• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1539-1544
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• 2014

Purpose: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of AFP (AFP-L3), and Golgi protein 73 (GP73) levels have been widely used as tumor markers for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to investigate whether these tumor markers could be used to monitor short-term treatment response and recurrence of HCC in patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Methods: Between July 2012 and July 2013, 53 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed HCC were prospectively enrolled in this study. Among these, 32 patients underwent RFA, after which they were followed up prospectively at the First Hospital of Jilin University in China. Results: AFP, AFP-L3, and GP-73 values pre-RFA were not associated with tumor size, whereas AFP and GP-73 levels tended to be associated with tumor number, the presence of vascular invasion, deterioration of liver function, advanced-stage disease, and a poor performance status. GP-73 levels were dramatically elevated in the patients with hepatitis C-associated HCC. Neither pre-RFA nor 1-month post-RFA tumor marker values were associated with short-term outcome. The short-term recurrence rate of AFP-positive patients measured 1 month post-RFA was obviously higher than that of AFP-negative patients. Conclusions: AFP and GP-73 values were associated with clinical variables representing tumor growth and invasiveness, and the AFP value measured 1 month post-RFA was a strong predictor of short-term recurrence in patients with HCC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6637-6641
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• 2013

Background: To evaluate the results of various types of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) treatment of renal tumors in patients with excessive anesthetic and surgical risk. Materials and Methods: Data for RFA performed in in high risk patients were retrospectively evaluated. Other RFA applications in patients with no anesthetic and/or surgical risk were excluded. RFA was by ultrasound or CT guided percutaneous (USG/CT-PRFA) and retroperitoneally or transperitoneally laparoscopic (R/T-LRFA) techniques under general or local anethesia. Follow-up data of enhanced CT or MRI after 1, 3 and 6 months were analysed for twelve RFA applications. Results: The RFA applications included 4 (40%) left-sided, 5 (50%) right-sided and 1 (10%) bilaterally RFA (simultaneously 1 right and 2 left). The localizations of tumors were 2 (16.6%) upper, 5 (41.6%) mid and 5 (41.6%) lower pole. The RFA applications included 9 (75%) USG-PRFA, 1 (8.3%) CT-PRFA, 1 (8.3%) T-LRFA and 1 (8.3%) R-LRFA. The mean age was $65.3{\pm}8.5$ (52-76) years. The mean tumor size was $29.6{\pm}6.08$ (15-40) mm. No complications related to the RFA were encountered in any of the cases. Failure (residual tumour) was determined in 8.3% (1/12) of USG-RFA application. The success rate was thus 91.7% (11/12). Other 1st, 3rd and 6th months follow-up data revealed no residua and recurrence. Conclusions: RFA application appears to be safe as a less invasive and effective treatment modality in selected cases of small renal tumors in individuals with excessive anesthetic and also surgical risk.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.279-286
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• 2002

For surface modification of polymers with hydrophilic functional groups, acrylic acid was grafted and immobilized on the surface of polyethylene(PE) by cold-plasma treatment using Ar gas. The modifications were identified by analysis of ATR-IR spectrum and by the measurement of contact angles. Compared to virgin PE significant decreases in contact angle were observed for both the grafted PE and the immobilized PE. The decreases of contact angle were in the range of 47~$53^{\circ}$ for grafted PE and 23~$26^{\circ}$ for immobilized PE. The degree of hydrophilicity depended strongly on the plasma-treating time and discharge power. For the case of grafting it has show that the longer plasma-treating time, the higher hydrophilic character. For the case of immobilization, whereas, higher discharge power and longer exposure to plasma have shown the detrimental effect for the preparation of hydrophilic PE surface due to the decrease of carboxyl group by ablation effect. The decrease in adhesion strength of immobilized PE. compared to grafted PE, was also attributed to the ablation of carboxyl group.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.241-250
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• 2015

Noninvasive temperature monitoring is feasible with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) based on temperature sensitive MR parameters such as $T_1$ and $T_2$ relaxation times, Proton Resonance Frequency shift (PRFs), diffusion, exchange process, magnetization transfer contrast, chemical exchange saturation transfer, etc. While the temperature monitoring is very useful to guide the thermal treatment such as RF hyperthermia or thermal ablation, the optimization of the MR thermometry method is essential because the range of temperature measurement depends on the choice of the measurement methods. Useful temperature range depends on the purpose of treatment methods, for example, $42^{\circ}C$ to $45^{\circ}C$ for RF hyperthermia and over $50^{\circ}C$ for thermal ablation. In this paper, MR thermometry methods using $T_1$ and $T_2$ relaxation times and PRFs-based MR thermometry are tried on a 3.0 T MRI system and their results are reported and compared. In addition, the scanning protocol and temperature calculation algorithms from $T_1$ and $T_2$ relaxation times and PRFs are optimized for the different temperature ranges for the purpose of RF hyperthermia and/or thermal ablation.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2019

Background: In the osseointegration of dental implants, the implant surface properties have been reported to be some of the most important critical factors. The effect of implant's surfaces created by resorbable blast media (RBM) followed by laser ablation on bone tissue reactions was examined using the removal torque test and histomorphometric analysis. Methods: Two types of dental implants, RBM-laser implants (experimental group) and RBM implants (control group) (CSM implant system, Daegu, Korea; L=6 mm, diameter=3.75 mm) were placed into the right and left distal femoral metaphysis of 17 adult rabbits. Six weeks after placement, removal torque was measured and histomorphometric analysis was performed. Results: The mean removal torque was $24.0{\pm}10.2Ncm$ and $46.6{\pm}16.4Ncm$ for the control and test specimens, respectively. The experimental RBM-laser implants had significantly higher removal torque values than the control RBM implants (p=0.013). The mean values of total and cortical bone to implant contact (BIC) were respectively $46.3{\pm}10.8%$ and $65.3{\pm}12.5%$ for the experimental group, and $41.9{\pm}18.5%$ and $57.6{\pm}10.6%$ for the control group. The experimental RBM-laser implants showed a higher degree of total and cortical BIC compared with RBM implants, but there was no statistical significance (p=0.482, 0.225). Conclusion: The removal torque and BIC of the test group were higher than those of the control group. In this study, the surface treatment created by RBM treatment followed by laser ablation appears to have a potential in improving bone tissue reactions of dental implants.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.753-758
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• 2007

Purpose: Penoscrotal extramammary Paget's disease is a rare cutaneous malignancy that primarily affects the elderly. To prevent local recurrence, adequate surgical excision with its intraoperative frozen section, proper reconstruction, and careful follow-ups are required. The present study describes the treatment of patients with penoscrotal extramammary Paget's disease, focusing on the reconstruction after the ablation of lesion. Methods: Nine patients were selected who had undergone a local pedicle flap procedure due to the large defects after ablation of extramammary Paget's disease of the penoscrotal area, during the period of 1999 to 2005. Wide excision combined with intraoperative frozen sectioning was performed, and the penoscrotal wound was reconstructed with a local skin flap. Three flaps were chosen depending on the size of the defect. If the defect size was small and the scrotal tissue was adequate, scrotal flap(n=5) was enough for its reconstruction. However, as there were large defects with insufficient remnant scrotal tissue, a groin flap(n=2) or an anterolateral thigh flap(n=2) were performed. Results: There were no complications with the postoperative wound. Furthermore, no local recurrence was noted during two to six years of follow-up period (mean average 3.7 years). Conclusion: For the resurfacing the penoscrotum at large defects after ablation of extramammary Paget's disease, we performed reconstruction with a local flap. In the aspect of both function and cosmetic concerns, the results were satisfactory.　

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.608-614
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• 2004

Isotactic polypropylene (PP) surfaces were modified with argon and oxygen plasmas using a radio­frequency (RF) glow discharge at 240 mTorr and 40 W. The changes in topography and surface structure were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in conjunction with specular reflectance of infrared (IR) microspectroscopy. Under our operating conditions, the AFM image analysis revealed that longer plasma treatment resulted in significant ablation on the PP surface, regardless of the kind of plasma employed, but the topography was dependent on the nature of the gases. Specular reflectance IR spectroscopic analysis indicated that the constant removal of surface material was an important ablative aspect when using either plasma, but the nature of the ablative behavior and the resultant aging effects were clearly dependent on the choice of plasma. The use of argon plasma resulted in a negligible aging effect; in contrast, the use of oxygen plasma caused a noticeable aging effect, which was due to reactions of trapped or isolated radicals with oxygen in air, and was partly responsible for the increased surface area caused by ablation. The use of oxygen plasma is believed to be an advantageous approach to modifying polymeric materials with functionalized surfaces, e.g., for surface grafting of unsaturated monomers and incorporating oxygen-containing groups onto PP.

• BMB Reports
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.209-210
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• 2018

NAFLD induces the development of advanced liver diseases such as NASH and liver cancer. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of NAFLD development is critical for its prevention and treatment. Ablation of PTEN or Hippo pathway components induces liver cancer in a murine model by hyperactive AKT or YAP/TAZ, respectively. Although the regulation of these two pathways occurs in the same hepatocyte, the details of crosstalk between Hippo-YAP/TAZ and PTEN-AKT pathways in liver homeostasis and tumorigenesis still remain unclear. Here, we found that depletion of both PTEN and SAV1 in liver promotes spontaneous NAFLD and liver cancer through hyperactive AKT via YAP/TAZ-mediated up-regulation of IRS2 transcription. Conversely, NAFLD is rescued by both ablation of YAP/TAZ and activation of the Hippo pathway. Furthermore, human HCC patients with NAFLD showed strong correlation between YAP/TAZ and IRS2 or phospho-AKT expression. Finally, the inhibition of AKT by MK-2206 treatment attenuates NAFLD development and tumorigenesis. Our findings indicate that Hippo pathway interacts with AKT signaling during the intervention with IRS2 to prevent NAFLD and liver cancer.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.61-64
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• 2020

Ablative therapy has drawn attention for cancer treatment as minimally invasive therapy. Recently, irreversible electroporation which has a different concept from the existing ablation method has emerged. Although gastrointestinal tract cancer is commonly managed by ablation such as liver, pancreas cancer, hollow viscus cancer is extremely challenging for applying ablative therapy because of its high perforation risk. Therefore, several studies about hollow viscus irreversible electroporation will be introduced in this review regarding its pre-clinical relevance.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.100-105
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• 2008

Partial toenail ablation on both sides of the great toenail, unfolding the severely curved toenail, and application of a simple device for maintaining the unfolded state of the incurved toenail is described to treat severely incurved toenails (pincer nails). This technique alleviated symptoms and improved the shape of severely curved toenails of the greater toe.