• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.4103-4107
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• 2015

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide. Transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) is the standardized therapy for intermediate stage HCC. However, the prognosis for HCC patients treated by TACE greatly varies. Thus, there is a critical need for finding biomarkers to predict the prognosis of HCC patients. The amino acid transporter-2 (ASCT2) is involved in tumorigenesis and progression of many malignancies. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive role of two single nuclear polymorphisms (SNPs, rs3826793 and rs2070246) in the ASCT2 gene in HCC patients treated by TACE. Materials and Methods: Two functional SNPs (rs3826793 and rs2070246) in the ASCT2 gene were selected and genotyped using the Sequenom iPLEX genotyping system in a cohort of 448 unresectable Chinese HCC patients treated by TACE. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and Kaplan-Meier curves were used for the prognosis analyses. Results: There was no significant association between two SNPs (rs3826793 and rs2070246) in the ASCT2 gene and overall survival of TACE treated HCC patients. However, we demonstrated that patients with early stage HCC carrying T genotype in rs2070246 showed better OS than those carrying CC genotype (P=0.023). Conclusions: We demonstrated that patients with early stage HCC carrying T genotype in rs2070246 showed better OS than those carrying CC genotype.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1675-1682
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• 2012

Aim: The study aim was to determine the frequency with which women decline clinicians' treatment recommendations and variations in this frequency by age, cancer and service descriptors. Design: The study included 36,775 women diagnosed with early invasive breast cancer in 1998-2005 and attending Australian and New Zealand breast surgeons. Rate ratios for declining treatment were examined by descriptor, using bilateral and multiple logistic regression analyses. Proportional hazards regression was used in exploratory analyses of associations with breast cancer death. Results: 3.4% of women declined a recommended treatment of some type, ranging from 2.6% for women under 40 years to 5.8% for those aged 80 years or more, and with parallel increases by age presenting for declining radiotherapy (p<0.001) and axillary surgery (p=0.006). Multiple regression confirmed that common predictors of declining various treatments included low surgeon case load, treatment outside major city centres, and older age. Histological features suggesting a favourable prognosis were often predictive of declining various treatments, although reverse findings also applied with women with positive nodal status being more likely to decline a mastectomy and those with larger tumours more likely to decline chemotherapy. While survival analyses lacked statistical power due to small numbers, higher risks of breast cancer death were suggested, after adjusting for age and conventional clinical risk factors, (1) for women not receiving breast surgery for unstated reasons (RR=2.29; p<0.001); and (2) although not approaching statistical significance $p{\geq}0.200$), for women declining radiotherapy (RR=1.22), a systemic therapy (RR1.11), and more specifically, chemotherapy (RR=1.41). Conclusions: Women have the right to choose their treatments but reasons for declining recommendations require further study to ensure that choices are well informed and clinical outcomes are optimized.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7219-7222
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• 2014

Background: Early gastric cancer (EGC) is well accepted as having a favorable prognosis, but some patients experience an ominous outcome after curative resection. This study was aimed at evaluating predictive factors associated with prognosis of D2 gastrectomies in patients with early gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 518 patients with early gastric cancer who underwent D2 gastrectomies were reviewed in this study. The clinicopathological features and surgical outcomes were analyzed. The survival rate was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by log rank test. Prognostic factors were analyzed using a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. Results: The 5-year survival rate was 90.3%. Tumor infiltration, lymph node metastasis and lymphovascular invasion were significant prognostic factors for survival. Gender, age, tumor size, tumor location, macroscopic type and histological type were not significant prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis indicated that lymph node metastasis was an independent poor prognosis factor. Conclusions: Early gastric cancers with lymph node metastasis have a relatively poor prognosis after standard surgery. Even after curative resection, patients with EGC with positive lymph nodes should be closely followed and be considered as candidates for comprehensive therapies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6369-6373
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• 2013

Background: Gastric cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths all over the world and the most important reason for its high rate of death is its belated diagnosis at advanced stages of the disease. Events occur in patients which are regarded not only as themselves factors affecting patients' survival but also which can be affected by other factors. This study was designed and implemented aiming to identify these events and to investigate factors affecting their occurrence. Materials and Methods: Data from 330 patients with gastric cancer undergoing surgery at the Iran Cancer Institute from 1995-1999 were analyzed. The survival time of these patients was determined after surgery and the effects of various factors including demographic, diagnostic and clinical as well as medical, and post-surgical varuiables on the occurrence of death hazard without relapse, hazard of relapse, and death hazard with a relapse were assessed. Results: The median survival time for these patients was 16.3 months and the 5-year survival rate was 21.6%. Based on the results of multi-state model, age and distant metastases affected relapse whereas disease stage, type and extent of surgery, lymph nodes metastases, and number of renewed treatments affected death hazard without relapse. Moreover, age, type and extent of surgery, number of renewed treatments, and liver metastases were identified as factors affecting death hazard in patients with relapse. Conclusions: Most cancer studies pay heed to factors which have effect on death occurrence, but some events occur which should be taken into consideration to better describe the natural process of the disease and provide researchers with more accurate data.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6267-6271
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• 2013

Objective: To determine clinical efficacy, safety and prognostic factors of pemetrexed plus platinum as first-line treatment in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and Methods: Clinical characteristics, short-term efficacy, survival and adverse reactions of 47 advanced non-squamous NSCLC patients who had received pemetrexed plus platinum as first-line treatment in Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital from January 2009 to June 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. The Chi-squared test was applied to statistically analyze the overall response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR) and toxicity reactions in both groups, while survival data wereanalyzed by Kaplan-Meier and logrank methods, and the COX proportional hazards model was adopted for a series of multi-factor analyses. Results: Only two patients were lost to follow-up. The ORR, DCR, medium progression-free survival time (PFS) and medium overall survival (OS) were 31.9%, 74.5%, 5 months and 15.2 months, while 1- and 2-year survival rates were 63.8% (30/47) and 19.2% (9/47), respectively. Single-factor analysis showed that tumor pathological patterns and efficacy were in association with medium PFS (P<0.05), whereas tumor pathological patterns, smoking history and efficacy were closely connected with medium OS (P<0.05). Multi-factor analyses demonstrated that pathological patterns and efficacy were independent factors influencing OS (P<0.05). The rate of toxicity reactions in degree III/IV was low, including hematologic toxicity marked by decline in white blood cell count and decrease in the platelet count (PLT), and non-hematologic toxicity manifested by gastrointestinal reactions, such as nausea and vomiting. Conclusions: Pemetrexed plus platinum as first-line treatment has excellent efficacy and slight adverse reactions with favorable drug-tolerance in patients with advanced non-squamous NSCLC.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.317-326
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• 2014

Objectives: Elevated serum uric acid (UA) has been known to be associated with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, no prospective studies have examined whether serum UA levels are actually associated with the development of MetS. We performed a prospective study to evaluate the longitudinal effects of baseline serum UA levels on the development of MetS. Methods: A MetS-free cohort of 14 906 healthy Korean men, who participated in a medical check-up program in 2005, was followed until 2010. MetS was defined according to the Joint Interim Statement of the International Diabetes Federation Task Force on Epidemiology and Prevention. Cox proportional hazards models were performed. Results: During 52 466.1 person-years of follow-up, 2428 incident cases of MetS developed between 2006 and 2010. After adjusting for multiple covariates, the hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for incident MetS for the second, the third, and the fourth quartile to the first quartile of serum UA levels were 1.09 (0.92-1.29), 1.22 (1.04-1.44), and 1.48 (1.26-1.73), respectively (p for trend <0.001). These associations were also significant in the clinically relevant subgroup analyses. Conclusions: Elevated serum UA levels were independently associated with future development of MetS in Korean men during the 5-year follow-up period.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.71-82
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• 2018

Objectives: Areca nut is widely consumed in many parts of the world, especially in South and Southeast Asia, where cardiovascular disease (CVD) is also a huge burden. Among the forms of CVD, acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity. Research has shown areca nut chewing to be associated with diabetes, hypertension, oropharyngeal and esophageal cancers, and CVD, but little is known about mortality and re-hospitalization secondary to ACS among areca nut users and non-users. Methods: A prospective cohort was studied to quantify the effect of areca nut chewing on patients with newly diagnosed ACS by categorizing the study population into exposed and non-exposed groups according to baseline chewing status. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the associations of areca nut chewing with the risk of re-hospitalization and 30-day mortality secondary to ACS. Results: Of the 384 ACS patients, 49.5% (n=190) were areca users. During 1-month of follow-up, 20.3% (n=78) deaths and 25.1% (n=96) re-hospitalizations occurred. A higher risk of re-hospitalization was found (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29 to 3.27; p=0.002) in areca users than in non-users. Moreover, patients with severe disease were at a significantly higher risk of 30-day mortality (aHR, 2.77; 95% CI, 1.67 to 4.59; p<0.001) and re-hospitalization (aHR, 2.72; 95% CI, 1.73 to 4.26; p<0.001). Conclusions: The 30-day re-hospitalization rate among ACS patients was found to be significantly higher in areca users and individuals with severe disease. These findings suggest that screening for a history of areca nut chewing may help to identify patients at a high risk for re-hospitalization due to secondary events.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.247-260
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the individual and working environment-related factors affecting hypertension among middle-aged and elderly self-employed workers in South Korea. Methods: This was a secondary data analysis of data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). The study sample included 1,319 middle-aged and elderly self-employed workers who were diagnosed without hypertension and older than 45 years at Wave 1 of the KLoSA. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis using SPSS 20.0. Results: About 20% of the middle-aged and elderly self-employed workers were diagnosed with hypertension within about 8 years from the baseline. the significant predictors of hypertension among the participants were age, diabetes mellitus, body mass index, frequency of health examinations, working hours per week, the presence of regular day off, and the type of job. Conclusion: Middle-aged and elderly self-employed workers are vulnerable to work-related health problems. In order to prevent hypertension among self-employed workers, it is necessary to improve the work environment-related factors as well as individual life styles.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.289-294
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• 2016

Background: S100A10, of the S100 protein family, is reported to be involved in cancer cell invasion and metastasis. The aims of the present study were to immunohistochemically examine S100A10 expression in surgically resected lung adenocarcinomas, and evaluate any relationships with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis of patients. Materials and Methods: S100A10 expression was immunohistochemically studied in 202 consecutive resected lung adenocarcinomas, and its associations with clinicopathological parameters were evaluated. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the effect of S100A10 expression on survival. Results: S100A10 expression was detected in 65 of the 202 (32.2%) lung adenocarcinomas, being significantly correlated with poorer differentiation (P =0.015), a higher pathological TNM stage (stages II and III) (P=0.004), more frequent and severe intratumoral vascular invasion (P=0.001), and a poorer prognosis (P=0.030). However, S100A10 expression was not an independent predictor of survival after controlling for clinicopathological factors. Conclusions: The present study reveals that S100A10 is expressed in a subset of lung adenocarcinomas, and this is related to some clinicopathological parameters, although further studies are required to confirm the correlation between S100A10 expression and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5285-5288
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• 2015

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been reported to be associated with inferior prognosis in hepatocellular and pancreatic carcinoma cases, but has not been studied with respect to non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of HBV infection in advanced NSCLC patients. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort of 445 advanced NSCLC patients was recruited at our hospital from January 1, 2003 until August 30, 2014. Serum HBV markers were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. COX proportional hazards analysis was used to evaluate associations of HBV infection with overall survival (OS). Results: Of 445 patients who were qualified for the study, 68 patients were positive for HBsAg, also considered as HBV infection. Patients in HBsAg negative group were found to have better OS (12.6 months [12.2-12.9]) than those in HBsAg positive group (11.30 months [10.8-11.9]; p=0.001). Furthermore, COX multivariate analysis identified HBV infection as an independent prognostic factor for OS (HR 0.740 [0.560, 0.978], p=0.034). Conclusions: Our study found that HBsAg-positive status was an independent prognostic factor for OS in patients with advanced NSCLC. Future prospective studies are required to confirm our findings.