• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.105-107
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• 2015

Pancreatic cancer is commonly presented with distant metastasis. However metastasis to central nervous system (CNS) of pancreatic cancer was rarely reported. 79-years-old man was hospitalized with sudden onset right arm dysesthesia and weakness. In brain magnetic resonance imaging, multifocal high signal intensity lesions in cerebral and cerebellar cortices were observed. Leptomeningeal and parenchymal enhanced lesions were also noted in contrast-enhanced T1 images suggesting a metastasis from the pancreatic cancer. Stroke like manifestation of CNS metastasis of pancreatic cancer is extremely rare. Careful history taking and evaluation should be performed to find the origin of the sudden neurologic deficit.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.113-115
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• 2015

Pancreatic cancer is commonly presented with distant metastasis. However metastasis to central nervous system (CNS) of pancreatic cancer was rarely reported. 79-years-old man was hospitalized with sudden onset right arm dysesthesia and weakness. In brain magnetic resonance imaging, multifocal high signal intensity lesions in cerebral and cerebellar cortices were observed. Leptomeningeal and parenchymal enhanced lesions were also noted in contrast-enhanced T1 images suggesting a metastasis from the pancreatic cancer. Stroke like manifestation of CNS metastasis of pancreatic cancer is extremely rare. Careful history taking and evaluation should be performed to find the origin of the sudden neurologic deficit.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.108-110
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• 2013

The relationship between malignancy and venous thromboembolism(VTE) has been well established. About 20% of all VTE cases are associated with cancer and thrombotic events are the second leading cause of death in cancer patients after death from cancer itself. Effective prophylaxis and treatment will reduce morbidity and may decrease overall mortality. We report a case of VTE in a patient with advanced gastric cancer who treated with low-molecular weighted heparin (LMWH). A 49-year-old man with heartburn was admitted to our hospital. On the endoscopic and radiologic imaging, the patient was diagnosed as an advanced gastric cancer with perigastric infiltration and liver metastasis. During the combination chemotherapy, he had pain and swelling of left lower leg. Doppler ultrasonography showed left posterior tibial venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism CT showed thromboembolism in subsegmental pulmonary artery branch in right lower lobe. He was treated with LMWH, Dalteparin once daily via subcutaneous injection, and his symptoms was subsided.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2016

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is rather unique. Most of HCC patients have underlying chronic liver diseases with or without cirrhosis and the prognosis of HCC depends on the liver function, as well as the tumor extent. Non-invasive diagnosis of HCC can be made with certain risk factors and specific imaging findings (e.g. hypervascularity). Patients with HCC can receive surgical resection, radiotherapy, and systemic chemotherapy as other solid malignancies. HCC has more treatment options such as liver transplantation, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA). A variety of practice guidelines for HCC has been published by many academic societies. Different healthcare systems and availability of resources also affect the practice guidelines; therefore, practice guidelines have similarities and dissimilarities. Herein, we review the current status of practice guidelines for HCC and future perspectives for the improvement of guidelines are also discussed.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.229-238
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• 2023

Background/Aims: Shear wave elastography (SWE) is used for liver fibrosis staging based on stiffness measurements. It can be performed using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) or a transabdominal approach. Transabdominal accuracy can be limited in patients with obesity because of the thick abdomen. Theoretically, EUS-SWE overcomes this limitation by internally assessing the liver. We aimed to define the optimal technique for EUS-SWE for future research and clinical use and compare its accuracy with that of transabdominal SWE. Methods: Benchtop study: A standardized phantom model was used. The compared variables included the region of interest (ROI) size, depth, and orientation and transducer pressure. Porcine study: Phantom models with varying stiffness values were surgically implanted between the hepatic lobes. Results: For EUS-SWE, a larger ROI size of 1.5 cm and a smaller ROI depth of 1 cm demonstrated a significantly higher accuracy. For transabdominal SWE, the ROI size was nonadjustable, and the optimal ROI depth ranged from 2 to 4 cm. The transducer pressure and ROI orientation did not significantly affect the accuracy. There were no significant differences in the accuracy between transabdominal SWE and EUS-SWE in the animal model. The variability among the operators was more pronounced for the higher stiffness values. Small lesion measurements were accurate only when the ROI was entirely situated within the lesion. Conclusions: We defined the optimal viewing windows for EUS-SWE and transabdominal SWE. The accuracy was comparable in the non-obese porcine model. EUS-SWE may have a higher utility for evaluating small lesions than transabdominal SWE.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2021

The incidence of small and asymptomatic pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (PNENs) has been increased due to the widespread use of high-resolution imaging techniques and endoscopic procedures in screening programmes. Most of PNENs are indolent neoplasms with slow-growing. However, sometimes, PNENs show local invasion or metastasis with poor prognosis. The management of small, nonfunctioning PNENs remain under debate. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend observation in selected cases of small PNENs less than 2 cm. Pancreatic surgeons are divided into two factions: "the hawks," who indicate the high risk of malignancy even in small PNENs and, therefore, the need for an aggressive surgical treatment, and the "the doves," who accepts the risk of malignancy in some ≤ 2 cm PNENs, advocate that the risk of overtreating many benign ≤ 2 cm PNENs would be much higher. As the pancreatic surgery remains a high-risk operation with a 28-30% morbidity and 1% mortality, the decision for small PNENs is challenging.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.270-278
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• 2022

Background/Aims: Endoscopic evaluation of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) is useful in determining whether the lesions are benign or malignant. This study aimed to examine the usefulness of peroral pancreatoscopy (POPS) in determining the prognosis of IPMNs. Methods: POPS with videoscopy was performed using the mother-baby scope technique. After surgery, computed tomography/magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography or ultrasonography and blood tests were performed every 6 months during the follow-up. Results: A total of 39 patients with main pancreatic duct (MPD)-type IPMNs underwent POPS using a videoscope, and the protrusions in the MPD were observed in 36 patients. The sensitivity and specificity of cytology/biopsy performed at the time of POPS were 85% and 87.5%, respectively. Of 19 patients who underwent surgery, 18 (95%) patients had negative surgical margins and 1 (5%) patient had a positive margin. Conclusions: In IPMNs with dilatation of the MPD, POPS is considered effective if the lesions can be directly observed. The diagnosis of benign and malignant lesions is possible depending on the degree of lesion elevation. However, in some cases, slightly elevated lesions may increase in size during the follow-up or multiple lesions may be simultaneously present; therefore, careful follow-up is necessary.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.120-126
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• 2005

Purpose: Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is a useful imaging procedure for the diagnosis of submucosal tumors in the stomach. The present study investigated the EUS features of benign and malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumors(GISTs) and assessed differences between the two groups. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients with a GIST in the stomach were included in the study (23 benign and 7 malignant GISTs). We compared characteristic EUS findings (tumor size, location of tumor, regularity of the outer margin, echoheterogeneity, presence of cystic spaces, echogenic foci and mucosal ulceration) between benign and malignant GISTs. Results: Tumor sizes over 40 mm were observed in $85.7\%$ of the malignant and $8.7\%$ of the benign tumors (P=0.000). Intralesional cystic spaces were noted in $71.4\%$ of the malignant and $8.7\%$ of the benign tumors (P=0.003). The outer margin was irregular in $71.4\%$ of the malignant and $8.7\%$ of the benign tumors (P=0.014). $85.7\%$ of the malignant and $13.0\%$ of the benign tumors had an echo-heterogeneity in the tumor (P=0.001). The locations of tumor and the presence of echogenic foci or mucosal ulcerations were not different between the two groups. Conclusion: Tumor sizes over 40 mm, intralesional cystic spaces, irregular outer margins, and echo-heterogeneity in the tumor were significantly more frequent in malignant GISTs. EUS can provide informations in differentiating benign from malignant GISTs.

• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.44-50
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• 2008

Purpose: To evaluate usefulness in diagnosing primary malignant lesion of metastatic bone tumor using $^{18}F$ FDG PET/CT. Material & Methods: Retrospective analysis was executed on 5,452 patients who were taken with $^{18}F$ FDG PET/CT between December 2003 and December 2007. 180 patients who had not any history of malignancy and complained musculoskeletal pain and had ill-defined osteolytic lesion in plain X-ray, were included. 96 male and 84 female were enrolled and mean age was 59.1 year old (22~90). We analyzed diagnostic accuracy, age and sex distribution of primary malignant lesion, location of metastatic lesion. Results: We could confirmed primary malignant lesion in 152 cases (84.4%). Most common malignant primary lesion was lung (28.3%), breast (18.9%) and gastrointestinal system (16.7%) and spine was the most common metastatic location of primary malignant lesion. Conclusion: $^{18}F$ FDG PET/CT is a effective molecular imaging detecting primary malignant lesion in patients having metastatic bone lesion without history of malignancy.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.60 no.6
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• pp.667-675
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• 2017

Objective : Total resection without consecutive postoperative whole brain radiation therapy is indicated for patients with a single or two sites of brain metastasis, with close follow-up by serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this study, we explored the effectiveness, usefulness, and safety of this follow-up regimen. Methods : From January 2006 to December 2015, a total of 109 patients (76 males, 33 females) underwent tumor resection as the first treatment for brain metastases (97 patients with single metastases, 12 with two metastases). The mean age was 59.8 years (range 27-80). The location of the 121 tumors in the 109 patients was supratentorial (n=98) and in the cerebellum (n=23). The origin of the primary cancers was lung (n=45), breast (n=17), gastrointestinal tract (n=18), hepatobiliary system (n=8), kidney (n=7), others (n=11), and unknown origin (n=3). The 121 tumors were totally resected. Follow-up involved regular clinical and MRI assessments. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) after tumor resection were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier methods based on clinical prognostic factors. Results : During the follow-up, MRI scans were done for 85 patients (78%) with 97 tumors. Fifty-six of the 97 tumors showed no recurrence without adjuvant local treatment, representing a numerical tumor recurrence-free rate of 57.7%. Mean and median RFS was 13.6 and 5.3 months, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed the cerebellar location of the tumor as the only statistically significant prognostic factor related to RFS (p=0.020). Mean and median OS was 15.2 and 8.1 months, respectively. There were no significant prognostic factors related to OS. The survival rate at one year was 8.2% (9 of 109). Conclusion : With close and regular clinical and image follow-up, initial postoperative observation without prompt postoperative radiation therapy can be applied in patients of brain metastasi(e)s when both the tumor(s) are completely resected.