• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.3519-3524
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• 2014

Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common cancer with poor prognosis. It has been hypothesized that Oct4 positive radioresistant stem cells may be responsible for tumor recurrence. Hence, we evaluated Oct4 expression in ESCC in pre-treatment, post neo-adjuvant residual and post-surgical recurrent tumours. Materials and Methods: Endoscopic mucosal biopsies were used to study Oct4 expression and the observations were correlated with histological tumor grades, patient data and clinical background. Results: All patients presented with dysphagia with male predominance and a wide age range. Majority of the patients had intake of mixed diet, history of alcohol and tobacco intake was documented in less than half of the patients. Oct 4 expression was significantly higher in poorly differentiated (PDSCC) and basaloid (BSCC) subtypes than the other better differentiated tumor morphology. Oct4 was also expressed by adjoining esophageal mucosa showing low grade dysplasia and basal cell hyperplasia (BCH). Biopsies in PDSCC and BSCC groups were more likely to show a positive band for Oct4 by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Dysplasia and BCH mucosa also showed Oct4 positivity by PCR. All mucosal biopsies with normal morphology were negative for Oct4. Number of tissue samples showing Oct4 positivity by PCR was higher than that by the conventional immunohistochemistry (p>0.05). Oct4 expression pattern correlated only with tumor grading, not with other parameters including the clinical background or patient data. Conclusions: Our observations highlighted a possible role of Oct4 in identifying putative cancer stem cells in ESCC pathobiology and response to treatment. The implications are either in vivo existence of Oct4 positive putative cancer stem cells in ESCC or acquisition of cancer stem cell properties by tumor cells as a response to treatment given, resulting ultimately an uncontrolled cell proliferation and treatment failure.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.291-294
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• 2006

F-18 FDG-PET/CT could be used to evaluate the surveillance of recurrent stomach cancer, but some cases reported as false-positives. The authors found an activated charcoal granuloma from intraperitoneal chemotherapy by using a curative resection and mitomycin C for stomach cancer. A mass behind the right colon that showed on CT 6 months after an operation in a 46-year-old male patient had no progression in size, but 36 months after the operation, an increase was seen on F-18 FDG-PET/CT, and a metastatic tumor was suspected. The tumor was resected by an explorative laparotomy and was diagnosed as being an activated charcoal granuloma based on the histologic finding. Based on this case, we should be reminded of the possibility of a false-positive on analysis of F-18 FDG-PET/CT caused by an activated charcoal granuloma in a patient who has intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.96-104
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of positive patch test reaction to dental materials in patients with oral mucosal diseases. Epicutaneous patch test was performed in 110 patients with oral mucosal diseases; 41 patients with oral lichen planus(OLP), 44 patients with burning mouth syndrome(BMS), 25 patients with other oral mucosal diseases including recurrent aphthous ulcer and mucous membrane pemphigoid. The obtained results were as follows: Oral gold restorations were most common in patents with oral mucosal diseases and porcelain fused metal crown, implant appeared in the order. 33 of 110 patients did not appear skin reactions (negative, 30%) and 77 patients (positive, 70%) had skin reactions including redness, rash, blisters. Dental materials causing positive reaction to patch test were mainly as gold-sodium-thiosulfate (26.7%), nickel sulfate(Ni) (22.7%), cobalt chloride(Co) (14.7%), palladium chloride(Pd) (11.9%), potassium dichromate (10.7%) in order, respectively. In conclusion, old metal restorations could be the cause of oral mucosal diseases and epicutaneous patch test could be used as a tool to improve the oral conditions.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.65-71
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• 1990

Between January,1974 and December 1980, fifty eight patients with locoregional recurrent breast carcinoma who did not have evidence of distant metastasis after initial treatment of surgery with or without adjuvant chemotherapy were treated with radiation therapy. Among them, five patients were excluded from this study because of incomplete record or incomplete treatment. The 5-year overall survival and disease free survival from the time of locoregional recurrence was $27\%\;and\;15\%$ respectively. In univariate analysis of prognostic variables, the clinical stage at initial diagnosis, recur duration, number of recurrence sites, size of recurrences, response to the treatment, remission duration were all found to have no significant effect on survival or disease free survival. On the other hand, menopausal status at initial diagnosis, number of positive node at initial surgery, whether or not the use of adjuvant chemotherapy after initial mastectomy had definite prognositc significance. In multivariate analysis of prognostic variables, remission duration, menopausal status at diagnosis, number of axillary node at mastectomy had definite prognostic significance. On the other hand, remission duration more than 12 months, premenopaus at initial mastectomy, less than four positive axillary lymph nodes at mastectomy predicted a good prognosis.

• Journal of Breast Cancer
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.382-390
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• 2018

Purpose: PIK3CA mutation is considered to be a possible cause for resistance to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer. We investigated the association between PIK3CA mutations and the outcome of NAC in HER2-positive breast cancers. Methods: A total of 100 HER2-positive breast cancer patients who had undergone NAC and surgery between 2004 and 2016 were examined. Mutation status was sequentially assessed in pre-NAC, post-NAC, and recurrent specimens taken from these patients. Results: PIK3CA mutations were identified in the sequential specimens of 17 patients (17.0%). These 17 patients experienced shorter disease-free survival (DFS) than the rest of the patients (58.3 months vs. 119.3 months, p=0.020); however, there was no significant difference in pathologic complete response (pCR) and overall survival (OS) (pCR, 17.6% vs. 33.7%, p=0.191; OS, 84.5 months vs. 118.0 months, p=0.984). While there was no difference in pCR between the wild-type and mutant PIK3CA groups in pre-NAC specimens (25.0% vs. 31.8%, p=0.199), PIK3CA mutations correlated with lower pCR in postNAC specimens (0.0% vs. 24.3%, p<0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed significantly worse DFS in the mutant PIK3CA group than in the wild-type group (hazard ratio, 3.540; 95% confidence interval, 1.001-12.589; p=0.050). Moreover, the DFS curves of the change of PIK3CA mutation status in sequential specimens were significantly different (p=0.016). Conclusion: PIK3CA mutation in HER2-positive breast cancer was correlated with a lower pCR rate and shorter DFS. These results suggest that PIK3CA mutation is a prognostic marker for NAC in HER2-positive breast cancer, especially in post-NAC specimens.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.141-152
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• 1996

Oral Lichen Planus(OLP) is a idiopathic chronic inflammatory disease with more difficult to clear and higher recurrent rate than cutaneous lesions. But, there has been no estabilished theories about the proper treatment for OLP. The purpose of this study is to examine the clinical feature, relationship with systemic disease and dental treatment of OLP patients of Korea and to gain helpful information about clinical characteristics and treatment of OLP. The subjects chosen for the study were 54 patients who had visited Department of Oral Diagnosis & Oral Medicine at Yonsei University Dental Hospital Dental Hospital and diagnosed as OLP. Previous clinical records has been reviewed and questionnaires, oral examination, laboratory examination were done and recorded. The following results were obtained : 1. Of the 54 patients, 21 were men and 33 were women with an average age of 47.8 years. 2. The most common intraoral site was bilateral buccal mucosa, followed by unilateral buccal mucosa, gingiva, vesibule, lip mucosa, glossal mucosa, palatal mucosa and mouth floor. 3. The mixed, erosive and reticular form of OLP was most frequent(83.3%) clinical form. 4. OLP patients with liver disease were 5, and drug medication patients were 7. But, we could not find its evidence of association with OLP. 5. Associated events on onset of symptom were stress, denture wearing, dental treatemtn, and common cold. 6. Associated symptoms were dry mouth, tingling, sore throat, and altered taste perception. 30.8% of patients had no specific associated symptoms. 7. Aggravating factors of symptom were peppery food, hot food, fatigue, toothpaste, salty food, sour food, tension, and conversation. Reducing factors were cold food, sleeping. 69.2% of patients had no specific reducing factors. 8. There were no significant differences between normal papulation and OLP patients in CBC, SGOT< SGPT, Serum iron, Total iron binding capacity. 66.7% of subjects were positive response to fungus study for Candida Albicans. The incidence of stress and dental treatment on onset of symptom appeared high in OLP patients. Especially, high incidence of positive response to fungus study for Candida albicans, prescription of anti-fungal agents and dental treatment considerations may be helpful to treatment of OLP.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.722-726
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• 2010

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is an uncommon inherited disorder caused by mutations in any of the genes encoding subunits of the superoxide-generating phagocyte NADPH oxidase system, which is essential for killing catalase producing bacteria and fungi, such as $Aspergillus$ species, $Staphylococcus$ $aureus$, $Serratia$ $marcescens$, $Nocardia$ species and $Burkholderia$ $cepacia$. In case of a history of recurrent or persistent infections, immune deficiency should be investigated. Particularly, in the case of uncommon infections such as aspergillosis in early life, CGD should be considered. We describe here a case of CGD that presented with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in a 2-month-old girl. We confirmed pulmonary aspergillosis noninvasively through a positive result from the culture of bronchial alveolar lavage fluid, positive serological test for $Aspergillus$ antigen and radiology results. She was successfully treated with Amphotericin B and recombinant IFN-${\gamma}$ initially. Six weeks later after discharge, she was readmitted for pneumonia. Since there were infiltrates on the right lower lung, which were considered as residual lesions, voriconazole therapy was initiated. She showed a favorable response to the treatment and follow-up CT showed regression of the pulmonary infiltrates.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.157-159
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• 2012

The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of PCR for diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis infection among male patients with chronic recurrent prostatitis and urethritis. Between June 2001 and December 2003, a total of 33 patients visited the Department of Urology, Hanyang University Guri Hospital and were examined for T. vaginalis infection by PCR and culture in TYM medium. For the PCR, we used primers based on a repetitive sequence cloned from T. vaginalis (TV-E650). Voided bladder urine (VB1 and VB3) was sampled from 33 men with symptoms of lower urinary tract infection (urethral charge, residual urine sensation, and frequency). Culture failed to detect any T. vaginalis infection whereas PCR identified 7 cases of trichomoniasis (21.2%). Five of the 7 cases had been diagnosed with prostatitis and 2 with urethritis. PCR for the 5 prostatitis cases yielded a positive 330 bp band from bothVB1 and VB3, whereas positive results were only obtained from VB1 for the 2 urethritis patients. We showed that the PCR method could detect T. vaginalis when there was only 1 T. vaginalis cell per PCR mixture. Our results strongly support the usefulness of PCR on urine samples for detecting T. vaginalis in chronic prostatitis and urethritis patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.3973-3976
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• 2015

Objectives: To explore the expression of aquaporin 1 ($AQP_1$) in bladder uroepithelium cell carcinoma (BUCC) and its relevance to recurrence. Materials and Methods: Tissue samples from 45 BUCC patients who underwent total cystectomy or transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) and from 40 patients with non-bladder cancers who underwent special detection or treatments were collected. The level of expression of $AQP_1$ in BUCC tissues and normal bladder tissues was assessed by immunohistochemistry so as to analyze the relevance to pathological patterns and time of recurrence in BUCC patients. Results: The expression levels of $AQP_1$ normal bladder tissues and BUCC tissues were $2.175{\pm}0.693$ and $3.689{\pm}0.701$, respectively, and the difference was significant (t=9.99, P<0.0001). Marked increase was noted with BUCC histological grade and pathological stage (P<0.01). Moreover, the expression of $AQP_1$ was evidently higher in cancerous tissues with lymph node metastasis than in those without (P<0.01). With short-term recurrence, the positive cell expression rate of $AQP_1$ was higher in primary tissues, which increased obviously after recurrence. Additionally, the recurrent time of BUCC was negatively associated with the positive cell expression rate of $AQP_1$ and the difference between the expression of $AQP_1$ before and after recurrence (r=-0.843, F=39.302, P=0.000; r=-0.829, F=35.191, P=0.000). Conclusions: $AQP_1$, which reflects the grade, stage, lymph node metastasis and recurrence of BUCC, has potential guiding significance in the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancarcinoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5625-5633
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• 2015

Background: ${\beta}$-catenin plays a crucial role in the progression of breast cancer (BC) and a prognostic role of in BC patients has been widely reported. However, controversy still remains. Materials and Methods: Identical search strategies were used to search relevant literature in electronic databases updated to July 1, 2014. Individual hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were extracted and pooled HRs with 95%CIs were used to evaluate the strength of association between positive ${\beta}$-catenin expression in different subcellular locations and survival results of BC patients. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses were performed to explore heterogeneity. Funnel plots of Begg's and Egger's linear regression test were used to investigate publication bias. Heterogeneity and sensitivity were also assessed. All the work was completed using STATA. Results: A total of 2,204 patients from 12 evaluative studies were finally included. Pooled HRs and 95%CIs suggested that ${\beta}$-catenin expression in cytoplasm/nucleus had an unfavorable impact on both overall survival (OS) (HR: 1.93, 95%CI: 1.40-2.65) and disease free survival (DFS)/ recurrent free survival (RFS) (HR: 1.60, 95%CI: 1.20-2.13) in BC patients. However, here was no significant association between ${\beta}$-catenin expression in the membranes with OS (HR: 0.65, 95%CI: 0.42-1.02) or DFS/RFS (HR: 0.66, 95%CI: 0.38-1.13). Publication bias was absent in all of the four outcomes. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the results of this meta-analysis were robust. Conclusions: Positive ${\beta}$-catenin expression in cytoplasm/nucleus rather than in membrane is a significant prognostic factor in patients with BC who have been surgically treated.