• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.3809-3816
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• 2016

Background: Increasing knowledge and awareness of cancer screening significantly influence health promotion behavior which could markedly reduce incidence rates. In many countries, health care providers are the principal source of information concerning cancer screening. This study was carried out to assess the level of knowledge concerning cancer screening among medical students, house officers and residents and to explore their attitude towards cancer screening practices. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Kasr Al Ainy Medical School at Cairo University in Egypt, with 300 undergraduate medical students and 150 postgraduates (interns and residents) enrolled. A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from the study participants regarding personal and education-related information, knowledge about cancer screening and its sources, and attitude towards cancer screening. Results: More than 64% of participants had knowledge scores of ${\leq}10$ points (out of 24). The total knowledge score (out of 6 points) for breast cancer screening increased from $1.9{\pm}1.0$ to $2.3{\pm}1.2$ and $2.4{\pm}1.1$ for $4^{th}$, $5^{th}$ and $6^{th}$ year respectively, interns showed the highest score of $2.6{\pm}1.1$, P= 0.001. Year of enrollment at medical school was a significant positive predictor of acquiring knowledge about cancer screening (post graduate vs. undergraduate students) (OR= 1.30, C.I =1.01-1.63), lack of or none receiving of orientation/training about cancer screening was the sole negative significant predictor for proper knowledge about cancer screening (OR=0.50, C.I=0.31-0.82). Over 92% of students agreed that they had insufficient knowledge about cancer screening, 88.2% appraised the need to have enough knowledge in order to direct/advice patients, relatives and friends, and 93.7% required that the faculty should emphasize the importance of cancer screening in the delivered curricula at medical school. Conclusions: A relatively low to moderate level of knowledge about cancer screening was detected among the selected medical students regardless of their year of enrollment at medical school or their graduation status, which may implicate a negative impact on early cancer detection especially in a low resource country like Egypt.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.203-211
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of aseptic foods (sterilized foods with radiation technology) in cancer patients in Busan. The subjects were 192 cancer patients at a hospital. This study was performed through interviews using questionnaires. Patients had perception scores on the need to develop aseptic foods (4.30 points out of 5.00), use aspetic foods (4.06/5.00), and intake aseptic foods (4.04/5.00). Patients less than 59 years old had significantly higher perception scores than those over 60 years old (p<0.05). The scores on aseptic food indicated the importance of various factors, including sanitation (4.86/5.00), good materials (4.82/5.00), nutritional value (4.79/5.00), unused of monosodium glutamate (MSG) (4.66/5.00), taste (4.61/5.00), and reasonable prices (4.60/5.00). The patients who were college graduates showed significantly higher scores and importance in good materials, proper packaging unit, simple cooking methods, food diversity, and familiar foods (p<0.05). In the aseptic menu items, patients wanted to include seasoned raw vegetables (4.11/5.00), a set menu (including cooked grain, soup, and a side dish) (4.08/5.00), seasoned cooked vegetables (4.04/5.00), low sodium kimchi (3.98/5.00), and fermented sauces (3.92/5.00). The patients with gastrointestinal cancer and other cancers (e.g. breast, thyroid, and renal cancer) had significantly higher necessity scores than lung patients for stew, seasoned raw vegetables, salad, low sodium kimchi, and a set menu (p<0.05).

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.358-363
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• 2008

Objective : This study was performed to assess the efficacy of GKS in patients with ten or more brain metastases. Methods : From Aug 2002 to Dec 2007, twenty-six patients (13 men and 13 women) with ten or more cerebral metastatic lesions underwent GKS. The mean age was 55 years (32-80). All patients had Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score of 70 or better. According to recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) classification, 3 patients belonged to class I and 23 to class II. The location of primary tumor was lung (21), breast (3) and unknown (2). The mean number of the lesions per patient was 16.6 (10-37). The mean cumulated volume was 10.9 cc (1.0-42.2). The median marginal dose was 15 Gy (9-23). Overall survival and the prognostic factors for the survival were retrospectively analyzed by using Kaplan Meier method and univariate analysis. Results : Overall median survival from GKS was 34 weeks (8-199). Local control was possible for 79.5% of the lesions and control of all the lesions was possible in at least 14 patients (53.8%) until 6 months after GKS. New lesions appeared in 7 (26.9%) patients during the same period. At the last follow-up, 18 patients died; 6 (33.3%) from systemic causes, 10 (55.6%) from neurological causes, and 2 (11.1 %) from unknown causes. Synchronous onset in non-small cell lung cancer (p=0.007), high KPS score (${\geq}80$, p=0.029), and controlled primary disease (p=0.020) were favorable prognostic factors in univariate analysis. Conclusion : In carefully selected patients, GKS may be a treatment option for ten or more brain metastases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6357-6362
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• 2014

Background: Globally, the overall incidence of cancer is increasing as a result of ageing populations and changing lifestyles. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death, especially in the developed nations. Cancers affecting the young population are generally considered uncommon. This study assessed the demography and trends of cancers of the young in Brunei Darussalam, a small and developing Southeast Asia nation. Materials and Methods: All patients diagnosed with cancers between 2000 and 2012 were identified from the cancer registry maintained by the State Histopathology Laboratory. Cancers of the young was defined as any cancers diagnosed under the age of 40 years. Demographic data and the type of cancers were collected and analysed using SPSS Statistics 17.0. Results: Among the 6,460 patients diagnosed with cancer over the study period, 18.7% (n=1,205) were categorized as young with an overall decline in the proportion from 26.6% in 2000 to 18.8% in 2012 (p<0.001 for trend). Among all cancers of the young, the most common systems affected were gynecological (24.1%), hematological/lymphatic (15.8%), subcutaneous/dermatological/ musculoskeletal (10.5%), breast (10.5%) and gastrointestinal (9.9%). Overall, among the different systems, neurological (54.9%) had the highest proportion of cancers of the young followed by gynecological/reproductive (30.6%), hematological/lymphatic (39.9%), endocrine (38.7%), subcutaneous/dermatological/ musculoskeletal (22.3%) and the head and neck region (20.1%). There was a female predominance (66.9%) and the incidence was significantly higher among the Malays (20.1%) and expatriates (25.1%) groups compared to the Chinese (10.7%) and indigenous (16.8%) groups (p<0.001 for trend). Conclusions: Cancers of the young (<40 years) accounted for almost a fifth of all cancers in Brunei Darussalam with certain organ systems more strongly affected. There was a female preponderance in all racial groups. Over the years, there has been a decline in the overall proportion of cancers of the young. Selective screening programs should nevertheless be considered.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.41-47
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• 1995

Two hundred and twenty one consecutive patients with enlarged lymph nodes of the neck were diagnosed as metastatic carcinoma by fine needle aspiration. The metastatic carcinomas were most frequent in the supraclavicular lymph nodes (p<0.05). As a primary site, lung, stomach, upper respiratory tract and breast were commonly involved in descending order of frequency. Overall, squamous cell carcinoma was the most common in males (43%) while adenocarcinoma was the most common in females (72%) (p<0.05). While carcinomas of the esophago-gastro-intestinal tract showed a tendency to metastasize to the left supraclavicular lymph nodes, metastatic carcinomas of the lung and breast usually metastasized to the same side as that of the primary cancer with a predilection for the supraclavicular lymph nodes. The submandibular lymph nodes were frequently involved by carcinoma of the upper and lower respiratory tract, in which squamous cell carcinoma was the most prevalent cytologic type. Diagnosis by fine needle aspiration cytology is the first step in the workup of patients with nodal enlargement suspicious for malignancy, particularly in metastatic carcinoma.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.140-144
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was performed to retrospectively analyze patient survival by weighting according to the primary tumor oncotype in 160 patients with brain metastasis and who underwent whole brain radiotherapy. Materials and Methods: A total of 160 metastatic brain cancer patients who were treated with whole brain radiotherapy of 30 Gy between 2002 and 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. The primary tumor oncotype of 20 patients was breast cancer, and that of 103 patients was lung cancer. Except for 18 patients with leptomeningeal seeding, a total of 142 patients were analyzed according to the prognostic factors and the Recursive Partitioning Analysis (RPA) class. Weighted Partitioning Analysis (WPA), with the weighting being done according to the primary tumor oncotype, was performed and the results were correlated with survival and then compared with the RPA Class. Results: The median survival of the patients in RPA Class I (8 patients) was 20.0 months, that for Class II (76 patients) was 10.0 months and that for Class III (58 patients) was 3.0 months (p<0.003). The median survival of patients in WPA Class I (3 patients) was 36 months, that for the patients in Class II (9 patients) was 23.7 months, that for the patients in Class III (70 patients) was 10.9 months and that for the patients in Class IV (60 patients) was 8.6 months (p<0.001). The WPA Class might have more accuracy in assessing survival, and it may be superior to the RPA Class for assessing survival. Conclusion: A new prognostic index, the WPA Class, has more prognostic value than the RPA Class for the treatment of patients with metastatic brain cancer. This WPA Class may be useful to guide the appropriate treatment of metastatic brain lesions.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.53-56
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• 2016

Sacroiliac (SI) joint pain can result from degeneration, infection, malignancy, and trauma. Patients with metastatic bone pain who do not respond to conventional treatment may need more aggressive neuroinvasive approaches. Recently, pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) neuromodulation has emerged as a promising treatment alternative for refractory cases of SI joint pain. Nevertheless, there is no report on the treatment of pain arising from SI joint metastases with PRF. We are reporting about a 63-year-old woman suffering from buttock pain due to breast cancer metastases in the SI joint. We treated this patient with PRF neuromodulation of the L4-S3 primary dorsal rami and lateral branches using a rotating curved needle technique. The patient tolerated the procedures well, without any complications. She experienced about 70% reduction in pain, and pain relief was sustained for 10 months. This result suggests that PRF neuromodulation is a safe, effective treatment for pain from SI joint metastases.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2009

The mushroom Cordyceps militaris has been used for a long time in eastern Asia as a nutraceutical and in traditional Chinese medicine as a treatment for cancer patients. In the present study, a cytotoxic antifungal protease was purified from the dried fruiting bodies of C. militaris using anion-exchange chromatography on a DEAE-Sepharose column. Electrophoretic analyses indicated that this protein, designated C. militaris protein(CMP), has a molecular mass of 12 kDa and a pI of 5.1. The optimum conditions for protease activity were a temperature of $37^{\circ}C$ and pH of $7.0{\sim}9.0$. The enzyme activity was specifically inhibited by the serine protease inhibitor phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. Amino acid composition of intact CMP and amino acid sequences of three major peptides from a tryptic digest of CMP were determined. CMP exerted strong antifungal effect against the growth of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum, and exhibited cytotoxicity against human breast and bladder cancer cells. These results indicate that C. militaris represents a source of a novel protein that might be applied in diverse biological and medicinal applications.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.4 no.1 s.4
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• pp.129-138
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• 1998

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, is considered to be involved in many pathological symptoms such as diabetic retinopathy, arthritis, inflammation and solid tumour. In particular, it is thought that angiogenesis is critical for development and growth of solid tumour. Recent study shows that there is a highly significant association of microvessel density with overall survival and relapse-free survival in patients with breast tumour In this study, the inhibition effect of angiogenesis of traditional herbs used for the treatment of cancer was examined. It was found out that the extract of Agaricus blazei by boiling water is a possible inhibitor of angiogenesis. It inhibited normal developmental angiogenesis In the chorioallantoic membrane of chick embryos and also inhibited capillary-like tube formation by endotherial cells on matrigel in vitro. These results suggest that Agaricus blazei can be a potent angiogenesis inhibitor.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.144-152
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• 2023

Background: Color texture analysis was applied as a tool for quantitative evaluation of radiation-induced skin injuries. Materials and Methods: We prospectively selected 20 breast cancer patients who underwent whole-breast radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery. Color images of skin surfaces for irradiated breasts were obtained by using a mobile skin analyzer. The first skin measurement was performed before the first fraction of radiotherapy, and the subsequent measurement was conducted approximately 10 days after the completion of the entire series of radiotherapy sessions. For comparison, color images of the skin surface for the unirradiated breasts were measured similarly. For each color image, six co-occurrence matrices (red-green [RG], red-blue [RB], and green-blue [GB] from color channels, red [R], green [G], blue [B] from gray channels) can be generated. Four textural features (contrast, correlation, energy, and homogeneity) were calculated for each co-occurrence matrix. Finally, several statistical analyses were used to investigate the performance of the color textural parameters to objectively evaluate the radiation-induced skin damage. Results and Discussion: For the R channel from the gray channel, the differences in the values between the irradiated and unirradiated skin were larger than those of the G and B channels. In addition, for the RG and RB channels, where R was considered in the color channel, the differences were larger than those in the GB channel. When comparing the relative values between gray and color channels, the 'contrast' values for the RG and RB channels were approximately two times greater than those for the R channel for irradiated skin. In contrast, there were no noticeable differences for unirradiated skin. Conclusion: The utilization of color texture analysis has shown promising results in evaluating the severity of skin damage caused by radiation. All textural parameters of the RG and RB co-occurrence matrices could be potential indicators of the extent of skin damage caused by radiation.