• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7603-7606
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• 2015

Background: The chemotherapeutic agent oxaliplatin can cause acute and chronic forms of peripheral neuropathy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of chronic neuropathy and its risk factors in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients treated with FOLFOX or XELOX regimens in the Oncology Ward of Hazrate-Rasoul Hospital in Tehran. Materials and Methods: A total of 130 patients with CRC were entered into our study, aged over 18 years, without history of receiving other neurotoxic agents or other predisposing factors such as diabetes or neurologic diseases and kidney and liver dysfunction. For the FOLFOX regimen, patients received oxaliplatin, 85mg/m2, every 2 weeks for 12 courses and with the XELOX regimen, oxaliplatin was $130mg/m^2$, every 3 weeks for 8 courses. Based on Common Toxicity Criteria (CTC or NCI-CTC v.3), the patients were divided into 5 groups (grades) based on the severity of their symptoms. Results: Fifty-seven patients (43.8%) were male and 73(56.2%) female. Some 19 patients (14.7%) had BMI<20, 97(74.6%) were between 20-25 and 14 (10.8%) ${\geq}25$. In 105 patients (80.7%) neuropathy was found. There was significant correlation between BMI, hypomagnesaemia and especially, severity of anemia in patients with neuropathy compared to those without. Conclusions: Oxaliplatin regimens can induce chronic neuropathy in CRC patients, with anemia, high BMI and hypomagnesaemia as risk factors that can predispose to this kind of neurotoxicity.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1116-1122
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• 2013

This study was to investigate the knowledge of cancer pain management and hospice awareness of nursing students in cancer ward. A total of 237 nursing students working at the cancer ward in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province from December 1st to 14th, 2012. The survey instrument used the 45-item scale for evaluating nursing students about knowledge of pain management and 23-item scale for evaluating hospice awareness. Data was statistically analyzed by SPSS Win 17.0 program, with descriptive analysis, t-test, pearson's correlation coefficient and ANOVA. The knowledge of pain management and hospice awareness showed statistically significant difference in the grade, religion, practice period of subjects. There was a significant difference between knowledge of pain management and hospice awareness. In order to understand cancer patient's pain, is required hospice education for forming a consensus. in addition, There is a need to increase the duration of the practice in order to have enough experience. that way, it is necessary to seek for expanding and promoting ways in order to hospice awareness.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.7-16
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• 2003

Terminal cancer patients in Korea have increased due to the development of medical technology and the structural change of diseases resulted from life quality improvement. Following this trend, many hospitals are making efforts, such as renovating hospice wards, but architectural criteria are not sufficiently suggested for specialized hospice wards. The purpose of this study is to present the research data to improve the quality of hospice ward in general hospital. Data collecting skills such as drawing documents analysis, interviews, observation were used to examine the condition of hospice ward. And, case study method was used to generate the design data which can be used for the appropriate spatial composition and the area calculation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.3587-3592
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• 2014

Burden of cancer is progressively increasing in developing countries like India which has also led to a steep rise in toxicity due to anti-cancer therapy. A cross-sectional analysis was here conducted for patients with different malignancies (except leukaemia) who while undergoing radical anti-cancer therapy were admitted to our oncology ward from January-July 2013. In a total of 280 patients, the total number of toxicity events was 473. Nine patients expired over this time period. Among the events, grade 2 anaemia the most common (n=189) while the most common grades of neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were grade 4 (n=114) and grade 2 (n=48), respectively. Among the tracable microbial etiologies, gram negative bacteria were the most commonly found pathogens. Treatment interruptions took place in 240 patients (median duration=8.8 days). Prolonged hospital admission, intensive care and artificial ventilation support was needed to be given in 48, 7 and 13 patients respectively. Advanced NSCLC, KPS <70, pancytopenia and artificial ventilation requirement were found to have a significant impact on death. Such studies show the prevailing practice from institutes of our country and may guide us formulating a guideline for managing such toxicities for this part of the world.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.239-244
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• 2015

Background: One of the causes of acute leukemia can be exposure to certain chemicals such as pesticides. This study determined the relationship between exposure to pesticides and the occurrence of acute leukemia in Fars province, south of Iran. Materials and Methods: Between April 2011 and April 2013 in a case-control study conducted in Nemazee Hospital in Shiraz, Southern Iran; 314 subjects diagnosed with acute leukemia (94 pediatric cases and 220 adults) were enrolled to determine any correlation between exposure to pesticides and the occurrence. Controls (n=314) were matched by sex and age. Results: There was a history of exposure to pesticides among 85% of pediatric cases and 69% of their controls and 83% of adult cases and 75% of their controls while 87.5% of pediatric cases and 90% of adult cases reported exposure to intermediate and high doses of pesticides and among the controls, the exposure to low doses of pesticides was 70.5% and 65%, respectively. Exposure to indoor pesticides was seen among most of cases and controls. Being a farmer was at a significantly more increased risk of developing acute leukemia in comparison to other jobs, especially for their children. Conclusions: Exposure to pesticides was shown to be one of the most important causes of acute leukemia. It seems that there is a need to educate the people on public health importance of exposure to pesticides especially during school time to reduce the risk of malignancies during childhood.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8173-8176
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• 2016

Cancer patients frequently experience malnutrition. Cancer and cancer therapy effects nutritional status through alterations in the metabolic system and reduction in food intake. In the present study, fifty seven cancer patients were selected as subjects from the oncology ward of Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Silchar, India. Evaluation of nutritional status of cancer patients during treatment was carried out by scored Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA). The findings of PG-SGA showed that 15.8% (9) were well nourished, 31.6% (18) were moderately or suspected of being malnourished and 52.6% (30) were severely malnourished. The prevalence of malnutrition was highest in lip/oral (33.33%) cancer patients. The study showed that the prevalence of malnutrition (84.2%) was high in cancer patients during treatment.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.3-6
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• 2013

Purpose: The treatment of thyroid cancer patients was continuously increased. According to the increment of thyroid cancer patients, the establishment of iodine therapy site was also increased in each hospital. This treatment involves the administration of radioactive iodine, which will be given in the form of a capsule. Therefore, protections and managements for radioactive source pollution and radiation exposure should be necessary for radiation safety. Among the many problems, the problem of disposing the radioactive wastes was occurred. In this study, The date for self-disposal for radioactive wastes, which were contaminated in clothes, bedclothes and trash, were calculated. Materials and Methods: The number of iodine therapy ward was 15 in Korea Institute of Radiological Medical and Sciences. Recently, 8 therapy wards were operated for iodine therapy patients and others were on standby for emergency treatment ward of any radiation accidents. Radioactive wastes, which were occurred in therapy ward, were clothes, bedclothes, bath cover for patients washing water and food and drink which was leftover by patients. Each sample was hold into the marinelli beaker (clothes, bedclothes, bath covers) and 90 ml beaker (food, drink, and washing water). The activities of collected samples were measured by HpGe MCA device (Multi Channel Analysis, CANBERRA, USA) Results: The storage period for the each kind of radioactive wastes was calculated by equation of storage periods based on the measurement outcomes. The average storage period was 60 days for the case of clothes, and the maximum storage period was 93 days for patient bottoms. The average storage period and the maximum storage period for the trash were 69 days and 97 days, respectively. The leftover foods and drinks had short storage period (the average storage period was 25 days and maximum storage period was 39 days), compared with other wastes. Conclusion: The proper storage period for disposing the radioactive waste (clothes, bedclothes and bath cover) was 100 days by the regulation on self-disposal of radioactive waste. In addition, the storage period for disposing the liquid radioactive waste was 120 days. The current regulation for radioactive waste self-disposing was not suitable for the circumstances of each radioactive therapy facility. Therefore, it was necessary to reduce the leftover food and drinks by adequate table setting for patients, and improve the process and regulation for disposing the short-half life radioactive wastes.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.492-499
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the association of dietary patterns with overweight risk and all-cause mortality in pediatric cancer patients. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Prospective cohort study was undertaken; 83 cancer patients admitted to the pediatric cancer ward at a university hospital in Seoul were included and followed for obesity and death over 24 months. Food consumption data were collected from patients using validated meal order sheets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the pediatric cancer ward over 3 days. Using principal component analysis, three dietary patterns were derived from 29 food groups. RESULTS: Eighteen deaths occurred among the patient cohort during the follow-up period. The "spicy & fried meat and fish" dietary pattern was positively associated with overweight risk at both baseline [odds ratio (OR) = 4.396, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.111-17.385, P for trend = 0.023] and after 6 months (OR = 4.088, 95% CI = 1.122-14.896, P for trend = 0.025) as well as all-cause mortality (hazard ratios = 5.124, 95% CI = 1.080-24.320, P for trend = 0.042), when comparing the highest and lowest tertiles after adjusting for covariates. The "fish, egg, meat, and fruits & vegetables" dietary pattern was associated with lower overweight risk after 24 months (OR = 0.157, 95% CI = 0.046-0.982, P for trend = 0.084). CONCLUSION: The results imply that dietary patterns might be associated with weight gain and premature death among pediatric cancer patients.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.44-49
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• 2017

Purpose Radiation exposure management has been strictly regulated for the radiation workers, but there are only a few studies on potential risk of radiation exposure to non-radiation workers, especially nurses in a general ward. The present study aimed to estimate the exact total exposure of the nurse in a general ward by close contact with the patient undergoing nuclear medicine examinations. Materials and Methods Radiation exposure rate was determined by using thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) and optical simulated luminescence (OSL) in 14 nurses in a general ward from October 2015 to June 2016. External radiation rate was measured immediately after injection and examination at skin surface, and 50 cm and 1 m distance from 50 patients (PET/CT 20 pts; Bone scan 20 pts; Myocardial SPECT 10 pts). After measurement, effective half-life, and total radiation exposure expected in nurses were calculated. Then, expected total exposure was compared with total exposures actually measured in nurses by TLD and OSL. Results Mean and maximum amount of radiation exposure of 14 nurses in a general ward were 0.01 and 0.02 mSv, respectively in each measuring period. External radiation rate after injection at skin surface, 0.5 m and 1 m distance from patients was as following; $376.0{\pm}25.2$, $88.1{\pm}8.2$ and $29.0{\pm}5.8{\mu}Sv/hr$, respectively in PET/CT; $206.7{\pm}56.6$, $23.1{\pm}4.4$ and $10.1{\pm}1.4{\mu}Sv/hr$, respectively in bone scan; $22.5{\pm}2.6$, $2.4{\pm}0.7$ and $0.9{\pm}0.2{\mu}Sv/hr$, respectively in myocardial SPECT. After examination, external radiation rate at skin surface, 0.5 m and 1 m distance from patients was decreased as following; $165.3{\pm}22.1$, $38.7{\pm}5.9$ and $12.4{\pm}2.5{\mu}Sv/hr$, respectively in PET/CT; $32.1{\pm}8.7$, $6.2{\pm}1.1$, $2.8{\pm}0.6$, respectively in bone scan; $14.0{\pm}1.2$, $2.1{\pm}0.3$, $0.8{\pm}0.2{\mu}Sv/hr$, respectively in myocardial SPECT. Based upon the results, an effective half-life was calculated, and at 30 minutes after examination the time to reach normal dose limit in 'Nuclear Safety Act' was calculated conservatively without considering a half-life. In oder of distance (at skin surface, 0.5 m and 1 m distance from patients), it was 7.9, 34.1 and 106.8 hr, respectively in PET/CT; 40.4, 199.5 and 451.1 hr, respectively in bone scan, 62.5, 519.3 and 1313.6 hr, respectively in myocardial SPECT. Conclusion Radiation exposure rate may differ slightly depending on the work process and the environment in a general ward. Exposure rate was measured at step in the general examination procedure and it made our results more reliable. Our results clearly showed that total amount of radiation exposure caused by residual radioactive isotope in the patient body was neglectable, even comparing with the natural radiation exposure. In conclusion, nurses in a general ward were much less exposed than the normal dose limit, and the effects of exposure by contacting patients undergoing nuclear medicine examination was ignorable.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.5-16
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of oncology ward nurses toward cancer pain management and to find ways to improve the educational program for nurses. Method: A total of 209 nurses working at the oncology ward of three hospitals in Seoul and a Gyenggi Province. The survey instrument used was the 32-item scale for evaluating nurses knowledge and attitudes originally developed by McCaffery and Ferrell'(1990), that was by Kim'(1997). Result: In terms of the nurses knowledge of pain management, the result showed that the nurses scored an average of 67.8 out of 100 for phamacokinetics of opioids, 84.8 for classification of analgesics, 60.1 for pain assessment, and 70.7 for drug administration. 18.2% of the nurses hesitate to inject the narcotic agent because of concerns regarding the drug's potential side effects. there was significant difference in the knowledge of pain management according to the general characteristics of pain in terms of the nurses age(p=.001), position (p=.016), years of experiences(p=.002), experience of cancer pain education(p=.001). Conclusion: The also showed that nurses working at cancer ward lack knowledge. It is important to provide intensive education to nurses about cancer pain management.