• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.177-182
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• 2018

Background: Breast cancer is a treatable disease, but some women reject conventional treatment in favor of unproven "alternative therapies," which may have serious implications for their survival. Therefore, a process is needed to lead them to more appropriate treatment choices. Case presentation: Here, we present the case of a 51-year-old Korean female diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer (stage IIB, T2N1M0) in Nov. 2015. She refused a standard surgical resection together with chemotherapy and opted instead for moxibustion by nonmedical personnel. Consequently, her preference for alternative therapy without conventional treatment exacerbated her disease. Just a little over a year later, integrative cancer treatment, including chemotherapy based on histological founding, and complementary treatment, comprised of acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbal medicine, were administered for 5 months. Finally, she successfully underwent modified radical mastectomy showing a pathological complete response. She received only adjuvant chemotherapy without any alternative medicine afterwards, and she maintained a good status without recurrence. Conclusion: In the case of breast cancer patients who are resistant to surgery and chemotherapy, integrative therapy considering adverse effects from conventional treatment should be preferred to bitter opposition to alternative medicine.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.115-128
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to understand the experiences of women under 40 years of age with gynecologic cancer. Methods: Semi-structured individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 Korean female patients aged 21~39 years with gynecologic cancer. The data were analyzed using Corbin and Strauss' grounded theory approach, including open coding, context analysis, and integrating categories. Results: Grounded theory analysis revealed nine categories and a core category of 'the journey to find my life after losing the life as a typical woman.' The categories that emerged as the conditions are 'Unwelcomed guest, cancer,' 'Completely devastated life as an ordinary woman,' 'Uncertain future,' 'Losing my physical characteristics as a woman,' and 'Life tied with treatments.' The actions/interactions were 'Decrease of interpersonal relationships,' 'A lonely battle to overcome alone,' and 'The power to overcome hardships.' The consequence was 'Live my own life.' Conclusion: This study contributes to the development of a substantive theory of the experience of gynecologic cancer in young women, which has been on the rise in recent years. The study's results are expected to be used as a basis for providing nursing care to help young women with gynecologic cancer adapt to their disease.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 2003

Purpose : Anorexia-cachexia syndrome is one of the most common symptoms and main cause of death in terminal cancer patients. This symptom is due to the enlarged cancer mass as well as tumor released cytokines. Some doctors have suggested that vitamin C was preferentially toxic to tumor cells in vitro and in vivo, and improved clinical symptoms in terminal cancer patients. Therefore, we measured cytokines in serum of terminal cancer patients to determine whether vitamin C treatment improved the anorexia-cachexia syndrome. Methods : We investigated that 49 terminal cancer patients admitted to the department of family medicine, National Health Insurance Corporation Ilsan hospital from March 1, 2002 to August 31, 2002. The study was done on 22 patients who were given 10 g/day of vitamin C infusions during 1 week and 27 patients who were not infused. We measured the cytokines levels ($IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6, and $TNF-{\alpha}$) before and after 1 week between terminal cancer patients treated vitamin C and without vitamin C. Results : Out of 49 patients, patents treated with vitamin C infusions were 22 (12 male, 10 female), and these without vitamin C were 27 (18 male, 9 female). In patients treated with vitamin C, $IL-1{\beta}\;were\;6.19{\pm}5.17$ before day and $8.76{\pm}5.72$ after 1 week, IL-6 were $3.07{\pm}8.09$ before day and $1.31{\pm}2.36$ after 1 week, and $TNF-{\alpha}\;were\;2.74{\pm}14.24$ before day and $0.50{\pm}2.00$ after 1 week. In patients treated without vitamin C, $IL-1{\beta}\;were\;2.50{\pm}3.58$ before day and $6.49{\pm}12.01$ after 1 week, IL-6 were $1.00{\pm}2.19$ before day and $17.16{\pm}81.55$ after 1 week, and $TNF-{\alpha}\;were\;1.19{\pm}2.98$ before day and $1.27{\pm}1.52$ after 1 week. The level of cytokines in patients treated with vitamin C decreased more than those without vitamin C. However, this represented no statistical value (P=0.0598 in $IL-1{\beta}$, P=0.1664 in IL-6, and P=0.5395 in $TNF-{\alpha}$). Conclusion : In terminal cancer, even if there was no statistical difference in the cytokines levels between patients treated with vitamin C and those not treated, those who were treated had a decrease all cytokines levels. Vitamin C is very safe with almost no side effects. Therefore, vitamin C treatment in terminal cancer patients can be seen as beneficial and helpful for clinical symptoms.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.288-293
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• 1998

We had retrospective analysis of 421 patients who were consulted from other departments. From 1994 to 1997, these patients received nerve blocks, intravenous lidocaine infusion, lasers and so on for their pain. From these results, we are gathering information and making some recommandations. The largest percentage of patients were in their fifties with a distribution of 32.8% male and 55.1% female. The most common condition requiring treatment was low back pain 44.6%, followed by cancer pain 19.2%, cervical pain 7.4%, and shoulder pain 4.3%. In case of low back pain, the largest portion was HNP(27%), followed by spinal stenosis(16%), sprain(11%), and postlaminectomy(10%). The most common cacer was colorectal(28.4%) and the next was stomach(19.7%). The most commonly done nerve block was stellate ganglion block 32.3%, followed by lumbar epidural block 24.5% and caudal block 7.2%.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.292-296
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• 1994

From March, 1985, to June, 1993, 244 patients with 345 episodes of spontaneous pneumothorax treated at Koryo General Hospital were reviewed. Most of the patients were male, and the ratio of male to female was 8:1. The average age of the patients with spontaneous pneumothorax was 32.8 years old. The site of pneumothorax was revealed left side in 53.3%, right side in 42.6%, and bilateral in 4.1%. The cause of pneumothorax were shown primary spontaneous pneumothorax in 73.4%, and secondary spontaneous pneumothorax in 26.6%. The underlying pathologic lesion in secondary spontaneous pneumothorax showed pulmonary tuberculosis in 56patients[86.1%], COPD in 4patients[6.2%], bronchial asthma in 2patients[3.1%], lung cancer in 2patients[3.1%], and pneumoconiosis in a patient[1.5%]. The usual clinical symptomes were dyspnea, chest pain and chest discomfort. Recurrence rate was as follow; 2nd episode 33.6%, 3rd episode in 26.8%, and above in 4th episode in 18.2%. All the patient of pneumothorax was treated as following; Closed thoracostomy tube drainage in 127patients, bullectomy in 88patients, lobectomy in 5patients, wedge resection in 2patients, conservative treatment with oxygen therapy in 21patients, and video assisted thoracoscopic bullectomy in a patient. The course of treatment of all of the patients were smooth and uneventful.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.519-525
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• 2016

Background: The objective of this study was to report the types and relative frequency of oral malignancies and precancer in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia during the period 2009-2014. Materials and Methods: Pathology reports were retrieved from the archives of Histopathology Department, King Fahd hospital in Jazan. Demographic data on tobacco habits, clinical presentation and histologic grading of oral precancer and cancer cases were transcribed from the files. Results: 303 (42.7%) oral pre-malignant and malignant cases were found out of 714 oral biopsy lesions. A pathology diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (85.1%) was most frequent, followed by premalignant lesions/epithelial dysplasia (8.6%), verrucous carcinoma (3.3%) and malignancy of other histological types (3%) such as ameloblastic carcinoma, salivary gland malignancy and sarcomas. Oral squamous cell carcinoma was predominant in females with a male to female ratio of 1:1.9. Patient age ranged from 22 to 100 years with a mean of $65{\pm}13.9$. Almost 44.6% of oral cancer had occurred after 65 years of age. Only 16.3% cases were reported in patients younger than 50 years, predominantly females. The majority of female patients had the habit of using shammah with a long duration of usage for more than 45 years. Buccoalveolar mucosa (52.3%) was the common site of involvement followed by tongue/floor of the mouth (47.7%) and clinically presented mostly as ulceration/swelling clinically. Moderately differentiated tumours (53.9%) were common followed by well differentiated (32.2%) and poorly differentiated tumours (5.8%). The prevalence of oral verrucous carcinoma (3.3%) was comparatively low with an equal distribution in both males and females. Both bucco-alveolar mucosa and tongue were predominantly affected. Oral precancer/epithelial dysplasia (8.6%) was common in females with a shammah habit. Bucco-alveolar mucosa was commonly involved and clinically presented mostly as white/red patches. Most cases were mild followed by moderate and severe dysplasia. Tumours of other histological types (3%) include 1 ameloblastic carcinoma, 3 malignant salivary gland tumours and 5 sarcomas. Conclusions: In this study, it was found that oral cancers reported in the pathology service to be a common occurrence. This study reconfirms previous reports of the high burden of oral cancer in this population This indicates that conventional preventive programs focused on oral cancer are in need of revision. In addition, further research into identifying new risk factors and molecular markers for oral cancer are needed for screening high risk individuals.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6357-6362
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• 2014

Background: Globally, the overall incidence of cancer is increasing as a result of ageing populations and changing lifestyles. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death, especially in the developed nations. Cancers affecting the young population are generally considered uncommon. This study assessed the demography and trends of cancers of the young in Brunei Darussalam, a small and developing Southeast Asia nation. Materials and Methods: All patients diagnosed with cancers between 2000 and 2012 were identified from the cancer registry maintained by the State Histopathology Laboratory. Cancers of the young was defined as any cancers diagnosed under the age of 40 years. Demographic data and the type of cancers were collected and analysed using SPSS Statistics 17.0. Results: Among the 6,460 patients diagnosed with cancer over the study period, 18.7% (n=1,205) were categorized as young with an overall decline in the proportion from 26.6% in 2000 to 18.8% in 2012 (p<0.001 for trend). Among all cancers of the young, the most common systems affected were gynecological (24.1%), hematological/lymphatic (15.8%), subcutaneous/dermatological/ musculoskeletal (10.5%), breast (10.5%) and gastrointestinal (9.9%). Overall, among the different systems, neurological (54.9%) had the highest proportion of cancers of the young followed by gynecological/reproductive (30.6%), hematological/lymphatic (39.9%), endocrine (38.7%), subcutaneous/dermatological/ musculoskeletal (22.3%) and the head and neck region (20.1%). There was a female predominance (66.9%) and the incidence was significantly higher among the Malays (20.1%) and expatriates (25.1%) groups compared to the Chinese (10.7%) and indigenous (16.8%) groups (p<0.001 for trend). Conclusions: Cancers of the young (<40 years) accounted for almost a fifth of all cancers in Brunei Darussalam with certain organ systems more strongly affected. There was a female preponderance in all racial groups. Over the years, there has been a decline in the overall proportion of cancers of the young. Selective screening programs should nevertheless be considered.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.4143-4145
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• 2014

Background: This study used receiver operating characteristic curve to analyze Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Ewing sarcoma (ES) outcome data. The aim of this study was to identify and optimize ES-specific survival prediction models and sources of survival disparities. Materials and Methods: This study analyzed socio-economic, staging and treatment factors available in the SEER database for ES. 1844 patients diagnosed between 1973-2009 were used for this study. For the risk modeling, each factor was fitted by a Generalized Linear Model to predict the outcome (bone and joint specific death, yes/no). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was computed. Similar strata were combined to construct the most parsimonious models. Results: The mean follow up time (S.D.) was 74.48 (89.66) months. 36% of the patients were female. The mean (S.D.) age was 18.7 (12) years. The SEER staging has the highest ROC (S.D.) area of 0.616 (0.032) among the factors tested. We simplified the 4-layered risk levels (local, regional, distant, un-staged) to a simpler non-metastatic (I and II) versus metastatic (III) versus un-staged model. The ROC area (S.D.) of the 3-tiered model was 0.612 (0.008). Several other biologic factors were also predictive of ES-specific survival, but not the socio-economic factors tested here. Conclusions: ROC analysis measured and optimized the performance of ES survival prediction models. Optimized models will provide a more efficient way to stratify patients for clinical trials.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.27-30
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• 2013

Background: Salivary gland tumors (SGT) are one of the most complex human neoplasms, demonstrating variations in their clinicopathological profile related to racial and geographic differences. Few studies with large samples have been reported in Iran. We here investigated a large group of patients in southern Iran. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, all cases of primary epithelial salivary gland tumors, which had been recorded in a 5 years period from 2005-2009, were enrolled. Clinical data such as histopathologic type and site of the lesion as well as patients' age and gender were analyzed. Results: Data of 366 cases of SGTs were recorded. Pleomorphic adenoma (80.2%) and adenoid cystic carcinoma (46.6%) were the most common benign and malignant neoplasms. Male to female ratio (M/F) and the mean age of patients were 1:1.05 and 37.7 for benign tumors while they were 1.2:1 and 50.6 for malignant tumors, respectively. Parotid and minor salivary glands were involved more frequently. Conclusions: Although the salivary gland tumours encountered were similar in most of their characteristics to those reported in other countries, some differences such as relative frequency and age and gender prevalence were discovered. These findings should help surgeons and pathologists for more accurate diagnosis, management and treatment.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1743-1746
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• 2013

Background and Purpose: Cardiac myxoma is a major primary heart tumor which often causes unexpected symptoms or sudden death. This present study was designed to investigate its clinical pathological features and biological behavior. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the clinical pathologic and immunohistochemical features of 66 cases with cardiac myxoma was conducted. Results: In 66 patients with cardiac myxoma, 61 cases had involvement of the left atrium, one case in both the right ventricular and left atria. The female: male ratio was 2.7:1. Patients had symptoms of blood flow obstruction and systemic alterations with performance of arterial embolization. Tumors were spherical, lobulated or irregular in shape, and soft and brittle. Immunohistochemical markers of vimentin and CD34 in tumor cells were positive. Conclusion: Cardiac myxoma always exists in the left atrium and is more common in women, with diverse clinical manifestations and pathomorphism. Although proliferative activity and the recurrence rate are low, in addition to thorough surgical resection, strengthened review is important for young patients.