• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.181-187
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• 2008

Purpose: In order to establish efficient palliative treatment plans. It is important to estimate the survival time of a terminally ill cancer patient as accurate as possible. Proper estimation of life expectancy aids not only in improving the quality of life of the patient, it also promotes productive communication between the medical staff and the patient. The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of survival time in terminally ill cancer patients. Methods: Between January 2004 and June 2007, 67 terminally ill cancer patients who were admitted or transferred for palliative care, were included. Patients were categorized into three groups by Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio. Demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics and blood samples were analyzed. Results: In univariate analysis, survival time of the highest Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio group (${\geq}12.5$) was significantly shorter than that of the others (hazard ratio (HR)=3.270, P=0.001). After adjustment for low performance status (ECOG score 4) and dyspnea, high Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (${\geq}12.5$) was significantly and independently associated with short survival time (HR=2.907, P=0.007). Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio was also significantly increased before death (P=0.001). Conclusion: Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio can be useful in predicting life expectancy in terminally ill cancer patients.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.76-80
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• 2007

Colorectal carcinomas are extremely rare in childhood and adolescence; however, the colon is the most common site of a gastrointestinal carcinoma. Mucin secreting adenocarcinomas with signet ring formation is the most common type of colon cancer identified in children. An 11-year-old boy had abdominal pain and weight loss for three months, back pain and left thigh pain for two months, and hematochezia for four days. Colonoscopy showed an annular mass in the sigmoid colon and the histopathology revealed a signet ring cell carcinoma. A metastatic signet ring cell carcinoma was suspected from the findings of the bone scan, and confirmed later by a left scalp mass incisional biopsy and a bone marrow biopsy. We report a case of a metastatic signet ring cell carcinoma of the colon in a child.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.67-92
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to give an overview of the clinical process of songwriting with pediatric patients undergoing cancer treatment. Many literatures have proved that music therapy aids patients during their cancer treatment to relax, reduce anxiety and feelings of isolation, and promote self-esteem and quality of life and so on. However, among music therapy methods, I found songwriting proved to be very effective method. By using songwriting as therapy with pediatric patients undergoing cancer treatment, songwriting helped patients express difficulties of dealing emotionally with their illness and ongoing aggressive and invasive treatments. Also the process of songwriting established trust and relationship between therapist and patient which promoted normalization of hospital environment. In my case study, patient N has expressed her feelings and thoughts through writing songs about her current life which revolved around treatment of her brain tumor. Moreover, patient N found her creativity and developed ways of getting touch with her inner strength.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.195-207
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• 1998

폐암을 집단 검진으로 조기 진단하려는 노력은 현재까지 뚜렷한 성과를 얻지 못하고 있는 실정이다. 미국의 국립암연구소에서 실시한 흉부엑스선 촬영과 객담세포진 검사를 이용한 폐암의 집단 검진 결과는 검진군에서 대조군보다 유의하게 진단율이 높았으며 절제율도 더 높았고 5년 생존율도 향상시킬 수 있었다. 그러나 폐암을 조기 진단하기 위한 집단 검진의 궁극적인 목표인 사망률을 감소시키지는 못하였다. 최근에는 미국 국립암 연구기관에서 실시했던 결과에 대한 해석이 다양하여 아직까지도 폐암 조기 진단에 있어서 흉부액스선촬영과 객담세포진검사의 의의에 관한 결론에 대해서는 논란이 되고 있다. 1993년부터 새로운 집단 검진에 관한 연구가 진행중에 있어서 그 결과가 나올 때까지는 흉부엑스선촬영과 객담세포진검사를 이용한 집단 검진의 의의에 대한 결과는 기다려 보아야 할 것이다. 분자생물학적으로 폐암을 조기 검진하기 위한 검체로는 혈액보다는 객담이 훨씬 적절하고 합리적인 검체이다. 폐암의 발생은 가장 먼저 기관지 상피 세포에서 일어나서 암화 과정의 여러 단계에서 다양한 종양 표지자가 객담에 섞여 나오기 때문에 이 표지자를 객담에서 측정하는 것이 훨씬 합리적인 조기 진단법이 될 수 있다. 동시에 폐암을 집단 검진으로 조기 진단하기 위해서는 종양 표지자를 대량으로 측정하기 위한 자동측정법도 개발되어야 할 것이다. 암을 예방하기 위하여는 여러면에서 방안이 연구되어야 한다. 즉 암발생의 가능성이 높은 대상을 선태하여야 하며 초기에 집단 검진으로 진단을 할 수 있어야 하고, 이러한 검진으로 추적 검사가 가능하여야 하며 마지막으로 결과를 판정할 수 있어야 한다. 이 가운데 현재까지 유일하게 실시할 수 없는 것은 조기 진단으로 사용할 수 있는 뚜렷한 종양 표지자가 없는 것이다. 이와 같이 현재까지는 폐암을 조기 진단하기 위한 특이한 표지자는 없으나 앞으로 폐암 발생 기전의 여러 단계가 체계적으로 밝혀진다면 그 과정에서 중요한 표지자들이 밝혀질 것이다. 그리고 이들을 간단하게 검사할 수 있는 검사법도 밝혀져 폐암 조기 진단의 궁극적 목적인 폐암으로 인한 사망률을 감소시킬 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2015.10a
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• pp.958-960
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• 2015

Sickle cells possess a unique combination of traits that may enable their use as models for novel synthetic tumor targeting controlled release drug carriers with the ability to treat disseminated tumors in advanced metastatic disease. In this study, we assess the ability of light-activated release sickle cells to enhance tumor delivery of the fluorescent dye calcein by delayed photolysis controlled release compared to free systemic administration of calcein. Sickle cells from mouse models of the disease were shown to preferentially accumulate in tumors compared to adjacent tissue, in 4T1 tumors in mice on a time scale about 12 hours. Sickle cells photosensitized with protoporphyrin IX achieved delayed release of 50% of contents 8-16 hours after photoactivation, which was deemed useful for in vivo delivery of cargo to tumors given the tumor accumulation time of the sickle cells. Sickle cells may be useful as a model for new synthetic drug carrier particles with delayed photolysis controlled release properties.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.55-61
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• 2022

There is a major interest in diagnostic technology for multiple cancers worldwide. In order to reduce the difficulty of cancer diagnosis, a liquid biopsy technology based on a microfluidic device using trace amounts of biofluids such as blood is being studied. And optical biosensing, which measures the concentration of analytes through fluorescence imaging using biofluids, requires various strategies to improve sensitivity, and specialists and equipment are needed to carry out these strategies. This leads to an increase in diagnostic and production costs, and it is necessary to develop a technology to solve this problem. In this paper, we design and propose a fluorescent multi-cancer diagnostic sensing platform structure that implements passive self-separation technology and molecular recognition activation functions by fluid mixing, only with the geometry and microfluidic phenomena of microchannels based on self-driven flow by capillary force. In order to check the parameters affecting the performance of the plasma separation part of the designed sensor, the hydrodynamic diameter of the channel and the viscosity of the fluid were set as variables to confirm the formation of plasma separation flow through simulation. And finally, we propose an optimal sensor platform structure.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.40-47
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• 2011

Purpose : Norovirus infection, a common cause of community-acquired gastroenteritis, can also lead to severe illness in immunocompromised patients. We investigated clinical manifestations of norovirus infection in pediatric cancer patients. Methods : Stool specimens were collected from pediatric patients with gastrointestinal symptoms between November 2008 and September 2009 at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. Norovirus infection was identified by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A retrospective chart review was performed in pediatric cancer patients who were diagnosed with norovirus infection. Results : Ten patients were diagnosed with norovirus infection by RT-PCR in stool samples. The median age was 0.83 years (range 0.25-5.5 years) and the male to female ratio was 1.5:1 (6 males and 4 females). Underlying diseases were hematologic malignancies (4/10, 40%), neuroblastoma (4/10, 40%), and brain tumors (2/10, 20%). Three patients were infected before hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and four patients after HCT. All patients had diarrhea (10/10, 100%), with a median frequency of diarrhea of 8.5 times/day (range 4-22 times/day). Median virus shedding duration was 72.5 days (range 19-299 days). Four patients with pneumatosis intestinalis were conservatively treated with bowel rest and total parenteral nutrition. One patient with severe diarrhea and bloody stool had concomitant chronic gut graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Norovirus infection-related mortality was not observed. Conclusion : Norovirus infection can cause significant clinical manifestations with prolonged viral shedding in immunocompromised patients. Norovirus should be considered in pediatric cancer patients with severe gastrointestinal symptoms.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.149-157
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• 2003

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if there were prognostic differences between BRCA related and BRCA non-related Korean patients with early-onset breast carcinomas. Materials and Methods: Sixty women who had developed breast cancers before the age of 40, and who were treated at the Soonchunhyang University Hospital, were studied independently of their family histories. The age range was 18 to 40 with a median of 34.5 years. Lymphocyte specimens from peripheral blood were studied for the heterozygous mutations of BRCA1 and BRCA2 using direct sequencing methods. Immunohistochemistry was peformed on the paraffin-embedded tissue blocks that were available. Results: Eleven deleterious mutations (18.3%, 6 in BRCA1 and 5 in BRCA2) and 7 missense mutations of unknown significance (11.7%), were found among the 60 patients. More than half of the mutation were novel, and were not reported in the database. Most of the BRCA-associated patients had no history of breast cancer. No treatment related failures were observed in the BRCA carriers, with the exception of one patient that had experienced a new primary tumor of the contralateral breast. The seven year relapse free survival rate were 50 and 79% In the BRCA carrier and BRCA negative patients, respectively. Although the expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors were less common, and histological features more aggressive, in the BRCA associated tumors, the outcome of the patients with BRCA mutations was not poorer than that on the patients without deleterious mutations. Conclusion.: Despite the BRCA mutation carriers having adverse prognostic features, the recurrence rate was relatively lower than that in the BRCA non-carrying Korean patients wi4h early-onset breast carcinomas. In addition, although the prevalence of the BRCA mutation in Korean patients was higher than that in white patients, the penetrance of the cancer seemed to be relatively low in Korean women carrying BRCA mutations. A large population based study of the BRCA mutation, with a long-term follow-up of the study patients will be required to confirm these results.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.86-95
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• 2014

환자의 입 냄새로 질병을 구분했다는 기록은 고대 동서양의 역사에서 많이 찾아볼 수 있다. 최근 훈련된 개가 냄새로 암환자와 정상인을 구분했다는 뉴스가 보도 되었다. 호흡가스의 분석을 이용한 질병 검진은 병원에서 진행되고 있는 기존의 고가의 장비나 혈액 채취를 이용한 방법과 비교할 때 검진자와 피검진자가 손쉽게 저가로 진행될 수 있다는 장점이 있다. 최근 인체 호흡가스 분석법에 대한 연구개발이 미국과 유럽 국가를 중심으로 활발하게 진행되고 있다. 현재는 폐암, 폐결핵, 천식 등 주로 호흡기 관련 질병에 대한 분석법이 주를 이루고 있지만, 질병과 호흡가스 성분의 연관성이 밝혀짐에 따라 호흡가스 분석에 근거한 질병 진단은 미래의 다양한 질병 진단법으로 등장할 것으로 예상된다. 본고는 최근 호흡가스 분석법으로 응용되고 있는 질량 분석법과 가스 센서 어레이 기술의 현황 및 이들의 질병 진단 응용에 대해 전망하였다.

• The Korean Chronic Disease News
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• no.308
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• pp.1-18
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• 2006

경남 양산시 보건소 조현둘 소장/“만성질환 종합적 관리대책 강구”/‘의료보장미래전략위’본격 가동/국립대에‘한의학전문대학원’설립 추진/서울대 등‘최우수 응급센터’평가/응급의료기관, 토요 비상진료 의무 추진/중국 등 해외환자 유치 전망 밝다/노인에 위험 약물‘사용량 늘어’/의.치의학전문 복합학위 7년 과정 개설/의약품, 제조업 GDP의 4.80% 점유/국내 의약품 특허출원 외국기업이 주도/제약협-약사회, 의약품 소포장 문제 합의/맞춤운동프로그램 개설 운동사업 중점/환경친화적 모기유충구제 사업/“알코올 중독 문제 정부가 나섰다”/“아까운 혈액이 폐기되고 있다”/“소득적은 사람이 암발생율 높다”/통계청 2005년 사망원인통계결과 분석/