• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.228-233
• /
• 2012

Two years ago, a 75-year-old female was diagnosed left renal cancer and went on radical nephrectomy. Recently, metastatized lesions on lumbar spine and various lymph nodes including paraaortic lymph node of which diameter was about 5.5 cm was identified. She suffered from extreme low back pain despite using opioid agents of fentanyl patch and oral oxycodone. During about one month, Korean medicine therpies including herbal medicine(Yang-He tang), acupuncture with her conventional medications were co-administered. However her pain didn't improved and gradual cough and dyspnea developed. So she transferred to the hemato-oncology part for 2 weeks under the diagnosis of everolimus-induced noninfectious pneumonitis. After quitting everolimus her pneumonitis was improved and she came back our ward and started another herbal medicine, Ai-Tong-Ning tang for about 2 months. During this period, her pain was well managed without oral opioid agents and her paraaortic lymph node was regressed to about 2.2cm in diameter.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.10
• /
• pp.4591-4597
• /
• 2016

Purpose: Decisions as to whether to provide adjuvant treatment in older breast cancer patients remains challenging. Side effects of chemotherapy have to be weighed against life expectancy, comorbidities, functional status, and frailty. To aid decision-making, we retrospectively analyzed 110 women with breast cancer treated with a curative intention from 2006 to 2012. Survival data with clinical and pathological parameters were evaluated to address the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in this study population. Method: A total of 110 elderly (>70 years) patients that received mastectomy at two hospitals in Taiwan were observed retrospectively for a medium of 51 months. After mastectomy, patients received conservative treatment or adjuvant chemotherapy, or hormone therapy following clinical guidelines or physician's preference. Data were collected from the cancer registry system. Results: Median age at diagnosis was 75.7 years. Thirty-five percent of patients received adjuvant chemotherapy, these having a significantly younger age ($mean=74.0{\pm}5.3$ vs $77.5{\pm}5.3$, p<0.001) and higher tumor staging (p=0.003) compared with their non-chemotherapy counterparts.Five-year overall survival was non-significantly higher in patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy (with chemotherapy 64.2% vs without chemotherapy 62.6%, p=0.635), while five-year recurrence free survival was non-significantly lower (with chemotherapy 64.1% vs without chemotherapy 90.5%, p=0.80). Conclusions: In this analysis, adjuvant chemotherapy tended to be given to patients with a younger age and higher tumor staging at our institute. It was not associated with any statistically significant improvement in survival and recurrence rate. Until age specific recommendations are available, physicians must use their clinical judgment and assess the tumor biology with the patient's comorbidities to make the best choice. Clinical trials focusing on this critical issue are warranted.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.75 no.3
• /
• pp.95-103
• /
• 2013

Background: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) transformation during epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) treatment in lung cancer has been suggested as one of possible resistance mechanisms. Methods: We evaluated whether SCLC transformation or neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation can be found in the cell line model. In addition, we also investigated its effect on responses to conventional chemotherapeutic drugs of the SCLC treatment. Results: Resistant cell lines to various kinds of EGFR-TKIs such as gefitinib, erlotinib, CL-387,785 and ZD6474 with A549, PC-9 and HCC827 lung adenocarcinoma cell lines were established. Among them, two resistant cell lines, A549/GR (resistant to gefitinib) and PC-9/ZDR (resistant to ZD6474) showed increased expressions of CD56 while increased synaptophysin, Rb, p16 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase were found only in A549/GR in western blotting, suggesting that NE differentiation occurred in A549/GR. A549/GR cells were more sensitive to etoposide and cisplatin, chemotherapeutic drugs for SCLC, compared to parental cells. Treatment with cAMP and IBMX induced synaptophysin and chromogranin A expression in A549 cells, which also made them more sensitive to etoposide and cisplatin than parental cells. Furthermore, we found a tissue sample from a patient which showed increased expressions of CD56 and synaptophysin after development of resistance to erlotinib. Conclusion: NE differentiation can occur during acquisition of resistance to EGFR-TKI, leading to increased chemosensitivity.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.303-309
• /
• 2017

To evaluate the usefulness of 3-dimensional brachytherapy(BT) planning technique based on CT in cervical cancer. Patients with cervical cancer underwent 2-D BT treatment planning and then CT scan with HDR intracavitary applicators in place with same positions. Dose was prescribed to Point A with 5Gy per fraction on 2-D BT planning. For 3-D BT planning, and dose was prescribed to the High risk CTV for BT (HR CTV) with 5Gy. The 3-D BT planning goal was to cover at least 90% of the HR CTV with target 5Gy isodose surface while limiting the dose to $2cm^3$ of bladder to less than 7.5 Gy, and $2cm^3$ of rectum to less than 5Gy. In one patient of 10 patients, $D_{2cm3}$ of rectal dose was over 5Gy and 6patients at $D_{2cm3}$ of bladder dose on 2-D BT planning. There was a tendency to underestimate ICRU bladder dose than ICRU rectal dose. CT based 3-D BT planning for cervical cancer will enable evaluation of dose distributions for tumor and critical organs at risk. So, rectal and bladder morbidity as well as geographic miss will be reduced in case of the bulky disease or uterine malposition.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.237-244
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this study is to compare method in the treatment of breast cancer using dose index. And, it is to find the optimized treatment technique to the patient. The phantom filled with tissue-equivalent material were used simulation and treatment as techniques of 3D-CRT, IMRT, VMAT was planned using Eclipse v10. By using HI(homogeneity index), CI(Conformity index), OED(Organ equivalent dose), EAR(Excess Absolute Risk), were assessed for each treatment plans. HI and CI of 3D-CRT, IMRT, VMAT were calculated 16.89, 11.21, 9.55 and 0.59, 0.61, 0.83. The organ average doses of Lt lung, Rt lung, liver, heart, esophagus, cord, Lt breast, trachea and stomach were 0.01 ~ 2.02 Gy, 0.36 ~ 5.01 Gy, 0.25 ~ 2.49 Gy, 0.14 ~ 6.92 Gy, 0.03 ~ 2.02 Gy, 0.01 ~ 1.06 Gy, 0.25 ~ 6.08 Gy, 0.08 ~ 0.59 Gy, 0.01 ~ 1.34 Gy, respectively. The OED, EAR of the IMRT and VMAT show higher than 3D-CRT. As the result of this study, we could confirm being higher dose index(HI, CI) in IMRT and VMAT than 3D-CRT, but doses of around normal organs was higher IMRT, VMAT than 3D-CRT.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.51-60
• /
• 1995

Lithium Fluoride (LiF; TLD-100) crystal chips are normally used as thermolu minescence dosimeters (abbreviated as NC-100) for estimating the absorbed dose to the skin of a patient or in a solid water phantom undergoing radiotherapy with megavoltage photon (6 and 15MV) beams. In general, investigation has revealed a reduction in the sensitivity of NC-100 chips after many runs through heating cycles. A TLD-100 chip laminated with gold plate (140${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$) on the upper surface layer of its face toward the photon beam (abbreviated as GC-100) has properties different from that of a NC-100 chip activated by incident photons and contaminant electrons with various lower energies coming from the gantry head and air. Activation of the valence band electrons of GC-100 chips by incident photons, positrons and electrons-which come from the gold plate by mainly pair production process and partly from Compton scattering-results in more enhanced signal intensity, higher response per monitor unit, as well as a good linearity with monitor units and independence of dose rate. Since the electron beams (6 and 15 MeV) do not have the probability of pair production process with gold plate, there is only a small difference (about a 3.3％ increase for 15 MeV) in the signal gaps in the TL readout for electron beams between GC- and NC-100 chips. The 3.3％ increase is entirely due to the buildup caused by the 140 m gold plate. The sensitivity of GC-100 chips is much more susceptible to high energy photon beams than electron one because of pair production. The interaction of high energy photon with a material of high atomic number, such as the good plate in this case, results in a considerably significant probability of pair production. The gold plate on the NC-100 chips acts as not only an intensifier of their signals but also acts as a filter of contaminant electrons in therapeutic high energy X-ray beams.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.15 no.8
• /
• pp.416-423
• /
• 2015

The study was conducted targeting 25 patients who underwent the respiratory gated radiation therapy in the abdominal region at Radiation Oncology of a University Hospital from December 2013 to June 2014 and types of cancer included liver(64%), CBD(8%), gastric(8%), GB(8%), pancreas(8%), SMA(4%). The means of ITV and PTV volume are 471.44 cm3 and 425.48 cm3, showing an increase in volume. Normal tissue volume was also found to have increased due to the increase of the section selected from PTV section to ITV section. Right kidney showed a significant increase in differences between increase in normal tissue volume, increase in target volume and increase in therapy irradiation area and difference between the means of dose applied to normal tissue. There was no significant difference in the mean dose applied to normal tissue according to the respiratory average. Both kidneys showed a significant difference in the difference between mean doses of target moving and normal tissue. In this study, both therapy methods through PTV section and ITV section volume setting were appropriate for protection doses of normal tissue and distributed over 95% of the prescribed dose and therefore, it is considered to be okay to be optionally used depending on the patient's therapeutic purpose. But in order to minimize the unexpected side effect, the plan of PTV section and ITV section should be established and used by evaluating normal tissue protection dose.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.18 no.8
• /
• pp.503-513
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study was to identify the effectiveness of oral care protocol including individual oral care education, cryotherapy and benzydamine gargling on oral cavity status and self-care performance in solid cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Thirty-one patients were enrolled by convenience sampling in this study and allocated to control (n=18) and experimental group (n=13). In the intervention group, individual oral care education, oral cryotherapy and benzydamine gargling were applied, while the control group received pre-existed oral care. Oral cavity status and self-oral care behavior were measured in five periods. The data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test, Friedman test, and Chi-square test. There was no significant difference in oral cavity status between the groups. But the two groups showed the poorest oral cavity status on $14^{th}$ day. Self-care behavior was significantly higher in the intervention group than the control group. This effect had maintained for 4months after completion of study. The results showed that individual oral care education by oncology nurse is effective to encourage patients to do self-care behavior and a further study is needed to explore the effect of cryotherapy and benzydamine gargling on oral cavity status of patient with solid tumor.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.18
• /
• pp.8425-8430
• /
• 2016

Purpose: To study the safety of prophylactic level VII nodal dissection regarding hypoparathyroidism (temporary and permanent) and vocal cord dysfunction (temporary and permanent) and its impact on disease free survival. Materials and Methods: This prospective study concerned 63 patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma with N0 neck node involvement (clinically and radiologically) in the period from December 2009 to May 2013. All patients underwent total thyroidectomy and prophylactic central neck dissection including levels VI and VII lymph nodes in group A (31 patients) and level VI only in group B (32 patients). The thyroid gland, level VI and level VII lymph nodes were each examined histopathologically separately for tumor size, multicentricity, bilaterality, extrathyroidal extension, number of dissected LNs and metastatic LNs. Follow-up of both groups, regarding hypoparathyroidism, vocal cord dysfunction and DFS, ranged from 6-61 months. Results: The mean age was 34.8 and 34.3, female predominance in both groups with F: M 24:7 and 27:5 in groups A and B, respectively. Mean tumor size was 12.6 and 14.7mm. No statistical differences were found between both groups regarding age, sex, bilaterality, multicentricity or extrathyroidal extension. The mean no. of dissected level VI LNs was 5.06 and 4.72 and mean no. of metastatic level VI was 1 and 0.84 in groups A and B, respectively. The mean no. of dissected level VII LNs was 2.16 and mean no. of metastatic LNs was 0.48. Postoperatively temporary hypoparathyroidism was detected in 10 and 7 patients and permanent hypoparathyroidism in 2 and 3 patients; temporary vocal cord dysfunction was detected in 4 patients and one patient, and permanent vocal cord dysfunction in one and 2 patients in groups A and B, respectively. No significant statistical differences were noted between the 2 groups regarding hypoparathyroidism (P=0.535) or vocal cord dysfunction (P=0.956). The number of dissected LNs at level VI only significantly affected the occurrence of hypoparathyroidism (<0.001) and vocal cord dysfunction (<0.001).The DFS was significantly affected by bilaterality, multicentricity and extrathyroidal extension. Conclusions: Level VII nodal dissection is a safe procedure complementary to level VI nodal dissection with prophylactic central neck dissection for papillary thyroid carcinoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.10
• /
• pp.4147-4152
• /
• 2014

Standard therapy for advanced head and neck cancer consists of a combination of surgery and radiation. However, survival of this patient population has not improved during the past 20 years. Many different multimodality treatment schedules have been proposed, and chemotherapy is often used with the intent of organ preservation. The present study was intended to establish the efficacy of concomitant chemoradiation with a single agent carboplatin in advanced head and neck cancers.The objectives were to investigate the feasibility of concomitant administration of carboplatin, monitor acute toxicity during radiotherapy, and determine subacute side effects, such as wound healing following surgery after chemoradiotherapy. A prospective study was conducted wherein a total of 40 patients with stage III and IV squamous cell carcinomas of oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx were enrolled. All patients were treated with external beam radiotherapy and weekly carboplatin area under curve (AUC of 5). Radiotherapy was given in single daily fractions of 1.8-2 grays (Gy) to a total dose of 66-72 Gy. Salvage surgery was performed for any residual or recurrent locoregional disease. Neck dissection was recommended for all patients with neck disease showing less than a complete response after chemoradiation. A total of 40 patients were enrolled of whom 32 were males and 8 were females. Highest incidence of cancer was seen in the 5th-6th decades of life with a median age of 47.7 years. Oropharyngeal tumours constituted a maximum of 21 patients followed by hypopharynx in 10, larynx in 7 and oral cavity in 2. 80% of the patients had a neck node on presentation of which 40% had N2-N3 nodal status. TNM staging revealed that 58% of patients were in stage III and 43% in stage IV. Evaluation of acute toxicity revealed that 50% had grade II mucositis, 25% grade III mucositis, 2.5% grade IV mucositis. 50% of patients had grade I skin reactions, 65% of patients had grade I thrombocytopenia, and 24% of patients had grade I anaemia. After completion of treatment 65% of patients had complete response at the primary and regional sites, and 35% of patients had a partial response of whom 23% underwent neck dissection and 5% of them underwent salvage surgery at the primary site. At the end of one year there were six deaths and four recurrences and 70% were free of disease. Concurrent chemoradiation with carboplatin provided good locoregional control for locally advanced head and neck cancers. This regimen, although toxic, is tolerable with appropriate supportive intervention. Primary site conservation is possible in many patients. Chemoradiotherapy appears to have an emerging role in the primary management of head and neck cancers.