• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.172-178
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• 2015

Purpose: To investigate clinical outcomes of synchronous head and neck and esophageal cancer (SHNEC). Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 27 SHNEC patients treated with curative intent at a single institution. The treatment modality for individual cases was usually determined on a case by case basis. Results: The median follow-up duration for the surviving patients was 28.2 months. The most common site of head and neck cancer was hypopharyngeal carcinoma (n = 21, 77.7%). The lower esophagus was the most common location of esophageal carcinoma (n = 16, 59.3%). The 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 57.5% and 39.6%. Major pattern of failure was locoregional recurrence in the study patients. Esophageal cancer stage, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, and pretreatment weight loss were significant prognostic factors for OS in univariate analysis. Treatment-related death was observed in two patients, and one patient developed a grade 4 late treatment-related complication. Conclusion: Although the survival outcome for SHNEC is poor, long-term survival might be achievable with aggressive treatment with stage I-II esophageal cancer and good performance.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.247-254
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• 2013

Purpose: In Korea, the entire population must enroll in the national health insurance system, and those who are classified as having a lower socioeconomic status are supported by the medical aid system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of the medical insurance status of gastric cancer patients with their survival after gastrectomy. Materials and Methods: A total of 247 patients who underwent surgical treatment for gastric cancer between January 1999 and December 2010 at the Seoul Medical Center were evaluated. Based on their medical insurance status, the patients were classified into two groups: the national health insurance registered group (n=183), and the medical aid covered group (n=64). The survival rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: The median postoperative duration of hospitalization was longer in the medical aid covered group and postoperative morbidity and mortality were higher in the medical aid group than in the national health insurance registered group (P<0.05). The overall 5-year survival rate was 43.9% in the medical aid covered group and 64.3% in the national health insurance registered group (P=0.001). Conclusions: The medical insurance status reflects the socioeconomic status of a patient and can influence the overall survival of gastric cancer patients. A more sophisticated analysis of the difference in the survival time between gastric cancer patients based on their socioeconomic status is necessary.

• Journal of Korean social welfare administration
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.105-130
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• 2019

This study focuses on the duration of regular donors who are one of the key resources for stable operation of nonprofit charity organizations. Regular donors can have a choice between selecting preferred target subjects on different target subjects and delegating authority to charity organizations for execution of the contribution. This study examine the comparative validity of the hypothesis of identification effect and the hypothesis of authority delegation effect. It fully uses the regular donors' data from one charitable organization called S charity organization. In analysis, it employes Weibull model among parametric survival analysis methods based on the fitness of distribution. The result showed that regular donors who delegate authority have significantly longer duration of donation than regular donors who designate and donate international target subjects. In other words, regular donors who select domestic target subjects as beneficiaries have significantly longer duration than regular donors who select international target subjects. This result suggests that in the two hypothetical explanations, domestic identification and authority delegation are equally valid. Finally, among control variables, age, committed amount each donation, status difference (regular donation vs. temporary donation) at the starting point, and the payment method were statistically significant predictors on the duration of regular donors. This study meaningfully deepen and broaden our understandings of regular donors' donation behavior and also provides strategic knowledge regarding managing and retaining regular donors for non-profit charity organizations.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.4251-4254
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• 2014

Background: Treatment of anemia is an important issue in the palliative care setting. Blood transfusion is generally used for this purpose in supportive care. However the place of blood transfusion in terminally ill cancer cases is less far established. Objective: We aimed to outline the use of transfusions and to find the impact of blood transfusion on survival in patients with advanced cancer and very near to death. Design: Patients dying in 2010-2011 with advanced cancer were included in the study. We retrospectively collected the data including age, type of cancer, the duration of last hospitalisation, ECOG performance status, Hb levels, transfusion history of erythrocytes and platelets, cause and the amount of transfusion. The anaemic patients who had transfusion at admission were compared with the group who were not transfused. Survival was defined as the time between the admission of last hospitalisation period and death. Results: Three hundred and ninety eight people with solid tumours died in 2010-2011 in our clinic. Ninety percent of the patients had anemia at the time of last hospitalisation. One hundred fifty three patients had erythrocyte transfusion at admission during the last hospitalisation period (38.4%). In the anaemic population the duration of last hospitalisation was longer in patients who had erythrocyte transfusion (15 days vs 8 days, p<0.001). Conclusions: Patients who had blood transfusion at the end of life lived significantly longer than the anaemic patients who were not transfused. This study remarks that blood transfusions should not be withheld from terminal cancer patients in palliative care.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5473-5476
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• 2013

Background: In our study, the LDH, albumin, hemoglobin, neutrophile, thrombocyte, lymphocyte counts and prognostic significance of neutrophile-lymphocyte and thrombocyte-lymphocyte ratios in NSCLC derived from these counts obtained during regular examinations of patients were examined. Materials and Methods: Histopathologically diagnosed non-small-cell-lung cancer patients between 2008 and 2010 were included in the study. Before the treatment, full blood count including routine lymphocyte count, blood biochemistry examinations including liver (AST, ALT, total protein, Albumin), LDH and kidney (BUN, Cre) function tests were performed. Results: A total of 156 patients, 76 of whom (48.7%) were female and 80 of whom (51.3%) were male were included. Mean hemoglobin level was determined as 12. Overall survival was found to be significantly dependent on whether patients were anemic or not (p: 0.005). Mean LDH level was determined as 233.4. There was nosurvival difference between patients with and without high LDH (p: 0.532). In patients where NLR showed systemic inflammatory response, overall survival was 10.8 months whereas this duration was 19.6 months in patients where the systemic inflammatory response was negative (p: 0.012). In patients where TLR showed systemic inflammatory response, overall survival was 13.6 months whereas this duration was 21.9 months in patients where the systemic inflammatory response was negative (p: 0.04). Conclusions: Molecular methods have been changing rapidly in today's world and they manage the treatment besides defining the prognosis of patients. However, easily accessible and cheap laboratory parameters should be considered in the prognosis of patients besides these new methods.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.16
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• pp.6559-6564
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• 2014

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Methods: In a single-center, observational study of 91 Chinese patients with mCRC who received bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy was conducted. Objective response rates (ORRs), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and adverse events were recorded, and the relationships between various clinical factors and PFS or OS were evaluated by Cox proportional hazards models. Results: Treatment with bevacizumab and chemotherapy was effective and tolerable. Univariate analysis showed that PFS and OS were significantly associated with the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG-PS) score, duration of bevacizumab exposure, and whether chemotherapy was continued after discontinuation of bevacizumab treatment. A multivariate analysis showed that the duration of bevacizumab exposure and whether chemotherapy was continued after discontinuation of bevacizumab were independent prognostic factors for PFS and OS. Conclusion: In Chinese mCRC population, the shorter the duration of exposure to bevacizumab and chemotherapy, the worse the prognosis is.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.266-272
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• 2009

Statement of problem: The number of edentulous patients is increasing due to an aging society, which leads to increased demands and interests on implant restorations. Implant restorations are an effective treatment method for both complete and partially edentulous patients, and the success rate has been reported to be high. But because of the increased use of implants in various situations have resulted in frequent reports of failures on implant restorations. Various efforts to overcome these failures have been made. Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the statistic survival rate of dental implants on patients who were treated at Dankook University Dental Hospital during the past 10 years based on their charts. Materials and methods :The research was made for two different periods of time; The first investigation was for patients from August, 1998 to August, 2003 and the second was for patients from September, 2003 to April, 2007. Information on the number of implants placed, the location and distribution of implants, the duration between the first and second surgery, and the survival rate of implants were investigated from the patients'charts. Results: 1. According to the first investigation, 1680 implants were placed on 612 patients and the second investigation showed 2438 implants placed on 933 patients. Thus a total of 4118 implants on 1545 patients. 2. Among the 1545 patients, 884 patients were male (57.2 %) and 661 patients were female (42.8%). Out of 4118 implants, 1739 implants (42.2%) were placed on the maxilla, and 2379 implants (57.8%) on the mandible. Implants were placed most frequently in the posterior region of the mandible. A total of 2043 implants (53.2%) were placed in this region. 3. According to the first investigation, 57 out of 1680, implants failed, while from the second investigation, 17 out of 2438 implants were reported as failure. In total, 74 implants failed, which results in a 98.2% survival rate. 4. The average duration between the first and the second surgeries in maxillas decreased from 7.4 months to 6.8 months. The duration also decreased from 5.6 months to 5.0 months in mandibles. Conclusion: As shown in the results, the number of placed implants and the survival rate of implants were higher in the second investigation than that of the first investigation. And the time spent after the first surgery to the second surgery was less in the second investigation. Consequently, it can be presumed that the demand and consumption of dental implants as well as the survival rate will increase in the future.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5735-5739
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• 2012

Background: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is an insidious tumor with poor prognosis, arising from mesothelial surfaces such as pleura, peritoneum and pericardium. We here aimed to evaluate the demographic, clinical, and radiological features of patients with MM followed in our center as well as their survival. Methods: The study included 228 patients (131 male, 97 female) who were followed up in our institution between 1993 and 2010 with the diagnosis of MM. Results: The mean age was 59.1 years in men and 58.7 years in women and the sex ratio was 1.4:1 in favor of males. Environmental asbestos exposure was present in 86% of the patients for a mean duration of $40{\pm}20$ years (range: 3-70). Pleural effusion and thoracic/abdominal pain were the most common presenting signs and symptoms (70.2% and 57.8%, respectively). One hundred-thirteen (66%) patients were treated with platinum-based combination chemotherapy (PBCT) plus supportive care (SC) and 67 (34%) patients received SC alone. The median follow-up time was 10.0 months. The median overall survival was significantly improved with PBCT plus SC compared to SC alone (11.4 vs. 5.1 months; p=0.005). The 6, 12, 18, and 24-month survival rates were significantly improved with PBCT plus SC compared to SC alone (72%, 43%, 19%, and 2% vs. 49%, 31%, 11%, and 1%). Conclusion: The survival of patients with MM improved in patients treated with PBCT. The survival advantage continued 12- and 24-month after the initial time of combination chemotherapy.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the effects of body mass index (BMI) on survival in cervical cancer patients who had undergone surgery and radiotherapy (RT). Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 70 cervical cancer patients who underwent surgery and RT from 2007 to 2012. Among them, 40 patients (57.1%) had pelvic lymph node metastases at the time of diagnosis. Sixty-seven patients (95.7%) had received chemotherapy. All patients had undergone surgery and postoperative RT. Median BMI of patients was $22.8kg/m^2$ (range, 17.7 to $35.9kg/m^2$). Results: The median duration of follow-up was 52.3 months (range, 16 to 107 months). Twenty-four patients (34.3%) showed recurrence. Local failure, regional lymph nodal failure, and distant failure occurred in 4 (5.7%), 6 (8.6%), and 17 (24.3%) patients, respectively. The 5-year actuarial pelvic control rate was 83.4%. The 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 85.1% and 65.0%, respectively. The presence of pelvic lymph node metastases (n = 30) and being overweight or obese (n = 34, $BMI{\geq}23kg/m^2$) were poor prognostic factors for CSS (p = 0.003 and p = 0.045, respectively). Of these, pelvic lymph node metastasis was an independent prognostic factor (p = 0.030) for CSS. Conclusion: Overweight or obese cervical cancer patients showed poorer survival outcomes than normal weight or underweight patients. Weight control seems to be important in cervical cancer patients to improve clinical outcomes.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.3-19
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• 2021

This study examines changes in commercial space in Seoul from 1999 to 2016 by investigating operating periods of commercial businesses. This study finds that the characteristics of spatial changes in commercial districts are classified by the following two major points. First, the traditional CBD and Yeongdeung-po commercial districts show that both ages (survival duration) of operating commercial businesses and operating periods of market-exit businesses have changed to become longer than the average values of the two business types in Seoul. In contrast, the Gangnam and the Mapo commercial districts show that the operating periods of survived and closed commercial businesses have changed to become shorter over time. The difference suggests that survival-exit relations of businesses are closely related to the characteristics of each commercial district. In addition, this study shows that each commercial district has experienced dynamic changes in the intensity of commercial activities and the hierarchy of commercial space. Finally, this study indicates that public policies for commercial space should consider survival-exit dynamics of commercial activities in commercial districts.