• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.99-107
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• 2012

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify clinical predictive factors for tumor response after preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: The study involved 51 patients who underwent preoperative CRT followed by surgery between January 2005 and February 2012. Radiotherapy was delivered to the whole pelvis at a dose of 45 Gy in 25 fractions, followed by a boost of 5.4 Gy in 3 fractions to the primary tumor with 5 fractions per week. Three different chemotherapy regimens were used (5-fluorouracil and leucovorin, capecitabine, or tegafur/uracil). Tumor responses to preoperative CRT were assessed in terms of tumor downstaging and pathologic complete response (ypCR). Statistical analyses were performed to identify clinical factors associated with pathologic tumor response. Results: Tumor downstaging was observed in 28 patients (54.9%), whereas ypCR was observed in 6 patients (11.8%). Multivariate analysis found that predictors of downstaging was pretreatment relative lymphocyte count (p = 0.023) and that none of clinical factors was significantly associated with ypCR. Conclusion: Pretreatment relative lymphocyte count (%) has a significant impact on the pathologic tumor response (tumor downstaging) after preoperative CRT for locally advanced rectal cancer. Enhancement of lymphocyte-mediated immune reactions may improve the effect of preoperative CRT for rectal cancer.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.27-30
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• 2005

New possibilities are discussed for cholesteric liquid crystals (CLC) as sensor materials for detection of ionizing radiation, biologically active UV radiation, and the presence of hazardous vapors in atmosphere. A distinguishing property of CLC-based detectors is their 'bioequivalence', i.e., mechanisms of their response to external factors essentially imitate the corresponding mechanisms of biological tissues. Such detectors can ensure sufficiently high sensitivity to make feasible their use as alarm indicators or in biophysical studies. Specific examples ate given of sensor compositions and their response characteristics.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.1111-1116
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• 2015

Background: To investigate the relationship between pathologic tumor response to concurrent chemoradiotherapy and variation of serum VEGF in patients with esophageal cancer. Materials and Methods: Forty six patients with esophageal cancer who were treated with concurrent chemo-radiotherapy were enrolled. Endoscopic and pathologic examination was conducted before and four weeks afterwards. Serum level of VEGF was documented before, four weeks later and after chemo-radiotherapy. The relationship between pathologic response and the variation of serum level of VEGF and its influence on the prognosis were investigated. Results: Serum level of VEGF decreased remarkably during and after chemo-radiotherapy in patients whose pathologic response was severe (F=5.393, 4.587, P(0.05). There were no statistical differences of serum VEGF level before, during and after chemo-radiotherapy for patients whose pathologic response was moderate or mild. There were 18 (85.7%), 7 (53.8%) and 6 patients (50.0%) whose serum VEGF level dropped in the severe, moderate and mild group, respectively, with significant differences among these groups (p=0.046). Two year survival rates of patients with severe, moderate and mild pathologic response were 61.9%, 53.8% and 33.3% respectively, and no statistically difference between severe and mild group regarding OS (p=0.245) was tested. Conclusions: Tumor pathologic response during chemo-radiotherapy and the changes of serum VEGF lever could predict curative effects of chemo-radiotherapy in patients with esophageal cancer.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제36권3호
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• pp.172-181
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• 2018

Successful anticancer strategies require a differential response between tumor and normal tissue (i.e., a therapeutic ratio). In fact, improving the effectiveness of a cancer therapeutic is of no clinical value in the absence of a significant increase in the differential response between tumor and normal tissue. Although radiation dose escalation with the use of intensity modulated radiation therapy has permitted the maximum tolerable dose for most locally advanced cancers, improvements in tumor control without damaging normal adjacent tissues are needed. As a means of increasing the therapeutic ratio, several new approaches are under development. Drugs targeting signal transduction pathways in cancer progression and more recently, immunotherapeutics targeting specific immune cell subsets have entered the clinic with promising early results. Radiobiological research is underway to address pressing questions as to the dose per fraction, irradiated tumor volume and time sequence of the drug administration. To exploit these exciting novel strategies, a better understanding is needed of the cellular and molecular pathways responsible for both cancer and normal tissue and organ response, including the role of radiation-induced accelerated senescence. This review will highlight the current understanding of promising biologically targeted therapies to enhance the radiation therapeutic ratio.

• 대한두경부종양학회지
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• 제3권1호
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• pp.107-114
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• 1987

Clinical application of hyperthermia using 8 MHz radiofrequency(capacitive type THERMOTRON RF-8) in cancer treatment was begun at Yonsei Cancer Center in 1985. From April 1985 to April 1986, 23 patients with loco-regionally advanced and persistent or recurrent carcinomas of the head and neck were treated with hyperthermia at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei University College of Medicine. Radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy were combined with hyperthermia to improve the tumor response. The response rate of 23 patients was 52%, 4 had complete response, and 7 had partial response. The factors affecting the tumor response were dose of irradiation(P=0.009). Complications related to treatment were found in 8 patients and all of them were self-limited. The result of this study indicates that localized hyperthermia as a combined modality has a significant role in palliation of advanced and recurrent head and neck cancer.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.10-14
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• 2009

목적: 식도암에서 수술 후 방사선치료 및 방사선 단독 치료의 효과를 검증하고 예후 인자를 알아보고자 하였다. 대상 및 방법: 1989년부터 2006년까지 방사선치료를 받은 132명의 환자를 후향적으로 분석하였다. 35명은 제2병기 88명은 제3병기 9명은 제4병기 환자였다. 상부 식도암이 18명, 하부 식도암이 33명이었으며 중등부 식도암이 81명이었다. 60명에서는 방사선 단독 치료를 시행하였고 72명은 수술 후 방사선치료를 받았다. 8명에서는 40 Gy 이하를 조사하였으며 78명에서는 40내지 50 Gy를 조사하였다. 나머지 46명은 50내지 60 Gy를 조사 받았으며 수술 후 방사선치료를 받은 대부분의 환자는 45 Gy를 조사받았다. 결과: 전체 환자의 2년 및 5년 생존율은 24% 및 5%이었고 중앙 생존기간은 11개월이었다. 수술 후 방사선치료군의 2년 및 5년 생존율은 19% 및 8%, 방사선 단독치료군의 2년 및 5년 생존율은 18% 및 2%이었다. 제2병기, 제3 병기 및 제4병기 환자의 2년 및 5년 생존율은 각각 43% 및 15, 22% 및 2, 0% 및 0% 이었으며 이는 통계적으로 유의하였다. 상부, 중등부, 하부 식도암의 2년 생존율은 각각 19, 29, 22%이었으며 통계적으로 유의한 차이는 나타나지 않았다. 방사선 단독치료군에서 13명(22%)은 완전관해를, 40명(67%)은 부분관해를 보였고 7명(12%)은 반응을 보이지 않았다. 완전관해를 보인 환자군이 부분관해를 보인 환자군보다 더 나은 2년 생존율을 나타내었다(31% vs 17%). 결론: 식도암에서 방사선치료는 효과적이고 유용한 치료 방법이었으며 병기 및 방사선치료에의 반응 정도가 유의한 예후인자이었다. 그러나 식도암의 장기 생존율 및 예후가 만족스럽지 못하므로 더욱 효과적인 치료 방법의 개발이 향후 필요하리라 사료된다.

• Animal cells and systems
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• 제6권3호
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• pp.187-193
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• 2002

It has long been recognized that exposure to low levels of toxic chemicals could have beneficial effects, such as increased resistance to related chemicals or stimulation of growth or development. The notion of radiation hormesis, that exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation could produce beneficial effects, developed seriously in the late 1950’s, and was, to most radiation scientists, incredible. This was due in pan to the then prevailing ideas of radiobiological mechanisms, in part to the sweeping generalizations made by the leading proponents of the radiation hormesis concept, and in pan to the many failures to confirm reports of beneficial effects. More recent understanding of the mechanisms of radiation damage and repair, and discoveries of induction of gene expression by radiation and other genotoxic agents [the adaptive response] make it seem inevitable that under suitable conditions, irradiation will produce beneficial effects.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권6호
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• pp.3881-3885
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• 2013

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify clinical predictive factors for tumor response after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Methods: All factors were evaluated in 88 patients with LARC treated with nCRT. After a long period of 4-8 weeks of chemoradiotherapy, 3 patients achieved clinical complete response (cCR) and thus aggressive surgery was avoided, and the remaining 85 patients underwent a curative-intent operation. The response to nCRT was evaluated by tumor regression grade (TRG) system. Results: There were 32 patients (36.4%) with good tumor regression (TRG 3-4) and 56 (63.6%) with poor tumor regression (TRG 0-2). Lymphocyte counts and ratios were higher in good response cases (P=0.01, 0.03, respectively) while neutrophil ratios and N/L ratios were higher in poor response cases (P=0.04, 0.02, respectively). High lymphocyte ratios before nCRT and good tumor regression (TRG3-4) were significantly associated with improved 5-year disease-free survival (P<0.05). Pretreatment nodal status was also significantly associated with 5-year disease-free survival and 5-year overall survival (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis confirmed that the pretreatment lymphocyte ratio and lymph nodal status were independent prognostic factors. Conclusion: Our study suggested that LARC patients with high lymphocyte ratios before nCRT would have good tumor response and high 5-year DFS and OS.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.114-121
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• 2018

Purpose: To explore the feasibility of maximum diameter as a response assessment method for vestibular schwannomas (VS) after stereotactic radiosurgery or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (RT), we analyzed the concordance of RT responses between maximum diameters and volumetric measurements. Materials and Methods: Forty-two patients receiving curative stereotactic radiosurgery or fractionated stereotactic RT for VS were analyzed retrospectively. Twelve patients were excluded: 4 did not receive follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and 8 had initial MRI scans with a slice thickness >3 mm. The maximum diameter, tumor volume (TV), and enhanced tumor volume (ETV) were measured in each MRI study. The percent change after RT was evaluated according to the measurement methods and their concordances were calculated with the Pearson correlation. The response classifications were determined by the assessment modalities, and their agreement was analyzed with Cohen kappa statistics. Results: Median follow-up was 31.0 months (range, 3.5 to 86.5 months), and 90 follow-up MRI studies were analyzed. The percent change of maximum diameter correlated strongly with TV and ETV (r(p) = 0.85, 0.63, p = 0.000, respectively). Concordance of responses between the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) using the maximum diameters and either TV or ETV were moderate (kappa = 0.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.85) or fair (kappa = 0.32; 95% confidence interval, 0.05-0.59), respectively. Conclusions: The percent changes in maximum diameter and the responses in RECIST were significantly concordant with those in the volumetric measurements. Therefore, the maximum diameters can be used for the response evaluation of VS following stereotactic RT.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제44권3호
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• pp.97-102
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• 2019

Background: Dose rate meters are the most widely used, and perhaps one of the most important tools for the measurement of ionising radiation. They are often the first, or only, device available to a user for an instant check of radiation dose at a certain location. Throughout the world, radiation safety practices rely strongly on the output of these dose rate meters. But how well do we know the quality of their output? Materials and Methods: This review is based on the measurements 1,158 commercially available dose rate meters of 116 different makes and models. Expected versus the displayed dose patterns and consistency was checked at various dose rates between $5{\mu}Gy{\cdot}h^{-1}$ and $2mGy{\cdot}h^{-1}$. Samples of these meters were then selected for further investigation and were exposed to radiation sources covering photon energies from 50 keV to 1.5 MeV. The effect of detector orientation on its reading was also investigated. Rather than focusing on the angular response distribution that is often reported by the manufacturer of the device, this study focussed on the design ergonomics i.e. the angles that the operator will realistically use to measure a dose rate. Results and Discussion: This review shows the scope and boundaries of the ionising radiation dose rate estimations that are made using commonly available meters. Observations showed both inter and intra make and model variations, occasional cases of instrument failure, instrument walk away, and erroneous response. Conclusion: The results indicate the significance of selecting and maintaining suitable monitors for specific applications in radiation safety.