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Failure to detect occult metastatic head and neck tumors on radical neck lymph node dissection can affect the therapeutic measures taken. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the LINE-1 and Alu methylation status and determine whether it can be applied for detection of occult metastatic tumors in HNSCC cases. Methods: We used the Combine Bisulfite Restriction Analysis (COBRA) technique to analyse LINE-1 and Alu methylation status. In addition to the methylation level, LINE-1 and Alu loci were classified based on the methylation statuses of two CpG dinucleotides in each allele as follows: hypermethylation ($^mC^mC$), hypomethylation ($^uC^uC$), and 2 forms of partial methylation ($^mC^uC$ and $^uC^mC$). Sixty-one lymph nodes were divided into 3 groups: 1) non-metastatic head and neck cancer (NM), 2) histologically negative for tumor cells of cases with metastatic head and neck cancer (LN), and 3) histologically positive for tumor cells (LP). Results: Alu methylation change was not significant. However, LINE-1 methylation of both LN and LP was altered, as demonstrated by the lower LINE-1 methylation levels (p<0.001), higher percentage of $^mC^uC$ (p<0.01), lower percentage of $^uC^mC$ (p<0.001) and higher percentage of $^uC^uC$ (p<0.001). Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, $%^uC^mC$ and $%^mC^uC$ values revealed a high level of AUC at 0.806 and 0.716, respectively, in distinguishing LN from NM. Conclusion: The LINE-1 methylation changes in LN have the same pattern as that in LP. This epigenomic change may be due to the presence of occult metastatic tumor in LN cases.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.980-982
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• 2012

Metastasis to the pancreas from extra-pancreatic primary cancers are rare; they commonly present as a manifestation of widespread disease and rarely as an isolated mass of the pancreas. Examinations showed a pancreatic tumor infiltrating the pancreas tail portion and an endoscopic ultrasound guided percutaneous biopsy proved that the lesion was metastatic from the lung carcinoma. Most metastatic cases of the pancreas tend to be discovered in patients with widely disseminated malignant disease. In addition, patients with pancreatic metastasis are often asymptomatic, the metastatic lesions are found incidentally, and are misdiagnosed as primary pancreatic tumors. This report that patient undergoing chemotherapy for a small cell lung cancer, who 1 year and 3 months later, accidentally diagnosed of solitary pancreas metastasis and confirmed histology by needle biopsy using endoscopic ultrasound.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5263-5267
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• 2013

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of a gemcitabine, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (GEMFUFOL) chemotherapy regimen as first line treatment of metastatic biliary tract cancer. Materials and Methods: All patients received folinic acid $400mg/m^2$ on day 1, 5-fluorouracil bolus $400mg/m^2$ on day 1, IV infusion of 5-fluorouracil $2400mg/m^2$ over 46 hours, and gemcitabine $1250mg/m^2$ on day 1. Results: A total of 29 patients with metastatic biliary tract cancer received GEMFUFOL regimen as the firstline treatment. The mean follow-up was 22.1 months (95%CI, 12.5-31.8). One patient (3.4%) achieved complete response, 5 (17.2%) had partial response, and 4 (13.8%) had stable disease. The median progression-free survival was 3.3 months (95%CI, 2.9-3.7), and the median overall survival was 8.8 months (95%CI, 3.5-14). The 1-year and 2-year survival rates were 58.6% and 30%, respectively. Grade 3 and 4 toxicity included neutropenia in 4 patients (13.7%), thrombocytopenia in 2 (6.8%), anemia2 (6.8%), and alopecia in 1 (3.4%). Two patients (6.8%) developed febrile neutropenia. A dose reduction was achieved in 8 patients (27.6%) while 5 patients had extended-interval dosage (17.2%) for toxicity. Conclusions: The GEMFUFOL chemotherapy regimen was generally efficacious and tolerable as a first-line treatment of metastatic biliary tract cancer.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.160-167
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• 2011

This study conducts cross-comparison through verification of treatment planning of using beam spoiler and bolus, according to the dose variation of different tumor bed and metastatic lymph node cancers, against ionization and optically stimulated luminescence detectors(OSLDs), in head and neck radiotherapy. Verification of treatment planning examined the feasibility of inserting detectors through simulated solid dry water slabs under identical irradiated conditions from treatment planning system to measure beam spoiler and 0.5, 1 cm bolus. In addition, two detectors were cross-compared for verification of treatment planning accuracy and reliability within ${\pm}$2%. The study found that, given a beam spoiler thickness of 0.5 cm and beam spoiler-to-skin distance of 10 cm subjected to optimal dose distribution given for metastatic lymph node cancers, the bolus low-level skin dose was less, and the tumor bed dose reduced slightly. Additionally, two detectors were cross-compared for accuracy within ${\pm}$1%. Accordingly, The use of beam spoiler was determined that reduces skin side effects and can deliver an optimal dose distribution for tumor, and to apply to future clinical studies should be performed.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.106-113
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• 2019

Objective : The efficacy of preoperative embolization for hypervascular metastatic spine disease (MSD) such as renal cell and thyroid cancers has been reported. However, the debate on the efficacy of preoperative embolization for non-hypervascular MSD still remains unsettled. The purpose of this study is to determine whether preoperative embolization for non-hypervascular MSD decreases perioperative blood loss. Methods : A total of 79 patients (36 cases of preoperative embolization and 43 cases of non-embolization) who underwent surgery for metastatic spine lesions were included. Representative hypervascular tumors such as renal cell and thyroid cancers were excluded. Intraoperative and perioperative estimated blood losses (EBL), total number of transfusion and calibrated EBL were recorded in the embolization and non-embolization groups. The differences in EBL were also compared along with the type of surgery. In addition, the incidence of Adamkiewicz artery and complications of embolization were assessed. Results : The average age of 50 males and 29 females was $57.6{\pm}13.5$ years. Lung (30), hepatocellular (14), gastrointestinal (nine) and others (26) were the primary cancers. The demographic data was not significantly different between the embolization and the non-embolization groups. There were no significant differences in intraoperative EBL, perioperative EBL, total transfusion and calibrated EBL between two groups. However, intraoperative EBL and total transfusion in patients with preoperative embolization were significantly lower than in non-embolization in the corpectomy group (1645.5 vs. 892.6 mL, p=0.017 for intraoperative EBL and 6.1 vs. 3.9, p=0.018 for number of transfusion). In addition, the presence of Adamkiewicz artery at the index level was noted in two patients. Disruption of this major feeder artery resulted in significant changes in intraoperative neuromonitoring. Conclusion : Preoperative embolization for non-hypervascular MSD did not reduce perioperative blood loss. However, the embolization significantly reduced intraoperative bleeding and total transfusion in corpectomy group. Moreover, the procedure provided insights into the anatomy of tumor and spinal cord vasculature.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.67-86
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• 2014

Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Animal models have been used to elucidate the details of the molecular mechanisms of various cancers. However, most inbred strains of mice have resistance to gastric carcinogenesis. Helicobacter infection and carcinogen treatment have been used to establish mouse models that exhibit phenotypes similar to those of human gastric cancer. A large number of transgenic and knockout mouse models of gastric cancer have been developed using genetic engineering. A combination of carcinogens and gene manipulation has been applied to facilitate development of advanced gastric cancer; however, it is rare for mouse models of gastric cancer to show aggressive, metastatic phenotypes required for preclinical studies. Here, we review current mouse models of gastric carcinogenesis and provide our perspectives on future developments in this field.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.68-75
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• 2013

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) belongs to the most malignant and rapidly progressive human thyroid cancers and its prognosis is very poor. Also, it shows high resistance to cancer treatments, so that effective treatment for ATC has not been found to date, and virtually all patients terminate their life rapidly after diagnosis. Although targeted treatment of genetic alterations has emerged as an extremely promising approach to human cancers, such as BRAF in metastatic melanoma, it remains unclear that how commonly genomic alterations are influenced in ATC tumorigenesis. In recent years, genome wide approaches have been exploited to find genetic alterations associated with complex diseases, including cancer. Here, we reviewed the comprehensive genetic alterations in ATC and recent approaches in the context of identifying genomic alterations associated with ATC. Since surprisingly few reports have been published on the genome wide study of ATC, this review puts emphasis on the urgent needs of genomic research for the prevention and treatment of ATC.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.71-77
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• 2023

Cancers are one of the most dreaded diseases in human history and have been targeted by numerous trials including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and anti-cancer drugs. Adult stem cells (ASCs), which can regenerate tissues and repair damage, have emerged as leading therapeutic candidates due to their homing ability toward tumor foci. Stem cells can precisely target malicious tumors, thereby minimizing the toxicity of normal cells and unfavorable side effects. ASCs, such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), neural stem cells (NSCs), and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), are powerful tools for delivering therapeutic agents to various primary and metastatic cancers. Engineered ASCs act as a bridge between the tumor sites and tumoricidal reagents, producing therapeutic substances such as exosomes, viruses, and anti-cancer proteins encoded by several suicide genes. This review focuses on various anti-cancer therapies implemented via ASCs and summarizes the recent treatment progress and shortcomings.

• 대한위암학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.24-33
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• 2002

Clinical application of positron emission tomography (PET) is rapidly increasing for the detection and staging of cancer at whole-body studies performed with the glucose analogue tracer 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG). Although FDG PET cannot match the anatomic resolution of conventional imaging techniques in gastrointestinal and abdominal organs, it is particularly useful for identification and characterization of whole body at the same time. FDG PET can show foci of metastatic disease that may not be apparent at conventional anatomic imaging and can aid in the characterization of indeterminate soft-tissue masses. Most gastrointestinal cancer need to surgical management. FDG PET can improve the selection of patients for surgical treatment and thereby reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with inappropriate surgery. FDG PET is also useful for the early detection of recurrence and the monitoring of therapeutic effect. The gastrointestinal cancers, such as gastroeso-phageal cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer and pancreatic cancer, are common malignancies in Korea. PET is one of the most promising and useful methodology for the management of gastric cancer as well as other gastrointestinal cancers.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.184-190
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• 2002

Clinical application of positron emission tomography (PET) is rapidly increasing for the detection and staging of cancer at whole-body studies performed with the glucose analogue tracer 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG). Although FDG PET cannot match the anatomic resolution of conventional imaging techniques in gastrointestinal and abdominal organs, it is particularly useful for identification and characterization of whole body at the same time. FDG PET can show foci of metastatic disease that may not be apparent at conventional anatomic imaging and can aid in the characterization of indeterminate soft-tissue masses. Most gastrointestinal cancer need to surgical management. FDG PET can improve the selection of patients for surgical treatment and thereby reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with inappropriate surgery. FDG PET is also useful for the early detection of recurrence and the monitoring of therapeutic effect. The gastrointestinal cancers, such as gastroesophageal cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer and pancreatic cancer, are common malignancies in Korea. PET is one of the most promising and useful methodology for the management of gastric cancer as well as other gastrointestinal cancers.