• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권24호
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• pp.10855-10860
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• 2015

Background: The study aimed to investigate the analgesic effect of a combination of intravenous flurbiprofen axetil and opioids, and evaluate the relationship between refractory pain relief and plasma ${\beta}$-endorphin levels in cancer patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 cancer patients was randomly divided into two groups, 60 patients took orally morphine sulfate sustained-release tablets in group A, and another 60 patients receiving the combination treatment of intravenous flurbiprofen axetil and opioid drugs in group B. After 7 days, pain relief, quality of life improvement and side effects were evaluated. Furthermore, plasma ${\beta}$-endorphin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. Results: With the combination treatment of intravenous intravenous flurbiprofen axetil and opioids, the total effective rate of pain relief rose to 91.4%, as compared to 82.1% when morphine sulfate sustained-release tablet was used alone. Compared with that of group A, the analgesic effect increased in group B (p=0.031). Moreover, satisfactory pain relief was associated with a significant increase in plasma ${\beta}$-endorphin levels. After the treatment, plasma ${\beta}$-endorphin level in group B was $62.4{\pm}13.5pg/ml$, which was higher than that in group A ($45.8{\pm}11.2pg/ml$) (p<0.05). Conclusions: Our results suggest the combination of intravenous flurbiprofen axetil and opioids can enhance the analgesic effect of opioid drugs by increasing plasma ${\beta}$-endorphin levels, which would offer a selected and reliable strategy for refractory cancer pain treatment.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제56권1호
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• pp.71-74
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• 2014

Cancer-related facial pain refractory to pharmacologic management or nondestructive means is a major indication for destructive pain surgery. Stereotactic mesencephalotomy can be a valuable procedure in the management of cancer pain involving the upper extremities or the face, with the assistance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electrophysiologic mapping. A 72-year-old man presented with a 3-year history of intractable left-sided facial pain. When pharmacologic and nondestructive measures failed to provide pain alleviation, he was reexamined and diagnosed with inoperable hard palate cancer with intracranial extension. During the concurrent chemoradiation treatment, his cancer-related facial pain was aggravated and became medically intractable. After careful consideration, MRI-based stereotactic mesencephalotomy was performed at a point 5 mm behind the posterior commissure, 6 mm lateral to and 5 mm below the intercommissural plane using a 2-mm electrode, with the temperature of the electrode raised to $80^{\circ}C$ for 60 seconds. Up until now, the pain has been relatively well-controlled by intermittent intraventricular morphine injection and oral opioids, with the pain level remaining at visual analogue scale 4 or 5. Stereotactic mesencephalotomy with the use of high-resolution MRI and electrophysiologic localization is a valuable procedure in patients with cancer-related facial pain.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제5권1호
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• pp.99-102
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• 1992

Severe intractable pain with paresthesia and severe dyspnea produced by lung cancer involving both brachial plexuses, refractory to ordinary pharmacologic approaches, was managed by epidural morphine and bupivacaine administration with the continuous Baxter infusion system. Chest pain, which is somatic pain in character, was well managed with the epidural morphine and bupivacaine administrations. However paresthesia and tingling sensation of the hand and forearm were poorly controlled by epidural morphine, and were finally managed by bolus epidural injections of bupivacaine. Supportive therapy included epidural steroid injection and TENS, but the effect was not satisfactory. Severe dyspnea seemed to aggrevate cancer related pain.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.240-245
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• 2007

It is important to treat cancer-related pain in cancer patients to ensure the life quality of the patient, as well as to improve their life span. It has been estimated that at least 5% of cancer patients have pain refractory to medical treatment. Therefore, the need for epidural or intrathecal analgesia with opioids and local anesthetics is indicated if systemic treatment has failed. Intrathecal catheter placement and implantation of the injection port for administration of opioids and local anesthetics may improve pain relief in patients who are unresponsive to epidural routes. Although intrathecal implantation has several complications, similar infection rates have been reported between intrathecal and epidural administration. In addition, intrathecal administration showed better outcomes, including improved pain control, lowered daily doses, and an improvement in the level of drowsiness experienced when compared to epidural administration. We report here a case in which a terminal cancer patient was treated using an intrathecal catheter and subcutaneous port. The patient had cancer-related pain that could not be controlled by epidural opioid administration. Based on the results presented here, we suggest that intrathecal implantation is a feasible long term pain management method for intractable cancer pain patients.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.230-234
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• 2007

A diagnosis of shoulder pain is varied and difficult to make. The initial onset of liver cancer is difficult to detect and patients typically do not complain of symptoms as most tumors are asymptomatic. If the symptoms of the patients develop, the first symptom is usually pain that extends from the abdomen to the back and shoulder. A suprascapular nerve block is used in the treatment of the referred shoulder pain due to a metastatic hepatoma, but the effectiveness of the treatment has been limited because of its short duration. Recently, the advent of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) lesioning has proved a successful treatment for chronic refractory pain involving the peripheral nerves. We experienced a case of a 66-year-old male patient complaining of referred right shoulder pain due to metastatic liver cancer, which was relieved after PRF lesioning of the suprascapular nerve.

• 대한한방내과학회지
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.466-477
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• 2013

Objectives : To report and demonstrate the effect of decreasing ascites volume by SB intraperitoneal injection to a refractory ascites patient with synchronous colorectal liver metastasis and metachronous peritoneal carcinomatosis. Methods : Two cycles of intraperitoneal and intravenous SB injection were conducted. Each injection cycle was made up of 4 days. Nine vials of SB were injected to the patient every day. To compare the volume of ascites between pret- and post-treatment, follow-up computed tomography was done on June 3, 2013. To observe other therapeutic effects of SB injection, laboratory tests were conducted periodically. Results : On the follow-up computed tomography images, the amount of ascites and pleural effusion had decreased compared to the April 30, 2013 computed tomography images. The levels of aspartate transaminase, alanine aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase decreased significantly from May 9, to May 30, 2013. The amount of oral intake increased constantly during hospitalization. The patient's symptoms such as abdominal distension, abdominal pain and dyspnea were improving until discharge. Conclusions : Even if thiese results cannot be applied to every synchronous colorectal cancer liver metastasis patient, we demonstrated that SB intraperitoneal injection has ascites-decreasing effect to refractory ascites patients with synchronous colorectal liver metastasis and metachronous peritoneal carcinomatosis.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.53-56
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• 2016

Sacroiliac (SI) joint pain can result from degeneration, infection, malignancy, and trauma. Patients with metastatic bone pain who do not respond to conventional treatment may need more aggressive neuroinvasive approaches. Recently, pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) neuromodulation has emerged as a promising treatment alternative for refractory cases of SI joint pain. Nevertheless, there is no report on the treatment of pain arising from SI joint metastases with PRF. We are reporting about a 63-year-old woman suffering from buttock pain due to breast cancer metastases in the SI joint. We treated this patient with PRF neuromodulation of the L4-S3 primary dorsal rami and lateral branches using a rotating curved needle technique. The patient tolerated the procedures well, without any complications. She experienced about 70% reduction in pain, and pain relief was sustained for 10 months. This result suggests that PRF neuromodulation is a safe, effective treatment for pain from SI joint metastases.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• 제26권6호
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• pp.1327-1334
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• 2015

난치성 암환자의 암성통증은 암환자의 삶의 질을 지극히 떨어뜨리는 중요한 요인이다. 전 세계적으로 암성 통증을 줄이기 위한 노력으로 양방과 한방의 통합적 치료방법이 증가하는 추세이다. 국내외 적으로도 통합적 접근을 통한 암성통증과 관련된 연구가 지속적으로 이루어지고 있으며 암 치료에 있어서는 화학요법으로 인한 오심이나 구토를 조절하기 위해 표준화된 항구토제와 병용한 침 치료가 효과적임을 보고한 무작위대조군 임상연구가 있다. 여러 연구에서 암으로 인한 피로, 방사선 치료로 인한 구강 건조증, 그리고 불면, 불안, 삶의 질 등에 침치료가 효과적이라고 보고한 바 있다. 그러나 침치료의 실제적인 임상적 효과와 다양한 증례 보고 에도 불구하고, 침을 이용한 통합치료의 진통 감소효과의 유의성에 대해서는 아직 이견이 많다. 이에 따라 본 연구에서는 전 세계 출판된 논문검색을 통하여 침을 이용한 양 한방 통합치료로 인해 암성통증의 감소효과를 파악하고 각 논문에서 제시하는 값을 종합하여 침을 이용한 통합치료의 효과가 어느 정도인지를 평가하기 보았다.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.106-110
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• 2008

완화적 진정은 임종이 임박한 불응성 증상을 가진 환자들에게 고려될 수 있는 치료이지만 부적절한 진정으로 인한 윤리적인 문제가 쟁점이 된다. 본 증례는 수차례항암화학요법과 완화적 방사선 치료에도 불구하고 진행되는 다발성 뼈 전이를 동반한 전이성 위암을 가진 50세 남자에게 완화적 진정을 시행했던 예를 권고안에 비추어 후향적 검토하였다. 환자는 표준적인 통증경감치료에 불응성으로 판단되었고 환자의 의사결정능력 부족으로 환자보호자에게 완화적 진정에 대한 치료 목적 및 예견되는 부작용을 설명한 후 midazolam으로 완화적 진정을 시작하였다. 본 증례에 통하여 완화적 진정의 적응, 완화적 진정의 시작 전 의사 결정, 완화적 진정 시작, 완화적 진정 시작 후의 돌봄에 대한 토의를 하였고 국내실정을 반영한 권고안 마련을 제의하는 바이다.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• 제3권2호
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• pp.82-88
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• 2015

위에 발생하는 암 중 위 림프종이 1-6% 가량을 차지하고 있고, 이 중 50% 가량이 MALT 림프종이다. MALT 림프종의 60-70% 가량은 조기, 국소병기에서 진단된다. 위 MALT 림프종은 일반적으로 그 진행이 매우 느리며 상복부 통증, 소화불량, 오심, 구토 등의 비특이적인 증상을 보인다. 진단은 조직학적으로 진단하며, 헬리코박터필로리 연관 만성 위염에서 보이는 염증성 병변과의 감별을 위해 Wotherspoon score를 이용한다. 여러 연구를 통해 위 MALT 림프종이 헬리코박터필로리 감염과 관련이 있다는 것이 밝혀져 있고, 3세염색체증, 18세염색체증, t(11;18), t(1;14), t(14;18), t(3;14) 등 여러 유전적 이상을 가질 수 있는 것으로 알려져 있다. 적절한 치료 방침을 결정하기 위해 병기를 결정하는 것은 매우 중요하며, Lugano International Conference classification을 주로 사용한다. 위 MALT 림프종의 1차 치료는 헬리코박터필로리 감염 유무 및 병기와 관계없이 헬리코박터필로리 제균치료이다. Stage I/II1 환자의 경우 제균치료로 60-90%의 완전 완화율을 보인다. 제균치료에 반응이 없는 경우에는 방사선치료, 항암화학요법, 면역치료 등을 시행해 볼 수 있고, 75-100%의 완전완화율을 보인다. 향후 헬리코박터필로리의 감염율이 감소하면서 위 MALT 림프종의 발생도 감소할 것으로 기대된다. 또한 향후 치료방침 확립을 위해 지속적인 연구가 필요할 것으로 생각한다.