• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 1995

Purpose : This study was done to evaluate preliminarily the role of intraluminal brachytherapy in the radiation treatment of non-metastatic esophageal cancer, Materials and Methods: We analyzed follow-up result of 21 patients treated at the dept. of therapeutic radiology in Gyeongsang national university hospital between April, 1989 and August, 1992. All patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy(5-FU, Cispl-atin). Fifteen Patients were treated with external beam alone, and in remaining 6 patients, the external beam radiotherapy followed by intraluminal brachytherapy was done. Results : Among 21 patients, 7 patients showed complete tumor regression after completion of radiotherapy. But 2 of these complete responder recurred at the site of primary disease, so ultimate local control rate was $23.8\%$(5/21). Local control rate according to radiation treatment modality was $6.7\%$(1/15) in patients treaed with external irradiation only, and $66.7\%$ in patients treated with combined external irradiation and intraluminal brachytherapy. The 2 year NED survival rate was $6.6.\%$ in the former and $66.7\%$ in the latter. Conclusion: Although there should be consideration about case selection for addition of intraluminal brachytherapy intraluminal brachytherapy may be considerded as one of the method to enhance the local control probability of esophageal cancer.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.103-112
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• 2009

Catheter related and perianal problems are common surgical complications encountered during the treatment of pediatric malignancies. However acute surgical abdominal emergencies are rare. The aim of this study is to review acute surgical abdominal complications that occur during the treatment of childhood malignancies. Out of a total of 1,222 patients who were newly diagnosed with malignant disease, between January 2003 and May 2008, there were 10 patients who required surgery because of acute abdominal emergencies. Their medical records were reviewed retrospectively. Hematologic malignancies were present in 7 patients (4 leukemia, 2 lymphoma, 1 Langerhans cell histiocytosis) and solid tumors in 3 patients (1 adrenocortical carcinoma, 1 desmoplastic small round cell tumor, 1 rhabdomyosarcoma). Seven patients had intestinal obstruction, two had gastrointestinal perforation and one, typhlitis. Intestinal obstructions were treated with resection of the involved segment with (N=2) or without (N=3) enterostomy. Two patients had enterostomy alone when resection could not be performed. Intestinal perforation was treated with primary repair. Typhlitis of the ascending colon was treated with ileostomy. Right hemicolectomy was necessary the next day because of the rapidly progressing sepsis. Three patients are now alive on chemotherapy and one patient was lost to followed-up. Among six patients who died, five died of their original disease progression and one of uncontrolled sepsis after intestinal perforation. Although rare, acute surgical abdominal complications can occur in childhood malignancies. Rapid and accurate diagnosis and appropriate operation are required for effective treatment of the complications.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.145-152
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• 1995

A retrospective analysis was performed to ascertain the relationship between the treatment modalities and their treatment results. From July 1980 to June 1993, 115 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary sinus were: treated at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University. There were 88 men and 27 women with median age of 57 years. According to AJCC TNM system of 1992. eight patients of T2, 54 patients of T3 and 53 patients of T4 were available, respectively. Cervical lymph node metastases at diagnosis was observed in 11 patients. 87 patients were treated with radiotherapy and 28 patients were treated with combination of surgery and radiotherapy. The overall 5 year survival rate was 32 %, patients that were treated with radiotherapy alone had a 5 year survival rate 24.3 % and patients who were treated with combination of surgery and radiation therapy had a 5 year survival rate of 52.8 % (p<0.05). Combination of surgery and radiotherapy resulted in a better treatment modality for squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary sinus. Improved radiotherapy technique and development of multimodality treatment are needed to improve the local control and the survival rate in patients with advanced maxillary sinus carcinoma.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.153-158
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• 1988

Stomach cancer is the most popular tumor in Korea but the prognosis following extensive surgery and chemotherapy has not improved for many years. Conventional external radiotherapy also has some limitation, namely, a cancerocidal dose can not be delivered to tumors because of low radiation tolerance of adjacent critical sensitive organs. In order to overcome these limitations of curative surgery and external radiotherapy, intraoperative radiotherapy was proposed in many centers and the results were excellent. We treated two cases of locally advanced gastric cancers with IORT by using NEC 18 MeV Linear Accelerator after standard subtotal resection of the stomach. After treatment, the patients are in good conditions so far, but in order to evaluate the effectiveness of IORT, a study will be performed on the survival rates between patients treated by IORT and those treated by surgery alone.

• CELLMED
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.10.1-10.8
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• 2013

Cancer is one of the major dreaded diseases causing high mortality. Lung cancer is second in position of all cancer related deaths and mainly divided into two morphologic sub-types: small-cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC is an aggressive neoplasm which hardly responds to any conventional chemotherapy. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) belongs to the ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinase that is mainly over-expressed in NSCLC. EGFR is mainly involved in the pathogenesis and progression of different carcinoma. In vivo and in vitro studies suggest that EGFR and EGF like peptides are often over-expressed in human NSCLC and these proteins are able to induce cell transformation. The conventional therapies mostly inhibit the EGFR activity and expression level in human NSCLC with the use of some EGFR-inhibitors like HKI-272, EKB569, CL-387785 etc. and some synthetic chemotherapeutic drugs like erlotinib, gefitinib, plumbagin, docetaxel, cisplatin etc., alone or in combination of two or more drugs. These therapies selectively act by competitive inhibition of the binding of adenosine triphosphate to the tyrosine kinase domain of the EGFR, resulting in inhibition of the EGFR signaling pathway. But these chemotherapeutic drugs have some cytotoxic activities to the normal cells and have some adverse side-effects. Recent studies on some traditional alternative therapies including some herbal and plant extracts, active ingredients like curcumin, different homeopathic drugs, etc. can target EGFR-signalling in NSCLC with less toxic side-effects are being currently developed.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.393-397
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECFTIVES: Artemisinin, a natural product isolated from Gaeddongssuk (artemisia annua L.) and its main active derivative, dihydroartemisinin (DHA), have long been used as antimalarial drugs. Recent studies reported that artemisinin is efficacious for curing diseases, including cancers, and for improving the immune system. Many researchers have shown the therapeutic effects of artemisinin on tumors such as breast cancer, liver cancer and kidney cancer, but there is still insufficient data regarding glioblastoma (GBM). Glioblastoma accounts for 12-15% of brain cancer, and the median survival is less than a year, despite medical treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer effects of DHA and transferrin against glioblastoma (glioblastoma multiforme, GBM). MATERIALS/METHODS: This study was performed through in vitro experiments using C6 cells. The toxicity dependence of DHA and transferrin (TF) on time and concentration was analyzed by MTT assay and cell cycle assay. Observations of cellular morphology were recorded with an optical microscope and color digital camera. The anti-cancer mechanism of DHA and TF against GBM were studied by flow cytometry with Annexin V and caspase 3/7. RESULTS: MTT assay revealed that TF enhanced the cytotoxicity of DHA against C6 cells. An Annexin V immune-precipitation assay showed that the percentages of apoptosis of cells treated with TF, DHA alone, DHA in combination with TF, and the control group were $7.15{\pm}4.15%$, $34.3{\pm}5.15%$, $66.42{\pm}5.98%$, and $1.2{\pm}0.15%$, respectively. The results of the Annexin V assay were consistent with those of the MTT assay. DHA induced apoptosis in C6 cells through DNA damage, and TF enhanced the effects of DHA. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated that DHA, the derivative of the active ingredient in Gaeddongssuk, is effective against GBM, apparently via inhibition of cancer cell proliferation by a pharmacological effect. The role of transferrin as an allosteric activator in the GBM therapeutic efficacy of DHA was also confirmed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10245-10250
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• 2015

Background: Glucocorticoids are commonly co-administered with chemotherapy to prevent drug-induced allergic reactions, nausea, and vomiting, and have anti-tumor functions clinically; however, the distinct effects of GC on subtypes of tumor cells, especially in breast cancer cells, are still not well understood. In this study, we aimed to clarify the effect of GC on subtypes of T47D breast cancer cells by focusing on apoptosis, cell organization and migration, and underluing molecular mechanisms. Materials and Methods: The cell scratch test was performed to observe the cell migration rate in T47D cells treated with dexamethasone (Dex). Hoechst and MTT assays were conducted to detect cell survival and rhodamine-labeled phalloidin staining to observe cytoskeleton dynamics. Related factors in the AKT/mTOR pathway were determined by Western blotting. Results: Dex treatment could effectively inhibit T47D breast cancer cell migration with disruption of the cytoskeletal dynamic organization. Moreover, the effect of Dex on cell migration and cytoskeleton may be mediated by AKT/mTOR/RhoA pathway. Although Dex inhibited T47D cell migration, it alone may not induce cell apoptosis in T47D cells. Conclusions: Dex in T47D human breast cancer cells could effectively inhibit cell migration by disrupting the cytoskeletal dynamic organization, which may be mediated by the AKT/mTOR/RhoA pathway. Our work suggests that glucocorticoid/Dex clinical use may prove helpful for the treatment of breast cancer metastasis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7719-7724
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• 2013

Background: Overexpression of survivin, a known inhibitor of apoptosis, is associated with tumor progression and drug resistance in numerous malignancies, including leukemias. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a specific survivin small interference RNA (siRNA) on proliferation and the sensitivity of HL-60 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells to the chemotherapeutic drug etoposide. Materials and Methods: The cells were transfected with siRNAs using Lipofectamine $^{TM}2000$ transfection reagent. Relative survivin mRNA and protein levels were measured by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Trypan blue exclusion assays were performed to monitor tumor cell proliferation after siRNA transfection. The cytotoxic effects of etoposide and survivin siRNA, alone and in combination, on leukemic cells were determined using MTT assay. Apoptosis was assessed by ELISA cell death assay. Results: Survivin siRNA markedly reduced both mRNA and protein expression levels in a time-dependent manner, leading to distinct inhibition of cell proliferation and increased spontaneous apoptosis. Surprisingly, survivin siRNA synergistically increased the cell toxic effects of etoposide. Moreover, survivin down-regulation significantly enhanced its induction of apoptosis. Conclusions: Our study suggests that down-regulation of survivin by siRNA can trigger apoptosis and overcome drug resistance of leukemia cells. Therefore, survivin siRNA may be an effective adjuvant in AML chemotherapy.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.11
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• pp.1227-1231
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• 2006

Intestinal tuberculosis presents with nonspecific and variable clinical manifestations. It is rarely seen in current clinical practice and the diagnosis may be missed or confused with many other disorders such as Crohns disease and intestinal neoplasms. The route of infection by tuberculous enteritis is variable and the treatment regimens used for treating pulmonary tuberculosis are generally effective for tuberculous enteritis as well. Uncomplicated tuberculous enteritis can be managed with a nine to 12- month course of antituberculous chemotherapy. If not treated early, the prognosis for intestinal tuberculosis is poor, with an overall mortality of between 19 percent and 38 percent. However, 90 percent of patients will respond to medical therapy alone if started early. Therefore, early detection and treatment is essential. Here we report a case of intestinal tuberculosis secondary to miliary tuberculosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8177-8186
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• 2016

The present study was aimed at determining the effects of alkylating and oxidative stress inducing agents on a newly identified variant of DNA polymerase beta ($pol{\beta}{\Delta}_{208-304}$) specific for ovarian cancer. $Pol{\beta}{\Delta}_{208-304}$ has a deletion of exons 11-13 which lie in the catalytic part of enzyme. We compared the effect of these chemicals on HeLa cells and HeLa cells stably transfected with this variant cloned into in pcDNAI/neo vector by MTT, colony forming and apoptosis assays. $Pol{\beta}{\Delta}_{208-304}$ cells exhibited greater sensitivity to an alkylating agent and less sensitivity towards $H_2O_2$ and UV when compared with HeLa cells alone. It has been shown that cell death in $Pol{\beta}{\Delta}_{208-304}$ transfected HeLa cells is mediated by the caspase 9 cascade. Exon 11 has nucleotidyl selection activity, while exons 12 and 13 have dNTP selection activity. Hence deletion of this part may affect polymerizing activity although single strand binding and double strand binding activity may remain same. The lack of this part may adversely affect catalytic activity of DNA polymerase beta so that the variant may act as a dominant negative mutant. This would represent clinical significance if translated into a clinical setting because resistance to radiation or chemotherapy during the relapse of the disease could be potentially overcome by this approach.