• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.17-20
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• 2015

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive tumor and only 10-20% patients are considered candidates for curative resection at diagnosis. While surgery remains the only chance for cure, prognosis is poor even after surgery due to high rate of recurrence. A complementary chemotherapy and radiotherapy in a multimodal approach has been attempted to improved prognosis after surgery. Since adjuvant chemotherapy has yielded an only modest outcome improvement, various neoadjuvant approaches with chemotherapy, chemoradiation, or chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation have been attempted. In this article, current knowledge of the various neoadjuvant approaches for pancreatic cancer will be reviewed and the role of the neoadjuvant strategies will be discussed.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.275-280
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• 1999

Purpose : To assess the feasibility and the toxicity of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy on the treatment of patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods and Materials : We analyzed 77 previously untreated and histologically confirmed advanced stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy at the Seoul National University Hospital between 1984 and 1996. The stage distribution was as follows : AJCC stage III-2, stage IV-75. Sixty-six patients received infusion of 5-FU (1000 mg/m$^2$, on Day 1$\~$5) and cisplatin (100 mg/m$^2$, on Day 1), eleven patients received infusion of 5-FU (1000 mg/m$^2$, on Day 1 $\~$5) and carboplatin (300 mg/m$^2$, on Day 1) as neoadjuvant chemotherapy Prior to radiation therapy. The median follow-up for surviving patients was 44 months. Results : The overall chemotherapy response rates were 87$\%$. The toxicities of chemotherapy were mild. Only 3 patients experienced Grade 3 toxicities (1 for cytopenia, 2 for nause/vomiting). The degree of radiation induced mucositis was not severe, and ten patients developed Grade 2 mucositis. The 5-year overall survival rates were 68$\%$ and the 5-year disease free survival rates were 65$\%$. The 5-year freedom from distant metastasis rates were 82$\%$ and 5-year locoregional control rates were 75$\%$. Conclusion : This single institution experience suggests that neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves overall survival and disease free survival for patients with advanced stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma without increase of toxicity.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.57-64
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• 2008

In gastric cancer, the only potentially curative treatment is surgery that attempts to achieve curative (R0) resection. However, despite the use of curative resection, a recurrence develops in a high percentage of patients, especially in cases of serosa and/or lymph node involvement. As a strategy to improve the survival of the patients with resectable advanced gastric cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been evaluated in several phase II trials and a few phase III trials. The results of these trials have confirmed the feasibility and safety of this approach with no apparent increase in surgical complications. Recently, the findings of a large phase III randomized trial (MAGIC trial) have indicated that compared to the use of surgery alone, perioperative chemotherapy, using both a neoadjuvant and adjuvant strategy, decreased the number of T and N stage cancers and improved survival. The results of another recent phase III trial (FNLCC 94012/FFCD 9703) also showed that compared to the use of surgery alone, perioperative chemotherapy improved the R0 resection rate and survival. In both trials, the improved outcomes may be attributed to the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy because of poor compliance with adjuvant chemotherapy. These results cannot be directly translated to clinical practice in Korea due to differences in surgical techniques and outcomes. However, the findings of a few small phase II and III trials performed in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer in Korea have also suggested that neoadjuvant chemotherapy would result in the improvement of the R0 resection rate and down-staging of the disease. More effective chemotherapy regimens are needed in future large randomized trials to determine the subset of patients that will benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy and to determine the extent of benefit.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.512-522
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• 2023

Cancer with unlimited cell growth is a leading cause of death globally. Various cancer treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy, can be applied alone or in combination depending on the cancer type and stage. New treatments with fewer side effects than previous cancer treatments are continually under development and in demand. Undifferentiated stem cells with unlimited cell growth are gradually changed via cellular differentiation to arrest cell growth. In this study, we reviewed the possibility of treating cancer by using cellular differentiation into the adipocytes in cancer cells. In previous in vitro studies, oral antidiabetic drugs of the thiazolidinedione (TDZ) class, such as rosiglitazone and pioglitazone, were induced into the adipocytes in various cancer cell lines via increased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR γ) expression and glucose uptake, which is the key regulator of adipogenesis and the energy metabolism pathway. The differentiated adipogenic cancer cells treated with TDZ inhibited cell growth and had a less cellulotoxic effect. This adipogenic differentiation treatment suggests a possible chemotherapy option in cancer cells with high and abnormal glucose metabolism levels. However, the effects of the in vivo adipogenic differentiation treatment need to be thoroughly investigated in different types of stem and normal cells with other side effects.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.5 no.4 s.20
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• pp.252-259
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• 2005

To clarify the clinicopathologic features of small-cell carcinomas (SCC) of the stomach, we reviewed three cases of surgically treated SCC. The first case was a pure SCC, with severe pancreatic invasion and peritoneal seeding. A gastro-jejunostomy was performed. Postoperative chemotherapy was performed with CDDP and VP-16 (8 cycles) but showed disease progression (PD); a consecutive chemotherapy with CDDP and irinotencan (2 cycles) also showed PD. A third line with CDDP, VP16, ifosfamide, and mesna was followed by a 4th line (CDDP and Taxol). The male patient died with liver metastasis and peritoneal seeding 14 months after the operation. The second case was a SCC mixed with a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Profound lymphadenopathy and liver metastasis were found. Two cycles of preoperative chemotherapy with TS-1 and CDDP were performed, which showed nearly complete remission for lymphadenopathy and partial response for the primary tumor site and liver metastatic lesion. A total gastrectomy and extended lymphadenectomy was performed. There were no viable cancer cells in 35 retrieved lymph nodes. Postoperative chemotherapy using the same regimen was performed for 4 cycles. Enlarged liver metastasis was found at the follow-up CT scan, so a posterior segmentectomy of liver was performed. After liver surgery, the chemotherapy regimen was changed to irinotecan and cisplatin. This male patient has been in good health for the f4 months since gastric surgery. The third case was a pure SCC, and a subtotal gastrectomy was performed curatively. That male patient received 5 cycles of TS-1 and is still in good health 14 months after operation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2010

Background: Preoperative chemotherapy has been adopted in our hospital as a standard treatment for non-small cell lung cancer patients with N2 disease. However, there have been cases of pathologic N2 disease that have been detected after curative-intent surgical resection. We retrospectively studied the outcomes of initial surgical treatment without neoadjuvant therapy in patients with unexpected N2 non-small cell lung cancer. Material and Method: Between January 1995 and June 2007, 225 patients were diagnosed with pathologic N2 disease after they underwent initial pulmonary resection without neoadjuvant therapy. Among them, 170 patients were preoperatively diagnosed with lymph node stage N0 or N1. We retrospectively reviewed their medical record and analyzed the outcomes. Result: The overall 5-year survival rate was 35.4%. The prognostic factors that were significantly associated with survival were no adjuvant therapy, histologic cell types other than adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, a pathologic T stage more than T1, old age (${\geq}$70 years) and no mediastinoscopic biopsy. During the follow-up, 79 patients (46.5%) experienced tumor recurrence, including loco-regional recurrence in 20 patients (25.3%) and distant metastasis in 56 (70.9%). The 5-year recurrence-free survival rate was 33.7%. Conclusion: Based on our findings, the survival was good for patients with unexpected N2 non-small cell lung cancer and who underwent initial pulmonary resection without neoadjuvant therapy. A prospective comparative analysis is needed to obtain more conclusive and persuasive results.