• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.8-10
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• 2014

Patients with uncontrolled pain may become tired, depressed, angry, worried, lonely, and stressed. In contrast, proper management of cancer pain allows patients to be more active, sleep better, enjoy family and friends, improve their appetite, enjoy sexual intimacy, and prevent depression. Pain control is strongly influence to quality of life of cancer patients. This review discusses the importance of quality of life in pain management for cancer patients.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2013

This study intends to identify the characteristics of cancer in-patients and those of cancer patients who defected to other medical institutions based on the summary of hospital discharge information of a university hospital for the purpose of improving work efficiency and maximizing the number of patients. The study used data on cancer patients registered in the database of C University Hospital in Gyeonggi Province for a period of one year between January 1 and December 31. The analysis results suggest that the commonalities of the cancer patients who defected to other medical institutions include no specific job, old age, and hospitalization through emergency room. In conclusion, hospitals need to identify the characteristics of cancer patients classified as patients who are prone to defect and the defection factors through this prediction model.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.4715-4718
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• 2015

Background: Patient delay can contribute to a poor outcome in the management of head and neck cancers (HNC). The main objective of the present study was to investigate the factors associated with patient delay in our population. Materials and Methods: Patients with cancers of the head and neck attending a regional cancer center of North East India were consecutively interviewed during the period from June 2014 to November 2014. The participation of patients was voluntary. The questionnaire included information on age, gender, residential status, educational qualification, monthly family income, any family history of cancer, and history of prior awareness on cancer from television (TV) program and awareness program. Results: Of 311 (n) patients, with an age range of 14-88 years (mean 55.4 years), 81.7% were males and 18.3% females (M:F=4.4). The overall median delay was 90 days (range=7 days-365 days), in illiterate patients the median delay was 90 days and 60 days in literate patients (P=0.002), the median delay in patients who had watched cancer awareness program on TV was 60 days and in patients who were unaware about cancer information from TV program had a median delay of 90 days (p=0.00021) and delay of <10 weeks was seen in 139 (44.6%) patients, a delay of 10-20 weeks in 98 (31.5%) patients, and a delay of 20-30 weeks in 63 (20.2%) patients. Conclusions: Education and awareness had a significant impact in reduction of median patient delay in our HNC cases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.4041-4044
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• 2015

Background: To verify whether serum tumor abnormal protein (TAP) would correlate with the responsiveness of palliative chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer, and the variation of conventional serum tumor markers e.g., carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), antigen 125 (CA125),carbohydrate antigen19-9 (CA19-9) of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with early gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: Patients with histologically confirmed gastric cancer and treated with chemotherapy were enrolled into this study. TAP values of these patients were determined by detecting abnormal sugar chain glycoprotein in serum, combined with the area of agglomerated particles. For patients with advanced gastric cancer, responsiveness of palliative chemotherapy was compared with variation of TAP and the relation between variation of TAP and tumor markers in patients with early gastric cancer was analyzed. Results: Totally 82 gastric cancer patients were enrolled into this study. The value of TAP is more closely related to responsiveness of palliative chemotherapy for patients with advanced gastric cancer. The correlation between TAP and responsiveness to palliative chemotherapy is stronger than the correlation between several conventional serum tumor markers (CEA, CA125 and CA199). The variation of TAP was also positively correlated with the trend of CA125 in adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusions: TAP is sensitive in monitoring the responsiveness to palliative chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer. But this result should be confirmed by randomized clinical trials for patients with gastric cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1627-1632
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• 2014

Background: Several studies indicated that the diagnosis season affects the prognosis of some cancers, such as examples in the prostate, colon and breast. This retrospective study aimed to investigate whether the diagnosis and recurrent season impacts the prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer patients. Methods: From January 2005 to August 2010, 161 epithelial ovarian cancer patients were analyzed and followed up until August 2013. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and the log-rank test were used to make the survival analysis. Multivariate analysis was conducted to identify independent prognostic factors. Results: The prognostic factors of overall survival in epithelial ovarian cancer patients included age, clinical stage, pathological type, histological grade, residual disease after primary surgery, recurrent season and adjuvant chemotherapy cycles. Moreover, clinical stage, histological grade, residual disease after primary surgery, recurrent season and adjuvant chemotherapy cycles also impacted the progression-free survival of epithelial ovarian cancer patients. The diagnosis season did not have a significantly relationship with the survival of operable epithelial ovarian cancer patients. Median overall survival of patients with recurrent month from April to November was 47 months, which was longer (P < 0.001) than that of patients with recurrence month from December to March (19 months). Median progression-free survival of patients with recurrence month from April to November and December to March was 20 and 8 months, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The recurrence season impacts the survival of epithelial ovarian cancer patients. However, the diagnosed season does not appear to exert a significant influence.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7867-7869
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• 2015

Objective: To assess the safety and effectiveness of thalidomide (produced by CHANGZHOU PHARMACEUTICAL FACTORY CO.LTD) combined with chemotherapy in treating patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Method: A consecutive cohort of pretreated patients with advanced colorectal cancer were treated with thalidomide combined with chemotherapy. And chemotherapy for patients with advanced colorectal cancer were administered according to the condition of patients. Thalidomide was orally administered at a dosage of 50mg/day to 150mg/day before sleeping for at least 14 days. After at least 14 days of treatment, safety and side effects were evaluated. Results: There were 12 female and 3 male patients with advanced cancer recruited into this study, including 9 patients with colon, 6 patients with rectal cancer. The median age of patients was 57(41-82) years. Partial response was observed in 2 patients (2/15), and stable disease in 3 patients(3/15). Incidences of Grade 1 to 2 myelosuppression was observed in 1/15 patients, and Grade 1 to 2 elevation of hepatic enzyme was recorded in 1/15 patients. Adverse effects on the gastrointestinal tract were documented in 1/15 patients, and were Grade 1. No Grade 3-4 toxicities were diagnosed. No treatment related death was found. Conclusions: Thalidomide combined with chemotherapy was safe and mildly effective in treating patients with advanced colorectal cancer. However, further study should be conducted to clarify the effectiveness of this combination.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.567-584
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• 1997

Most of cancer therapy consists of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy developed by modern western medicine. Often Korean patients use both modem western and oriental medicine through their cancer life. This study tried out to answer the the question : "What are the experience of a Korean cancer patients who follow oriental medicine after cancer diagnosis?" To answer to that, a micro-ethnographic research method was used. Total 6 patients were observed from March, 1996 to February, 1997. Data were obtained through interview, participant observation, audio-tape recording, field recoding, field note-taking, and ralated documents Using an analytical tool known as "pencil and scissors", the data were analyzed. First, I learned patietnts' accounts for cancer experience following oriental medicine, and I could found that they expereinced "feeling of uncertainty" through cancer life. Second, major argument was searched. : Feeling of uncertainty of cancer patients was extremely increased after cancer diagnosis. Oriental Medicine made cancer patients not only expect to improve general physical condition, but also gave them significnat emotional support to overcome their feeling of uncertanty. Third, I examined how did this argument form meanings in the context of individual life. Modem western mediacal service system could not satisfy cancer patients' informational and emotional need. But oriental medicine contribute to relieve the degree of their feeling of uncertainty. As a result of these understandings, I suggest that modern wetern medicine need to be concerned to feeling of uncertainty of cancer patietns and infomational service, and oriental medicine counsel with cancer patients much more systemically. Also nurses must improve cancer education with more accurate and practical information based on empirical data.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.55-62
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• 2010

Purpose: We evaluated the clinicopathological charicterics and prognostic impacts of lymphatic vessel invasion in gastric cancer without lymph node involvement. Materials and Methods: Among 1,795 patients who underwent gastric surgery with gastric cancer at the department of surgery, Hanyang university college of medicine from June 1992 to March 2009, we retrospectively evaluated 890 patients with lymph node negative gastric cancer. Results: The lymphatic vessel invasion correlated significantly with tumor stage, age, tumor size, perineural invasion and operation method. The survival rates were only significantly different between the patients with and without lymphatic vessel invasion in patients with stage Ia (P=0.036). Univariate and multivariate analysis demonstrated that blood vessel invasion and preoperative serum CEA level were significant factor influencing the survival rate in lymph node negative gastric cancer patients with lymphatic invasion. Conclusions: In patients with lymph node negative gastric cancer, the survival rate is significantly lower in those with lymphatic vessel invasion than in those without. Especially, in patients with stage Ia gastric cancer, the survival rates is significantly different between those with and those without lymphatic vessel invasion. Blood vessel invasion and preoperative serum CEA level is an adverse prognostic indicator in patients with stage Ia gastric cancer with lymphatic invasion. Thus we should consider further adjuvant therapies in case of need and need to show more concern to identify gastric cancer patients early at risk for recurrence.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.367-393
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• 2013

Quality of life(QoL) of older cancer patients have not gained enough attention from researchers even when cancer is the number one cause of death of Korean elderly. Therefore, this study aims at understanding the QoL of older cancer patients and factors related to it, applying Taylor(2012)'s Stress-Coping Process model, and by comparing with older chronic disease patients and middle-aged cancer patients. Results indicated that physical health QoL of older cancer patients was the worst and their mental health QoL was similar with middle aged cancer patients. Multi-group analysis of Structural Equation Modeling indicated that the relation between QoL and the stress coping resources was not statistically different from older cancer patients and older chronic disease group, as well older cancer patients and middle-aged cancer patients. Implications of results to improve the QoL of older cancer patients are discussed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.283-293
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• 2017

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to compare prognosis of patients with gastric or colorectal cancer according to places where they received surgeries. Methods: The cancer patients underwent surgeries in sampled hospitals located in Daegu were matched 1:1 to the patients who visited sampled hospitals in Seoul using propensity score method. After the occurrences of death were examined, Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis and the log-rank test was performed to compare the survival curves. Results: A total of six out of 291 gastric cancer patients who had surgeries in Daegu died (2.1%) and ten deaths (3.4%) occurred from patients went Seoul hospitals. Out of 84 gastric cancer patients who had chemotherapy after surgeries in Daegu, 13 (15.5%) patients died while 18 (21.4%) deaths occurred among patients underwent surgeries in Seoul. Six deaths (6.9%) out of 87 colorectal cancer patients who had surgeries in Daegu were reported. Five patients (5.7%) died among the patients underwent surgeries in Seoul. Among the colorectal cancer patients with chemotherapy after surgeries, 13 patients (12.4%) who visited hospitals in Daegu and 14 (13.3%) patients who used medical centers in Seoul died. There were no significant differences according to places where patients used medical services. Conclusions: The result of this study is expected to be used as basic data for policy making to resolve centralization problem of cancer patients and to help patients to make rational choices in selection of medical centers.