• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.54 no.5
• /
• pp.356-360
• /
• 2021

Background: Primary pulmonary malignant mesenchymal tumors are rare, constituting only 0.4% of all lung cancers. Since sarcomas are chemo/radio-resistant, surgical resection is the optimal treatment choice for patients with suitable medical conditions and tumor stage. In the present study, we analyzed the surgical outcomes and survival of primary pulmonary malignant mesenchymal tumors treated surgically. Methods: We retrospectively examined the records of patients with primary pulmonary malignant mesenchymal tumors who underwent surgical resection at our department between January 2010 and December 2020. Patient data were analyzed according to age, sex, tumor grade and stage, resection completeness, surgical type, and tumor histopathology. Results: Twenty patients were included in the study. There were 13 men (65%) and 7 women (35%). The median survival rate was 36 months (range, 19-53 months), and the 5-year overall survival rate was 37%. Unfavorable prognostic factors for overall survival included parietal pleural invasion (p=0.02), high tumor grade (p=0.02), advanced tumor stage (p=0.02), and extensive parenchymal resection (pneumonectomy and bilobectomy, p=0.01). The median length of disease-free survival was 31 months (interquartile range, 21-41 months), and the 5-year disease-free survival rate was 32%. The most unfavorable prognostic factors for recurrence were parietal pleural invasion (p=0.02), high tumor grade (p=0.01), and tumors requiring lung resection with chest wall resection (p=0.02). Conclusion: Primary malignant mesenchymal lung tumors are aggressive and have a high mortality rate. However, acceptable overall and disease-free survival rates can be obtained with surgical therapy.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.79.1-79.14
• /
• 2021

Background: In contrast to human medicine, only a small number of serum tumor markers are established in veterinary medicine even though they are a non-invasive diagnostic tool. Objectives: This study examined whether survivin could be suitable as a potential canine serum tumor marker. Methods: This study measured the serum survivin concentrations of dogs with mammary tumors (n = 33), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 9), soft-tissue sarcoma (n = 18) and multicentric lymphoma (n = 22), using a commercially available, competitive immunoassay kit (BlueGene). The serum survivin concentrations were compared with those of a healthy control group (n = 20) and a control group of dogs with non-neoplastic diseases (n = 17). Results: Dogs with malignant tumors had serum survivin concentrations between 15 and 5,906 pg/mL (median, 72 pg/mL), those in the healthy group ranged from 7 to 99 pg/mL (median, 21 pg/mL) and those in the group of dogs suffering from non-neoplastic diseases from 15 to 93 pg/mL (median, 42 pg/mL). The differences in the survivin concentrations between the healthy dogs and dogs with malignant tumors and between the dogs with non-neoplastic diseases and those with malignant tumors were significant (p < 0.001 and p = 0.006, respectively). Conclusions: The serum survivin concentrations in dogs with malignant tumors, with some exceptions, are higher than in dogs with benign tumors and dogs that do not suffer from a malignancy. Therefore, survivin can provide information on the presence of malignant tumors and be used as a tumor marker in dogs.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.118-128
• /
• 2021

Purpose: To investigate the value of MR textural analysis, including use of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to differentiate malignant from benign soft-tissue tumors on 3T MRI. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 69 patients (25 men, 44 women, ages 18 to 84 years) with pathologically confirmed soft-tissue tumors (29 benign, 40 malignant) who underwent pre-treatment 3T-MRI. We calculated MR texture, including mean, standard deviation (SD), skewness, kurtosis, mean of positive pixels (MPP), and entropy, according to different spatial-scale factors (SSF, 0, 2, 4, 6) on axial T1- and T2-weighted images (T1WI, T2WI), contrast-enhanced T1WI (CE-T1WI), high b-value DWI (800 sec/mm²), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map. We used the Mann-Whitney U test, logistic regression, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for statistical analysis. Results: Malignant soft-tissue tumors had significantly lower mean values of DWI, ADC, T2WI and CE-T1WI, MPP of ADC, and CE-T1WI, but significantly higher kurtosis of DWI, T1WI, and CE-T1WI, and entropy of DWI, ADC, and T2WI than did benign tumors (P < 0.050). In multivariate logistic regression, the mean ADC value (SSF, 6) and kurtosis of CE-T1WI (SSF, 4) were independently associated with malignancy (P ≤ 0.009). A multivariate model of MR features worked well for diagnosis of malignant soft-tissue tumors (AUC, 0.909). Conclusion: Accurate diagnosis could be obtained using MR textural analysis with DWI and CE-T1WI in differentiating benign from malignant soft-tissue tumors.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.555-565
• /
• 2021

Melon fruits are a year-old plant in the family Cucurbitae and are the most cultivated fruit in tropical countries. Melon flesh is an important source of anti-cancer, antioxidant effects, attracting attention as a functional food. We investigated the morphological properties, β-carotene content, and cucumisin activity of seeds of 58 melon genetic resources. Melon resources have shown various morphological properties. Melons grouped by morphological properties were the five groups. β-carotene content varied between 82.34 mg/kg, 86.75 mg/kg, 25.56 mg/kg, 86.25 mg/kg, and 54.65 mg/kg. Between β-carotene, cucumisin activity and other quantitative fruit morphological properties, the color of the pulp and the firmness of the pulp had a significant amount of correlation between the β-carotene content. However, cucumisin activity and β-carotene content had significant negative correlation, and the color of the fruit and shape of the fruit had significant negative correlation with β-carotene content and activity of cucumisin. Our study vindicated that high diversity in melon morphological characters of genetic sources that provide beneficial baseline data for the future and in the activity of β-carotene and cucumisin, and these results could predict indicators of β-carotene content by the length of leaf, the width of fruit, the length of joint, and the length of seed, and collectively the morphological properties of melons could help predict indicators of β-carotene content and help develop functional sarcoma and farmhouse cultivation.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.44 no.11
• /
• pp.784-794
• /
• 2021

Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a mesenchymal malignancy with a complex karyotype. Despite accumulated evidence, the factors contributing to the development of LMS are unclear. Here, we investigated the role of tight-junction protein 1 (TJP1), a membrane-associated intercellular barrier protein during the development of LMS and the tumor microenvironment. We orthotopically transplanted SK-LMS-1 cells and their derivatives in terms of TJP1 expression by intramuscular injection, such as SK-LMS-1 Sh-Control cells and SK-LMS-1 Sh-TJP1. We observed robust tumor growth in mice transplanted with LMS cell lines expressing TJP1 while no tumor mass was found in mice transplanted with SK-LMS-1 Sh-TJP1 cells with silenced TJP1 expression. Tissues from mice were stained and further analyzed to clarify the effects of TJP1 expression on tumor development and the tumor microenvironment. To identify the TJP1-dependent factors important in the development of LMS, genes with altered expression were selected in SK-LMS-1 cells such as cyclinD1, CSF1 and so on. The top 10% of highly expressed genes in LMS tissues were obtained from public databases. Further analysis revealed two clusters related to cell proliferation and the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, integrated analyses of the gene expression networks revealed correlations among TJP1, CSF1 and CTLA4 at the mRNA level, suggesting a possible role for TJP1 in the immune environment. Taken together, these results imply that TJP1 contributes to the development of sarcoma by proliferation through modulating cell-cell aggregation and communication through cytokines in the tumor microenvironment and might be a beneficial therapeutic target.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.444-447
• /
• 2022

Reconstruction of soft tissue defects around the knee is challenging, and the most common solution is to use various locoregional flaps or, in some difficult cases, a free flap. The distally based anterolateral thigh (dALT) flap is a commonly used flap that relies on reverse blood flow from the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery (d-LCFA). Here, we present the case of an anteromedial knee reconstruction using a dALT flap after resection of a pleomorphic undifferentiated sarcoma. The tumor resection resulted in a 14 × 7 cm defect, and a dALT flap, measuring 20 × 8 cm was elevated. During the surgery, we found a robust oblique branch of the LCFA (o-LCFA) sending off two sizable perforators to the anterolateral thigh region, whereas the d-LCFA was relatively small with no usable perforators. Therefore, we harvested a dALT flap relying on reverse flow from the o-LCFA. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful, and the flap survived without complications. This report demonstrates that reverse flow from the o-LCFA may be an alternative to nourish a dALT flap in cases where the d-LCFA is hypoplastic or suitable perforators from the d-LCFA are unavailable.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.30-39
• /
• 2024

Black chestnut (BC) was obtained through aging of fresh chestnut (FC) at 80℃ for 15 days. Proximate and mineral compositions along with colors of FC and BC were evaluated. With aging, moisture contents decreased by 50%, whereas sugar contents, carbohydrate contents, and calories increased. Contents of minerals (Fe, P, Ca, Na, Mg, K) were significantly higher in FC than in BC, showing an order of Mg < Ca < P < K in both FC and BC. Using a Hunter color system, it was found that lightness (L), redness (a), and yellowness (b) values of FC were higher than those of BC. Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of hot water and ethanol (50, 80, 100%) extracts prepared from FC and BC were evaluated. Extraction yields were lower with FC than with BC. Among water and ethanol extracts, water extract showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity for both FC and BC. IC₅₀ values for ABTS+ radical scavenging activities increased after aging. Cytotoxicities of FC and BC extracts were similar to each other. They were different against various cell lines (3T3, HeLa, and Sarcoma-180). These results suggest that BC could be used as a new processed food using chestnut.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.83 no.3
• /
• pp.687-692
• /
• 2022

Male breast cancer is rare, accounting for approximately 1% of breast cancers. Metastasis from extra-mammary malignancy to the breast in men is extremely rare. The most common primary tumors that metastasize to the breast in male are prostate, lung, stomach, colorectal cancer, melanoma, and sarcoma. To our knowledge, only a few cases of bladder cancer presenting with metastasis to the male breast have been reported, and metastasis with infiltration rather than mass is extremely rare. We report imaging findings on mammography and ultrasonography in a 59-year-old male with bladder cancer metastatic to the breast.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.49-53
• /
• 2024

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare soft tissue sarcoma, with an incidence of about 0.8% to 5% per million people per year, accounting for 1% of soft tissue sarcomas. In its early stage, DFSP is typically found as a violet or pinkish macule or patch, and it can develop into a palpable mass with ulceration or bleeding. The standard treatment for DFSP is wide local excision of the tumor with a 2- to 3-cm negative margin, and radiation therapy or chemotherapy can be conducted with surgical treatment. A 35-year-old man had a palpable mass on the left side of his occipital scalp without color change, ulceration, or bleeding, which typically are present in malignancy. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan showed a 3-cm homogenous enhanced mass without adhesion between the scalp and the mass. Unexpectedly, a biopsy revealed the round mass to be DFSP. A wide excision and rotation of the scalp flap were performed. The patient recovered without any complications and received adjuvant radiotherapy at a dose of 60 Gray (Gy) for six weeks. There was no recurrence through six months of follow-up. Here we report this unique case of DFSP with atypical presentation.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.50 no.6
• /
• pp.615-620
• /
• 2023

Massive localized lymphedema (MLL) is a rare disease caused by the obstruction of lymphatic vessels with specific clinical morphological and radiological characteristics. People with morbid obesity are mainly affected by MLL. Lymphedema is easily confused with soft tissue sarcoma and requires differential diagnosis, both the possibility of an MLL and also carcinoma manifestations in the soft tissues. The possible causes of massive lymphedema include trauma, surgery, and hypothyroidism. This report is the first case of MLL treated surgically in the Russian Federation. Detailed computed tomography (CT) characteristics and an electron microscope picture of MLL are discussed. A 50-year-old woman (body mass index of 43 kg/m²) with MLL arising from the anterior abdominal wall was admitted to the hospital for surgical treatment. Its mass was 22.16 kg. A morphological study of the resected mass confirmed the diagnosis of MLL. We review etiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of MLL. We also performed an electron-microscopic study that revealed interstitial Cajal-like cells telocytes not previously described in MLL cases. We did not find similar findings in the literature. It is possible that the conduction of an ultrastructural examination of MLL tissue samples will further contribute to the understanding of MLL pathogenesis.