• 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 Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.153-159
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• 2021

Background: With increasing economic evaluation studies on the treatment of or screening tools for liver diseases that cause hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), interest in the analysis of the medical utilization and costs of HCC treatment is increasing. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the medical utilization and costs of HCC patients, and calculate the cost of main procedures for HCC treatment, including liver transplant (LT), hepatic resection (HR), radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Methods: We analyzed claim data from January to December 2018 from the Health Insurance and Review and Assessment Service-National Patient Sample (HIRA-NPS-2018) dataset, including data of patients diagnosed with HCC (Korean Standard Classification of Diseases code C22.0) who had at least one inpatient claim for HCC. Results: A total of 715 HCC patients were identified. In 2018, the yearly average medical cost per HCC patient was ₩18,460K (thousand), of which ₩14,870K was attributed to HCC. Among the total medical costs of HCC patients, the inpatient cost accounted for the largest portion of both the total medical and HCC-related costs. The major procedures of HCC treatment occurred most frequently in the order of TACE, RFA, HR, and LT. The average medical cost per treatment episode was the highest for LT (₩87,280K), followed by HR (₩10,026K), TACE (₩4,047K), and RFA (₩2,927K). Conclusion: By identifying the medical costs of HCC patients and the costs of the main procedures of HCC treatment, our results provide basic information that could be utilized for cost estimation in liver disease-related economic evaluation studies.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.347-352
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• 2021

Background Mastectomy leaves unsightly scarring, which can be distressing to patients. Laser therapy for scar prevention has been consistently emphasized in recent studies showing that several types of lasers, including fractional ablation lasers, are effective for reducing scar formation. Nonetheless, there are few studies evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of ablative CO₂ fractional lasers (ACFLs). Methods This study had a randomized, comparative, prospective, split-scar design with blinded evaluation of mastectomy scars. Fifteen patients with mastectomy scars were treated using an ACFL. Half of each scar was randomized to "A," while the other side was allocated to group "B." Laser treatment was conducted randomly. Scars were assessed using digital photographs of the scar and Vancouver scar scale (VSS) scores. Histological assessments were also done. Results The mean VSS scores were 2.20±1.28 for the treatment side and 2.96±1.40 for the control side. There was a significant difference in the VSS score between the treatment side and the control side (P=0.002). The mean visual analog scale (VAS) scores were 4.13±1.36 for the treatment side and 4.67±1.53 for the control side. There was a significant difference in VAS score between the treatment side and the control side (P=0.02). Conclusions This study demonstrated that early scar treatment using an ACFL significantly improved the clinical results of the treatment compared to the untreated scar, and this difference was associated with patient satisfaction.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.113-119
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• 2019

Background: Discogenic pain is a common cause of disability and is assumed to be a major cause of non-specific low back pain. Various treatment methods have been used for the treatment of discogenic pain. This study was conducted to compare the therapeutic success of radiofrequency (an intradiscal procedure) and laser annuloplasty (both an intradiscal and extradiscal procedure). Methods: This single-center study included 80 patients and followed them for 6 months. Transforaminal laser annuloplasty (TFLA, 37 patients) or intradiscal radiofrequency annuloplasty (IDRA, 43 patients) was performed. The main outcomes included pain scores, determined by the numeric rating scale (NRS), and Oswestry disability index (ODI), at pre-treatment and at post-treatment months 1 and 6. Results: The patients were grouped according to procedure. In all procedures, NRS and ODI scores were significantly decreased over time. Mean post-treatment pain scores at months 1 and 6 were significantly lower (P < 0.01) in both groups, and between-group differences were not significant. The ODI score was also significantly decreased compared with baseline. Among patients undergoing TFLA, 70.3% (n = 26) reported pain relief (NRS scores < 50% of baseline) at post-treatment 6 months, vs. 58.1% (n = 25) of those undergoing IDRA. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in ODI reduction of > 40%. Conclusions: Our results indicate that annuloplasty is a reasonable treatment option for carefully selected patients with lower back and radicular pain of discogenic origin, and TFLA might be superior to IDRA in patients with discogenic low back pain.

• Medical Lasers
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 2019

Background and Objectives High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) can produce small zones of thermal damage. A HIFU procedure is non-invasive and it can achieve rejuvenation of facial skin. Fractional CO₂ laser resurfacing delivers thermal damage to the pixilated columnar zone of the skin and so evoke collagen remodeling, the same as HIFU. In many cases, the patients who want rejuvenation with HIFU are also good candidates for cutaneous photorejuvenation such as can be accomplished via fractional CO₂ resurfacing. If patients are treated in a single session by remodeling both the superficial and deep compartments of skin by using both modalities, then improvement in rhytides and tightening of sagging skin will optimize the aesthetic result. Materials and Methods Between May 2014 and January 2018, a total of 44 patients were treated with combination HIFU and fractional CO₂ laser resurfacing according to our protocol. First, the HIFU was applied to the entire face with an average of 300 treatment lines. Immediately after HIFU treatment, the ultrasound gel was washed off and then fractional CO₂ laser resurfacing was performed. We evaluated the patients using 4-point grading scales. The clinician examined the skin for evidence of complications after the completion of treatment. Results All the patients' skin quality showed improvement. Further. the clinical results after duel modality treatment were substantially better than that after the use of either modality alone. The recovery times and the incidence of adverse events when quickly and consecutively performing both treatments were similar as compared to those with employing stepwise treatment. We encountered no complications whatsoever. Conclusion When compared with stepwise therapy, combination therapy with HIFU and fractional CO₂ resurfacing offers better, safer and more effective clinical results. Thus, for targeting multiple layers of aging facial skin, this combination therapy can be safely performed in a single treatment session.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.180-183
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• 2010

Submitral left ventricular aneurysm (SMLVA) is a rare disease entity that exclusively occurs in the black population. We herewith report on a surgical case of SMLVA in a 68-year-old male who presented with ventricular tachycardia. He underwent surgical repair under standard hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass. In the state of apical elevation, a vertical ventriculotomy was made directly over the aneurysm, which was located at the posterobasal aspect of the left ventricle. Radiofrequency ablation was performed on the endocardium all around the neck of the aneurysm and then patch endoaneurysmorrhaphy was carried out with particular care not to injure the mitral valve and subvalvular structure. His postoperative recovery was uneventful. There has been no dysfunction of the mitral valve or recurrence of the ventricular tachycardia at 2 years' follow-up.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.3665-3670
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• 2012

Metal-p-$NH_2$-Bn-DOTA (paraammionobenzyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid: ABDOTA) complex was synthesized and purified for bio-tagging to quantify biological target materials using laser ablation (LA)-ICP-MS. Since the preparation of a pure and stable tagging complex is the key procedure for quantification, magnetic particles were used to purify the synthesized metal-ABDOTA complex. The magnetic particles immobilized with the complex attracted to a permanent magnet, resulting in fast separation from free un-reacted metal ions in solution. Gd ions formed the metal-complex with a higher yield of 64.3% (${\pm}3.9%$ relative standard deviation (RSD)) than Y ions, 52.3% (${\pm}2.5%$ RSD), in the pH range 4-7. The complex bound to the magnetic particles was released by treatment with a strong base, of which the recovery was 81.7%. As a reference, a solid phase extraction (SPE) column packed with Chelex-100 resin was employed for separation under similar conditions and produced comparable results. The tagging technique complemented polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microarray chip sampling in LA-ICP-MS, allowing determination of small sample volumes at high throughputs. For application, immunoglobulin G (IgG) was immobilized on the pillars of PDMS microarray chips and then tagged with the prepared Gd complex. IgG could then be determined through measurement of Gd by LA-ICP-MS. A detection limit of 1.61 ng/mL (${\pm}0.75%$ RSD) for Gd was obtained.

• Journal of the Korea Computer Graphics Society
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.127-135
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• 2023

Accurate segmentation of histopathology whole slide images (WSIs) is a crucial task for disease diagnosis and treatment planning. However, conventional automated segmentation algorithms may not always be applicable to WSI segmentation due to their large size and variations in tissue appearance, staining, and imaging conditions. Recent advances in interactive segmentation, which combines human expertise with algorithms, have shown promise to improve efficiency and accuracy in WSI segmentation but also presented us with challenging issues. In this paper, we propose a novel interactive segmentation method, ZoomISEG, that leverages multi-resolution WSIs. We demonstrate the efficacy and performance of the proposed method via comparison with conventional single-scale methods and an ablation study. The results confirm that the proposed method can reduce human interaction while achieving accuracy comparable to that of the brute-force approach using the highest-resolution data.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.33.1-33.17
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• 2022

Suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) have emerged as potential regulators of macrophage function. We have investigated mechanisms of SOCS3 action on type 2 macrophage (M2) differentiation induced by glucocorticoid using human monocytic cell lines and mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages. Treatment of THP1 monocytic cells with dexamethasone (Dex) induced ROS generation and M2 polarization promoting IL-10 and TGF-β production, while suppressing IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 production. SOCS3 over-expression reduced, whereas SOCS3 ablation enhanced IL-10 and TGF-β induction with concomitant regulation of ROS. As a mediator of M2 differentiation, glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ) was down-regulated by SOCS3 and up-regulated by shSOCS3. The induction of GILZ and IL-10 by Dex was dependent on ROS and p38 MAPK activity. Importantly, GILZ ablation led to the inhibition of ROS generation and anti-inflammatory cytokine induction by Dex. Moreover, GILZ knock-down negated the up-regulation of IL-10 production induced by shSOCS3 transduction. Our data suggest that SOCS3 targets ROS- and p38-dependent GILZ expression to suppress Dex-induced M2 polarization.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.80-83
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• 2018

Purpose Assessment of Serum Thyroglobulin (sTg) value in total thyroidectomy patients having an ablation dose of radioactive iodine indicates remaining cancer or metastasis. Especially, sTg in patients on withdrawal thyroxine or thyrogen administration for radioiodine ablation is an important indicator to determine the direction of further treatment and prognosis. Current guidelines suggest measurement of sTg is performed at 72 hours after the last injection of thyrogen. and assumes that sTg reaches maximum serum levels at that time. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the variation of sTg measured after thyrogen administration. Materials and Methods We compared with sTg performed at 24hours(D0) and 72hours(D2) after the last injection of thyrogen. We reviewed D0 and D2 from 276 patients were divided them into three groups according to ablation dose of radioactive iodine, 5mCi(A group), 30~80mCi(B group) and 100~200mCi(C group). We used T-test for comparison between D0 and D2. sTg was measured in serum using immunoradiometric assay (Tg-plus RIA; BRAHMS, Berlin, Germany). Results There is no critical variation between D0 and D2 in A group(n=100)(P=0.32), The case of increase(D2>D0) is 45, no change(D2=D0) is 23, decrease(D2D0 is 91, D2=D0 is 28, D2D0 is 19, D2=D0 is 2. The biggest increase is 143.6 ng/mL from 98.4 to 242. Conclusion There was a significant difference in the group over 30mCi. and the case of D2>D0 is 45%, 58.7%, 90.5% for each group. therefore, D2 increased as the dose of radioactive iodine increased. Furthermore, the most sTg values of D0 and D2 are variation under 2.0 ng/mL, so reproducibility as well as sensitivity of sTg will be important at values below 2ng/mL.