• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.529-532
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• 2013

Cholangiocarcinoma, though very rare in Western countries, is one of the commonest liver malignancies in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand. More than half of the patients present with advanced stage disease. Given the poor treatment outcomes of adjuvant therapeutic options, many patients undergo only biliary drainage for palliative treatment. Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes after biliary stenting were here analyzed for a total of 224 uresectable cholangiocarcinoma cases, 58.9% in men. The mean age was 61.5 years. Hilar involvement was the most common location. The patients underwent biliary drainage using plastic and metallic stents equally, early stent occlusion being encountered in 21.4% and 10.7%, respectively. The median survival time was 4.93 months for patients who received plastic and 5.87 months for patients who received metallic stents.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.22-27
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• 2009

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a major cause of blindness that affects premature infants. With advances in neonatology, ROP is likely to emerge as the most serious problem of vision loss in children even in developed countries; such a situation could be called the third epidemic of ROP. However, controversy and uncertainty still surround favorable outcomes of ROP. For successfully controlling ROP, timely and accurate screening is crucial because early treatment leads to favorable outcomes. Standard guidelines, including ROP classification, have provided satisfactory instructions for the screening and treatment of ROP. To improve the structural and functional outcomes of ROP, optimizing the timing of surgical interventions including cryotherapy, laser-photocoagulation, encircling, and vitrectomy is essential; these interventions can prevent the sequelae of ROP. It is essential for the neonatologist and the ophthalmologist to cooperate extensively for the successful treatment of ROP.

• Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2024

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most diagnosed cancer worldwide. Healthcare resource constraints may predispose treatment delays. We aim to review existing literature on whether delayed treatment results in worse outcomes in HCC. PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and Scopus were systematically searched from inception till December 2022. Primary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Secondary outcomes included post-treatment mortality, readmission rates, and complications. Fourteen studies with a total of 135,389 patients (delayed n = 25,516, no delay n = 109,873) were included. Age, incidence of male patients, Child-Pugh B cirrhosis, and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Stage 0/A HCC were comparable between delayed and no delay groups. Tumor size was significantly smaller in delayed versus no delay group (mean difference, -0.70 cm; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.14, 0.26; p = 0.002). More patients received radiofrequency ablation in delayed versus no delay group (OR, 1.22; 95% CI: 1.16, 1.27; p < 0.0001). OS was comparable between delayed and no delay in HCC treatment (hazard ratio [HR], 1.13; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.29; p = 0.07). Comparable DFS between delayed and no delay groups (HR, 0.99; 95% CI: 0.75, 1.30; p = 0.95) was observed. Subgroup analysis of studies that defined treatment delay as > 90 days showed comparable OS in the delayed group (HR, 1.04; 95% CI: 0.93, 1.16; p = 0.51). OS and DFS for delayed treatment were non-inferior compared to no delay, but might be due to better tumor biology/smaller tumor size in the delayed group.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 1994

The clinical features and treatment outcomes of 20 patients with Kimura's disease treated from 1981 to 1993 were analyzed to determine proper therapeutic modalities. The mean age was 36.3 yrs old (range l4-53yrs) and the male to female ratio was 1.5:1 (male:female=12:8). Among 20 patients, 13 had multiple lesions and the remaining 7 had single lesion. Almost all lesions were found in the head and neck area(41 lesions) and only 7 in the other sites. The initial treatment modalities were excision, excision with immunotherapy, radiotherapy with immunotherapy, or immunotherapy(steroid, azathioprine). Among 17 patients who could be followed up, a recurrent or persistent disease was found in 13 patients. The retreatment modalities for patients with recurrent lesions were excision, excision with immunotherapy, or immunotherapy. The retreatment outcomes were also disappointing. The proper therapeutic modality of the Kimura's disease is not established yet, but the radiotherapy after excision or immunotherapy seems to be more effective than others.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.327-331
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• 2011

Objective : The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical outcomes of surgery and coiling and analyze the predicting factors affecting the clinical outcomes of ruptured posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) aneurysms. Methods : During the last 15 years, 20 consecutive patients with ruptured PICA aneurysms were treated and these patients were included in this study. The Fisher's exact test was used for the statistical significance of Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) according to initial Hunt-Hess (H-H) grade, treatment modalities, and the presence of acute hydrocephalus. Results : Eleven (55%) and nine (45%) patients were treated with surgical clipping and endovascular treatment, respectively. Among 20 patients, thirteen (65.0%) patients had good outcomes (GOS 4 or 5). There was the statistical significance between initial poor H-H grade, the presence of acute hydrocephalus and poor GOS. Conclusion : In our study, we suggest that initial H-H grade and the presence of acute hydrocephalus may affect the clinical outcome rather than treatment modalities in the ruptured PICA aneurysms.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.101-110
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• 2018

Purpose: Functional constipation (FC) is a common gastrointestinal (GI) problem affecting children's well-being and quality of life. Although polyethylene glycol (PEG) is recommended as the first line therapy, it is not always applicable in lower socioeconomic populations. Hence, this study aimed to compare clinical courses of FC in children treated with different medications in order to identify prognostic factors related to treatment outcomes. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of patients aged ${\leq}15$ years diagnosed with FC according to the Rome IV criteria from 2007 to 2015 at the GI clinic, Songklanagarind Hospital. Baseline characteristic, medical history, and treatment outcomes were collected at first and subsequent visits. Results: Exactly104 patients (median age at diagnosis, 2.8 years) were diagnosed with FC. The number of follow-up visits per patient ranged from 1 to 35. The median duration of follow-up was 18.0 months (range, 6.0-84.2 months). PEG was given to 21% of patients. During the follow up period, 76% of patients experienced first recovery with a median time to recovery of 9.8 months. There were no significant differences in time until first recovery and relapse between patients who received and those who did not receive PEG (p=0.99 and 0.06, respectively). Age >6 years, normal defecation frequency, no history of cow's milk protein allergy, and use of laxatives were associated with successful outcomes. Conclusion: Treatment outcomes between patients who had and never had PEG demonstrated no significant difference in our study. Hence, current practices in laxative prescriptive patterns may be effective.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5913-5916
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• 2015

Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) is the malignant form of gestational trophoblastic disease. In non-metastatic GTN, the outcomes of treatment are impressive with methotrexate (MTX) or actinomycin D. We retrospectively reviewed the outcomes of non-metastatic GTN treated at our center from January, 1999 to December, 2013. One hundred and nine patients were recruited to the study. The median age was 33.1 years and over 90% were referral cases. Abnormal vaginal symptoms developed in 37.6% while 56.4% were asymptomatic. The most common antecedent pregnancy was a complete mole (92.7%) with the median interval time from antecedent pregnancy to GTN development being 2.0 months. The median pretreatment B-hCG was 5,624 mIu/ml. The most common first line treatment was methotrexate (MTX) and folinic acid (91.7%) followed by weekly MTX (4.6%), etoposide+ MTX+actinomycin D (EMA) (2.8%), and actinomycin D (0.9%), with the median number of cycles at 5.0. The positive response to first line chemotherapy was 73.8%. The patients were given subsequent chemotherapeutic regimens after resistance to the first line therapy and showed a final remission rate of 89.9%.The significant factor that was frequently found in patients who were non-responders to the first line treatment was a hysterectomy procedure. Two patients developed lung metastasis and brain metastasis at one and four years after the first treatment, respectively. In conclusion, the outcomes of non-metastatic GTN were excellent. However, the patients need long term follow up due to the possibility of developing multiple organ metastases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.867-872
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• 2016

Background: Esophageal cancer is one of the most serious malignancies. Due to the aggressive nature of this cancer, the prognosis is poor. A network meta-analysis with simultaneous comparison of multiple treatments can help determine better treatment options that have higher effects on overall survival of patients with lower adverse events. The aim of this review is to simultaneously compare efficacy and adverse events of treatment interventions for esophageal cancer. Materials and Methods: In this review, only randomized control trials (RCT) will be considered for network meta-analysis. All international electronic databases including Medline, Web of Sciences, Scopus, Cochran's library, EMBASE and Cancerlit will be searched to find randomized control trials which compared two or more treatment interventions for esophageal cancer. A network plot will be drawn for visual representation of all available treatment interventions. Bayesian approach will be used to combine the direct and indirect evidence. Treatment effects (e.g. hazard ratio for time to event outcomes, risk ratio for binary outcomes, and rate ratio for count outcomes with 95% credible interval) will be reported. Moreover, cumulative probability of the treatment ranks will be reported using the surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) graphs. Consistency assumption will be assessed by the loop-specific and design-by-treatment interaction approaches. Conclusions: The results of this study may be helpful for the patients, clinicians and health policy makers in selecting treatments that have the best effect on survival and lowest adverse events.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.2903-2908
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• 2015

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the eighth most common cancer as estimated from worldwide data. The incidence of HNC in Peninsular Malaysia was reported as 8.5 per 100,000 population. This study was aimed to determine the treatment outcomes for HNC patients treated in the Oncology Unit of University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). Materials and Methods: All newly diagnosed patients with squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (HNSCC) referred for treatment to the Oncology Unit at UMMC from 2003-2010 were retrospectively analyzed. Treatment outcomes were 5-year overall survival (OS), cause specific survival (CSS), loco-regional control (LRC) and radiotherapy (RT) related side effects. Kaplan-Meier and log rank analyses were used to determine survival outcomes, stratified according to American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage. Results: A total of 130 cases were analysed. Most cases (81.5%) were at late stage (AJCC III-IVB) at presentation. The 5-year OS for the whole study population was 34.4% with a median follow up of 24 months. The 5-year OS according to AJCC stage was 100%, 48.2%, 41.4% and 22.0% for stage I, II, III and IVA-B, respectively. The 5-year overall CSS and LCR were 45.4% and 55.4%, respectively. Late effects of RT were documented in 41.4% of patients. The most common late effect was xerostomia. Conclusions: The treatment outcome of HNSCC at our centre is lagging behind those of developed nations. Efforts to increase the number of patients presenting in earlier stages, increase in the use of combined modality treatment, especially concurrent chemoradiotherapy and implementation of intensity modulated radiotherapy, may lead to better outcomes for our HNC patients.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.226-235
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• 2015

Objective: The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate short-term and long-term skeletodental outcomes of Class III activator treatment. Methods: A Class III activator treatment group (AG) comprised of 22 patients (9 boys, 13 girls) was compared with a Class III control group (CG) comprised of 17 patients (6 boys, 11 girls). The total treatment period was divided into three stages; the initial stage (T1), the post-activator treatment or post-mandibular growth peak stage (T2), and the long-term follow-up stage (T3). Cephalometric changes were evaluated statistically via the Mann-Whitney U-test and the Friedman test. Results: The AG exhibited significant increases in the SNA angle, ANB angle, Wits appraisal, A point-N perpendicular, Convexity of A point, and proclination of the maxillary incisors, from T1 to T2. In the long-term follow-up (T1-T3), the AG exhibited significantly greater increases in the ANB angle, Wits appraisal, and Convexity of A point than the CG. Conclusions: Favorable skeletal outcomes induced during the Class III activator treatment period were generally maintained until the long-term follow-up period of the post-mandibular growth peak stage.