• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.91-96
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• 2013

Background: p53 alterations have been implicated in the development of many cancers, such as gastric cancer, but there is no evidence of p53 intron alterations in gastritis lesions. The aim of this study was to investigate the p53 intron alterations in gastritis along with p53 and mismatch repair protein expression and microsatellite status. Materials and Methods: PCR-sequencing was conducted for introns 2-7 on DNA extracted from 97 paired samples of gastritis lesions and normal adjacent tissue. Abnormal accumulation of p53 and mismatch repair proteins was investigated using immunohistochemistry. In addition, microsatellite status was evaluated with reference to five mononucleotide markers. Results: Gastritis cases included 41 males and 56 females in the age range of 15-83 years, 87.6% being H.pylori positive. IVS2+38, IVS3ins16 and IVS7+72 were the most polymorphic sites. Their minor allele frequency values were as follows: 0.38, 0.21 and 0.06, respectively. Samples with GG genotype at IVS2+38 and CT at IVS7+72 had no insertion. Moreover, most of the stable samples (91.9 %) had a G allele at IVS2+38. All of the samples were IHC negative for p53 protein, microsatellite stable and expressed mismatch repair proteins. p53 alterations were prominent in the H. Pylori+ group, but without statistical significance. Conclusions: According to our results, some p53 polymorphisms such as IVS2+38, IVS3ins16 and IVS7+72, because of their correlations together or with microsatellite status may contribute to gastritis development. However, so far effects on p53 expression and function remain unclear. Therefore, a comprehensive survey is needed to delineate their biological significance.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.56-63
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• 1995

Ecological study of the Cynoglossus joyneri was conducted based on the specimens from the western coast of Korea from 1992 to 1994. Ecological characteristics of this species such as gonadal development, occurrence of larvae, stomach contents, and environmental conditions were investigated. Few larvae of Cynoglossus joyneri occurred in Kunsan coast. This coast is influenced by the freshwater input of the Mangyong and Kum River, especially during the summer. Therefore, the larvae of C. joyneri were considered to be spawned and grown during their early life stage in the high saline water in outer bay. Spawning occur from June to September, having the peak spawning period from July to August. Biological minimum size of matured fishes containing mature oocytes is about 143.5mm in total length, which requires about 20 months after hatching. The ranges of total length by age are as follows : 0-ring group(floating stage), 30~70mm ; 1-ring group, 49.0~133.0mm 2-ring group, 128.6~167.0mm ; 3-ring group, 169.0~202.0mm ; 4-ring group, 200.7~240.0mm. The major food items of young fish under 8cm were copepods and invertebrate larvae, and those of adult fishes were annelids(polychaets) in winter, and bivalves and shrimps in summer and autumn. Therefore, it can be assumed that the population of C. joyneri could be reduced due to the decrease of food organisms caused by the continuous reclamation activities in the inner bays of the west coast of Korea.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.78-87
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• 2009

Serum pepsinogen (sPG) is a marker of gastric mucosal atrophy, a condition that has been associated with an increased risk of gastric neoplasia. A low sPGI level and a low PG I/II ratio have been associated with severe gastric atrophy, and are frequently found in gastric cancer. Because the prevalence of gastric cancer is high in Korea, it would be convenient if a good biomarker for gastric cancer were developed. Two studies recently investigated the efficacy of sPG along with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) as a screening tool for gastric cancer. In these studies, sPG was measured using a Latex enhanced Turbidimetric Immunoassay. We found that H. pylori IgG status, age and gender were associated with serum pepsinogen levels. Thus, to increase the ability of the PG I/II ratio to detect atrophic gastritis, the cutoff value for the PG I/II ratio should be stratified according to the H. pylori IgG status. In addition, a PG I/II ratio ($\leq3.0$), which has been widely used as an international standard for gastric cancer, was found to be a reliable marker for the detection of gastric dysplasia or gastric cancer, especially of the intestinal type. The efficacy of the test in Korea was lower than the efficacy in Japan. However, the detecting power of a PG I/II ratio ($\leq3.0$) was significantly increased in the presence of H. pylori. The ratio together with H. pylori psotivitiy could provide a means of identifying persons at high risk of developing gastric cancer in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.245-253
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• 2006

We evaluated the relations among exposure and urinary levels of Cr, folate, vitamin $B_{12}$ and Hcy levels in the workers chronically exposure to Cr. Subjects were 104 male employees, 65 workers exposed to Cr in 9 electroplating plants and 39 office workers who had never been occupationally exposed to hazardous substances including Cr. The geometric mean(GM) of Cr in workplace was $0.069{\pm}0.101mg/m^3$ and urinary Cr was $0.483{\pm}0.394mg/g$ creatinine and airborne Cr concentration was significantly correlated to the urinary concentration of Cr(r=0.900, p=0.000). The geometric mean concentration of urinary Cr in control group was $0.301{\pm}0.255mg/g$ creatinine. In comparing the workers exposed to Cr with controls, significantly higher mean plasma levels were found of Hcy($11.3{\pm}4.9$ vs $9.4{\pm}4.7{\mu}mol/{\ell}$, p=0.05), but vitamin $B_{12}$ levels ($181.8{\pm}68.7$ vs $216.0{\pm}64.3nmol/{\ell}$, p=0.01) was significantly decreased. Hcy concentrations correlated positively with airborne Cr concentrations(r=0.287, p=0.004) and urinary Cr concentrations(r=0.244, p=0.015) but folate concentrations correlated negatively with airborne(r=-0.234, p=0.020) and urinary Cr concentrations(r=-0.640, p=0.090), respectively. No correlations were observed between vitamin $B_{12}$, airborne and urinary Cr concentrations. Also, Hcy concentrations correlated positively with vitamin $B_{12}$(r=0.295, p=0.0020 and negatively with folate concentrations(r=-0.196, p=0.046). The various biological(i.e. age and serum indicates) or lifestyle factors(i.e. medication, smoking, alcohol and coffee intake), also taken into account as potential confounders, did not influence the correlations found. Thus, this study found evidence that Cr might be associated with elevated plasma levels of Hcy. Furthermore, elevated plasma levels of Hcy were significantly associated with folate and vitamin $B_{12}$ concentration.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.37-47
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• 1977

Korea started the Atlantic tuna fishery from 1964 by means of longline, then added bait-boats in 1972. Both fisheries have given the top priority to catch yellowfin tuna(Thunnus albacares). The paper reviews available catch, effort and biological data, estimates some population parameters in order to understand the status of the Atlantic yellowfin tuna as a whole. The main findings are summarized as follows: 1. The total of 476 million hook-equivalent fishing effort was thrown to catch yellowfin tuna in 1974, among which one thired was shared by longliners. 2. The dominant age group becomes younger in both surface and longline fisheries. 3. The recent mortality coefficients were calculated as 1.5 for total mortality and 0.7 for fishing mortality. 4. The weight at recruitment was 2.7 kg in 1973 which was smaller than the regulation size(3.2kg) proposed by ICCAT. 5. The maximum sustained yield was calculated to 95-145 thousand metric tons, which was the level of recent catch. Therefore, it is apparent that the present yellowfin tuna fishery should continue to receive close attention.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.566-575
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• 2008

Twenty-five chipmunk species occur in the world, of which only the Siberian chipmunk, Tamias sibiricus, inhabits Asia. To investigate mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence variations and population structure of the Siberian chipmunk in northeastern Asia, we examined mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences (1140 bp) from 3 countries. Analyses of 41 individuals from South Korea and 33 individuals from Russia and northeast China resulted in 37 haplotypes and 27 haplotypes, respectively. There were no shared haplotypes between South Korea and Russia - northeast China. Phylogenetic trees and network analysis showed 2 major maternal lineages for haplotypes, referred to as the S and R lineages. Haplotype grouping in each cluster was nearly coincident with its geographic affinity. In particular, 3 distinct groups were found that mostly clustered in the northern, central and southern parts of South Korea. Nucleotide diversity of the S lineage was twice that of lineage R. The divergence between S and R lineages was estimated to be 2.98-0.98 Myr. During the ice age, there may have been at least 2 refuges in South Korea and Russia - northeast China. The sequence variation between the S and R lineages was 11.3% (K2P), which is indicative of specific recognition in rodents. These results suggest that T. sibiricus from South Korea could be considered a separate species. However, additional information, such as details of distribution, nuclear genes data or morphology, is required to strengthen this hypothesis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7523-7527
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• 2015

Background: Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pALL) patients at King Abdulaziz Medical City represent a pure Saudi Arabian population. ETV6-RUNX1 positive pALL patients have good prognosis as compared to ETV6-RUNX1 negative counterparts. Therefore, frequencies of these two patient groups have a huge consideration in treatment strategies of pALL in a given population. Different geographical locations have been reported to have different frequencies of ETV6-RUNX1 ranging from 10% in Southeast Asia to 30% in Australia. Aim: Therefore, the objective of this study was to establish the ETV6-RUNX1 status of Saudi Arabian pALL patients and its association with clinical parameters and early remission. Materials and Methods: Clinical parameters and ETV6-RUNX1 status (using FISH technique) of pALL patients attending the Pediatric Oncology Clinic, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh from 2006 to 2011 were studied. Comparisons between ETV6-RUNX1 positive and negative groups were accomplished using chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. All statistical analyses were performed using SAS version 9.2 (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC). Results: Out of 54 patients, 33 were male and 21 were females (ratio 1.57:1). B- and T-cell lineages were found in 47 (87%) and 7 (13%) patients respectively. Only 5 (9.3%) patients were ETV6-RUNX1 positive while 49(80.7%) were ETV6-RUNX1 negative. All ETV6-RUNX1 patients (100%) were of B-cell lineage and 80% (4/5) were in the 3-7 year age group. None of the ETV6-RUNX11 patients had ${\geq}5%$ blasts (no remission) at day 14 as compared with 9% in the ETV6-RUNX1 negative group (Figure 1). Conclusions: Frequency of ETV6-RUNX1 positive patients (less than 10%) in our pALL patients is much lower than reported for most European countries, North America, Australia and Japan while it is in accordance with ETV6-RUNX1 frequencies from Egypt (11.6%), Pakistan (10%), Spain (2%) and India (5-7%). This shows ethnic differences in genetics of pALL as well as higher frequencies of ETV6-RUNX1 positive pALL mostly in more industrialized countries, probably due to some industrial pollutants or westernized lifestyle.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.4119-4123
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• 2012

Background: Neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy is the accepted approach for women with locally advanced breast cancer. Anthracycline- and taxane-based regimens have been extensively studied in clinical trials and consequently are widely used. In this study aimed to research the complete response (pCR) rates in different regimens for neoadjuvant setting and determine associated clinical and biological factors. Methods: This study included 63 patients diagnosed with breast carcinoma among 95 patients that had been treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 2007 and 2010. TNM staging system was used for staging. The histologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy was characterized as a pCR when there was no evidence of residual invasive tumor in the breast or axillary lymph nodes. Biologic subclassification using estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), HER2 were performed. Luminal A was defined as ER+, PR+, HER2-; Luminal B tumor was defined as ER+, PR-, HER2-; ER+, PR-, HER2+; ER-, PR+, HER2-; ER+, PR+, HER2+; HER2 like tumor ER-, PR+, HER2+; and triple negative tumor ER, PR, HER2 negative. Results: Patients median age was 54.14 (min-max: 30-75). Thirty-two patients (50.8%) were premenapousal and 31 (49.2%) were postmenapousal. Staging was performed postoperatively based on the pathology report and appropriated imaging modalities The TNM (tumor, lymph node, metastasis) system was used for clinical and pathological staging. Fifty-seven (90.5%) were invasive ductal carcinomas, 6 (9.5%) were other subtypes. Thirty nine (61.9%) were grade II and 24 (38.1%) were grade III. Seven (11.1%) patients were stage II and 56 (88.9) patients were stage III. The patients were classified for ER, PR receptor and HER2 positivity. Seventeen patients had complete response to chemotherapy. Forty patients (63.5%) were treated with dose dense regimen (cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 and doxorubicine 60 mg/m every two weeks than paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 every two weeks with filgrastim support) 40 patients (48%) were treated anthracycline and taxane containing regimens. Thirteen patients (76%) from 17 patients with pCR were treated with the dose dense regimen but without statistical significance (p=0.06). pCR was higher in HER2(-), ER(-), grade III, premenopausal patients. Conclusion: pCR rate was higher in the group that treated with dose dense regimen, which should thus be the selected regimen in neoadjuvant setting. Some other factors can predict pCR in Turkish patients, like grade, menopausal status, triple negativity, percentage of ER positivity, and HER2 expression.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1589-1595
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• 2014

Objective: Forkhead box C2 (FOXC2) is a member of the winged helix/forkhead box (Fox) family of transcription factors. It has been suggested to regulate tumor vasculature, growth, invasion and metastasis, although it has not been studied in cervical cancer. Here, we analyzed FOXC2 expression in cervical tissues corresponding to different stages of cervical cancer development and examined its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics. In addition, we examined the effects of targeting FOXC2 on the biological behavior of human cervical cancer cells. Methods: The expression of FOXC2 in normal human cervix, CIN I-III and cervical cancer was examined by immunohistochemistry and compared among the three groups and between cervical cancers with different pathological subtypes. Endogenous expression of FOXC2 was transiently knocked down in human Hela and SiHa cervical cells by siRNA, and cell viability and migration were examined by scratch and CCK8 assays, respectively. Results: In normal cervical tissue the frequency of positive staining was 25% (10/40 cases), with a staining intensity (PI) of $0.297{\pm}0.520$, in CIN was 65% (26/40cases), with a PI of $3.00{\pm}3.29$, and in cancer was 91.8% (68/74 cases), with a PI of $5.568 {\pm}3.449$. The frequency was 100% in adenocarcinoma (5/5 cases) and 91.3% in SCCs (63/69 cases). The FOXC2 positive expression rate was 88.5% in patients with cervical SCC stage I and 100% in stage II, showing significant differences compared with normal cervix and CIN. With age, pathologic differentiation degree and tumor size, FOXC2 expression showed no significant variation. On transient transfection of Hela and SiHa cells, FOXC2-siRNA inhibition rates were 76.2% and 75.7%; CCK8 results showed reduced proliferation and relative migration (in Hela cells from $64.5{\pm}3.16$ to $49.5{\pm}9.24$ and in SiHa cells from $60.1{\pm}3.05$ to $44.3{\pm}3.98$) (P < 0.05). Conclusion: FOXC2 gene expression increases with malignancy, especially with blood vessel hyperplasia and invasion degree. Targeted silencing was associated with reduced cell proliferation as well as invasion potential.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6493-6499
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• 2013

Background: Non-epithelial malignant ovarian tumors and clear cell carcinomas, Brenner tumors, transitional cell tumors, and carcinoid tumors of the ovary are rare ovarian tumors (ROTs). In this study, our aim was to determine the clinicopathological features of ROT patients and prognostic factors associated with survival. Materials and Methods: A total of 167 patients with ROT who underwent initial surgery were retrospectively analyzed. Prognostic factors that may influence the survival of patients were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Of 167 patients, 75 (44.9%) were diagnosed with germ-cell tumors (GCT) and 68 (40.7%) with sex cord-stromal tumors (SCST); the remaining 24 had other rare ovarian histologies. Significant differences were found between ROT groups with respect to age at diagnosis, tumor localization, initial surgery type, tumor size, tumor grade, and FIGO stage. Three-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates and median PFS intervals for patients with other ROT were worse than those of patients with GCT and SCST (41.8% vs 79.6% vs 77.1% and 30.2 vs 72 vs 150 months, respectively; p=0.01). Moreover, the 3-year overall survival (OS) rates and median OS times for patients with both GCT and SCST were better as compared to patients with other ROT, but these differences were not statistically significant (87.7% vs 88.8% vs 73.9% and 170 vs 122 vs 91 months, respectively; p=0.20). In the univariate analysis, tumor localization (p<0.001), FIGO stage (p<0.001), and tumor grade (p=0.04) were significant prognostic factors for PFS. For OS, the univariate analysis indicated that tumor localization (p=0.01), FIGO stage (p=0.001), and recurrence (p<0.001) were important prognostic indicators. Multivariate analysis showed that FIGO stage for PFS (p=0.001, HR: 0.11) and the presence of recurrence (p=0.02, HR: 0.54) for OS were independent prognostic factors. Conclusions: ROTs should be evaluated separately from epithelial ovarian cancers because of their different biological features and natural history. Due to the rarity of these tumors, determination of relevant prognostic factors as a group may help as a guide for more appropriate adjuvant or recurrent therapies for ROTs.