• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.161-168
• /
• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this paper (a literature review study) was to confirm the trend of nursing research for head and neck cancer patients in Korea. Methods: Research databases were reviewed and analyzed from 13 papers (2004 through 2019 using KISS, NDSL, RISS, DBpia, and the National Assembly Library. As a result of this paper, we found that there were many studies that used questionnaires. Results: Measurement variables related to head and neck cancer patients were physical variables related to oral condition, psychological variables related to depression and anxiety, social support, family support related to family, and quality of life as a result variable. Conclusion: Therefore, integrated nursing intervention strategies and clinical nursing research considering the physical, psychological, social, and family aspects of head and neck cancer patients are needed. Based on the results of this study, we propose qualitative research on head and neck cancer patients, development of educational programs, intervention studies to verify effects, and development of clinical practice guidelines.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.83-86
• /
• 2023

Angiomyolipomas are usually found in the kidneys of patients with tuberous sclerosis. They occur less frequently in organs such as the liver, the oral cavity, the nasal cavity, the heart, the large intestines, and the lungs. Angiomyolipomas of the skin are extremely rare, and cutaneous angiomyolipomas generally occur on the elbow, the ends of digits, the ear, and the glabella. Herein we present a rare case of angiomyolipoma occurring on the face-specifically, the right upper eyelid. We propose that upper eyelid angiomyolipoma is a hamartomatous, rather than neoplastic, lesion. Although angiomyolipoma in the periocular area is rare, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of clinically benign masses. and regular follow-up is warranted.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.229-234
• /
• 2016

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to investigate the demographic patterns of maxillofacial prosthetic treatment to identify the characteristics and geographic distribution of patients with maxillofacial prosthetics in the capital region of Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS. This retrospective analytical multicenter study was performed by chart reviews. This study included patients who visited the department of prosthodontics at four university dental hospitals for maxillofacial prosthetic rehabilitation. Patients with facial and congenital defects or with insufficient medical data were excluded. The patients were classified into three categories based on the location of the defect. Patients' sex, age, and residential area were analyzed. Pearson's chi-square test with a significance level of 0.05 was used to analyze the variables. RESULTS. Among 540 patients with maxillofacial prosthetics, there were 284 (52.59%) male patients and 256 (47.41%) female patients. The number of the patients varied greatly by hospital. Most patients were older than 70, and the most common defect was a hard palate defect. Chi-square analysis did not identify any significant differences in sex, age, and distance to hospital for any defect group (P>.05). CONCLUSION. The results of this study indicated that there was imbalance in the distribution of patients with maxillofacial prosthetic among the hospitals in the capital region of Korea. Considerations on specialists and insurance policies for the improvement of maxillofacial prosthetics in Korea are required.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.177-181
• /
• 2016

Purpose: The International Organization for Standardization-5fluorouracil (FU) 10 trial found that bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin was not inferior to S-1 in the treatment of gastric cancer (GC). Continuous 5-FU and the rapid injection of 5-FU have different anti-cancer effects. Thus, bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin treatment might be useful for oral FU-resistant GC. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of all patients with S-1 or capecitabine-resistant, unresectable, or recurrent GC treated with bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin between January 2010 and December 2015 at Hokkaido University Hospital. The bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin regimen consisted of intravenous l-leucovorin ($250mg/m^2/2h$) and bolus 5-FU ($600mg/m^2$) administered once weekly followed by a 2-week rest period; each cycle was repeated every 8 weeks. Results: A total of 14 patients were identified. The disease control rate was 35.7%. The median progression-free survival was 1.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3~2.0 months), and the median overall survival was 6.3 months (95% CI, 4.7~7.9 months). No patient died from treatment-related causes. The most common severe adverse event associated with bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin was neutropenia, which occurred in 21.4% of patients. Conclusions: Bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin treatment might be useful for oral FU-resistant GC. We are planning a multi-center prospective phase II trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin treatment for pre-treated unresectable or recurrent GC to confirm the results of this limited, retrospective study.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.42.1-42.17
• /
• 2021

Salivary gland carcinoma (SGC) is rare cancer, constituting 6% of neoplasms in the head and neck area. The most responsible genes and pathways involved in the pathology of this disorder have not been fully understood. We aimed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs), the most critical hub genes, transcription factors, signaling pathways, and biological processes (BPs) associated with the pathogenesis of primary SGC. The mRNA dataset GSE153283 in the Gene Expression Omnibus database was re-analyzed for determining DEGs in cancer tissue of patients with primary SGC compared to the adjacent normal tissue (adjusted p-value < 0.001; |Log2 fold change| > 1). A protein interaction map (PIM) was built, and the main modules within the network were identified and focused on the different pathways and BP analyses. The hub genes of PIM were discovered, and their associated gene regulatory network was built to determine the master regulators involved in the pathogenesis of primary SGC. A total of 137 genes were found to be differentially expressed in primary SGC. The most significant pathways and BPs that were deregulated in the primary disease condition were associated with the cell cycle and fibroblast proliferation procedures. TP53, EGF, FN1, NOTCH1, EZH2, COL1A1, SPP1, CDKN2A, WNT5A, PDGFRB, CCNB1, and H2AFX were demonstrated to be the most critical genes linked with the primary SGC. SPIB, FOXM1, and POLR2A significantly regulate all the hub genes. This study illustrated several hub genes and their master regulators that might be appropriate targets for the therapeutic aims of primary SGC.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.237-244
• /
• 2020

Endometrial cancer (EC) in young women tends to be early-stage and low-grade; therefore, such cases have good prognoses. Fertility-sparing treatment with progestin is a potential alternative to definitive treatment (i.e., total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, pelvic washing, and/or lymphadenectomy) for selected patients. However, no evidence-based consensus or guidelines yet exist, and this topic is subject to much debate. Generally, the ideal candidates for fertility-sparing treatment have been suggested to be young women with grade 1 endometrioid adenocarcinoma confined to the endometrium. Magnetic resonance imaging should be performed to rule out myometrial invasion and extrauterine disease before initiating fertility-sparing treatment. Although various fertility-sparing treatment methods exist, including the levonorgestrel-intrauterine system, metformin, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, photodynamic therapy, and hysteroscopic resection, the most common method is high-dose oral progestin (medroxyprogesterone acetate at 500-600 mg daily or megestrol acetate at 160 mg daily). During treatment, re-evaluation of the endometrium with dilation and curettage at 3 months is recommended. Although no consensus exists regarding the ideal duration of maintenance treatment after achieving regression, it is reasonable to consider maintaining the progestin therapy until pregnancy with individualization. According to the literature, the ovarian stimulation drugs used for fertility treatments appear safe. Hysterectomy should be performed after childbearing, and hysterectomy without oophorectomy can also be considered for young women. The available evidence suggests that fertility-sparing treatment is effective and does not appear to worsen the prognosis. If an eligible patient strongly desires fertility despite the risk of recurrence, the clinician should consider fertility-sparing treatment with close follow-up.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.528-534
• /
• 2005

Angiogenesis is important for the growth and metastasis of solid tumors. Some growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, and angiogenin are known to promote tumor angiogenesis. Among them, Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the most intriguing factor in regard to tumor angiogenesis. Inhibition of VEGF activity by neutralizing antibodies or by the introduction of dominant negative VEGF receptors into endothelial cells of tumor-associated blood vessels resulted in the inhibition of tumor growth and in tumor regression, indicating that VEGF is a major initiator of tumor angiogenesis. VEGF promotes angiogenesis through their receptors, Flt-1 and Flk-1/KDR. on vascular endothelial cells. These two receptors were usually believed to be expressed specifically on vascular endothelial cell. Several reports have now shown that VEGF is not only significantly associated with microvessel density but also has prognostic value in both node-negative and node-positive oral squamous cell carcinoma. For many years several histologic features of the neoplasms are being considered when assessing the influence of malignancy grading on recurrence and prognosis. Among the characteristics investigated, degree of keratinization, nuclear pleomorphism, mode of invasion, microscopic depth of invasion, intravascular invasion, lymphocyte infiltration, and number of mitoses have been considered as important prognostic factors. So, this study was conducted to evaluate the correlation of vascular endothelial growth factor expression with malignancy in paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens from 11 patients with tongue cancers. Our results showed that high immunoreactivity specimens of VEGF expression were significantly lower keratinization degree and more pronounced nuclear pleomorphism than in low immunoreactivity specimens. Thus, VEGF expression could be used as a prognostic marker in tongue cancer.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.41-46
• /
• 2003

Background and Objectives: Surgical ablation of tumors in the oral cavity and the oropharynx results in a three dimensional defect because of the needs to resect the adjacent area for the surgical margin. Although a variety of techniques are available, radial forearm free flap has been known as an effective method for this defect, which offers a thin, pliable, and relatively hairless skin and a long vascular pedicle. We report the clinical results of our 54 consecutive radial forearm free flaps used for oral cavity and oropharynx cancers. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the medical records of patients who were offered intraoral reconstruction with a radial forearm free flap after ablative surgery for oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers from August 1994 to February 2003 and analyzed surgical methods, flap survival rate, complication, and functional results. Among these, 20 cases were examined with modified barium swallow to evaluate postoperative swallowing function and other 8 cases with articulation and resonance test for speech. We examined recovery of sensation with two-point discrimination test in 15 cases who were offered sensate flaps. Results: The primary sites were as follows : mobile tongue (18), tonsil (17), floor of mouth (4), base of tongue (2), soft palate (2), retromolar trigone (3), buccal mucosa (1), oro-hypopharynx (6), and lower lip (1). The paddles of flaps were tailored in multilobed designs from oval shape to tetralobed design and in variable size according to the defects after ablation. This procedures resulted in satisfactory flap success rate (96.3%) and showed good swallowing function and social speech. Eight of 15 cases (53.3%) who had offered sensate flap showed recovery of sensation between 1 and 6 postoperative months (average 2.6 month). Conclusion: The reconstruction with radial forearm free flap might be an excellent method for the maximal functional results after ablative surgery of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers that results in multidimensional defect.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.58-64
• /
• 2013

Alpha-fetoprotein-producing gastric cancer is associated with poor prognosis because of frequent liver and lymph node metastasis. We present a case with synchronous liver metastasis who survived for 5 years. A 69-year-old man with upper abdominal pain was referred to our hospital. Gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a Borrmann II-like tumor in the lower part of the stomach. Computed tomography revealed a tumor in the left lobe of the liver. Serum alpha-fetoprotein levels were markedly increased. We performed distal gastrectomy after administering oral tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil potassium and administered hepatic intra-arterial cisplatin injection. Liver metastasis showed partial response on computed tomography. Despite left hepatic lobectomy, further metastases to the liver and mediastinal lymph nodes became difficult to control. After sorafenib tosylate administration, stabilization of the disease was observed for 4 months. We conclude that hepatic intra-arterial chemotherapy and oral administration of sorafenib tosylate may potentially improve the prognosis in such cases.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.73 no.3
• /
• pp.182-186
• /
• 2012

Cryptococcosis is an invasive fungal infection, which is more common in immunocompromised patients. However, pulmonary cryptococcosis can occur in immunocompetent patients and should be considered on a differential diagnosis for nodular or mass-like lesions in chest radiograph. Recently, we experienced a patient with pulmonary cryptococcosis, successfully treated with oral fluconazole therapy. A 74-year-old female patient was referred for an evaluation of abnormal images, a large consolidative mass with multiple nodular consolidations and small nodules that mimics primary lung cancer with multiple lung to lung metastases. Computed tomography-guided lung biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of pulmonary cryptococcosis. The follow-up image taken after 4 months with oral fluconazole treatment showed marked improvement.