• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권7호
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• pp.4215-4221
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• 2013

Purposes: Lung cancer is prevalent worldwide and improvements in timely and effective diagnosis are need. Pentraxin-3 as a novel serum marker for lung cancer (LC) has not been validated in large cohort studies. The aim of the study was to assess its clinical value in diagnosis and prognosis. Methods: We analyzed serum PTX-3 levels in a total of 1,605 patients with LC, benign lung diseases and healthy controls, as well as 493 non-lung cancer patients including 12 different types of cancers. Preoperative and postoperative data were further assessed in patients undergoing LC resection. The diagnostic performance of PTX-3 for LC and early-stage LC was assessed using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) by comparing with serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin 19 fragments (CYFRA 21-1). Results: Levels of PTX-3 in serum were significantly higher in patients with LC than all controls. ROC curves showed the optimum diagnostic cutoff was 8.03ng/mL (AUC 0.823, [95%CI 0.789-0.856], sensitivity 72.8%, and specificity 77.3% in the test cohort; 0.802, [95%CI 0.762-0.843], sensitivity 69.7%, and specificity 76.4% in the validate cohort). Similar diagnostic performance of PTX-3 was observed for early-stage LC. PTX-3 decreased following surgical resection of LC and increased with tumor recurrence. Significantly elevated PTX-3 levels were also seen in patients with non-lung cancers. Conclusions: The present data revealed that PTX-3 was significantly increased in both tissue and serum samples in LC patients. PTX-3 is a valuable biomarker for LC and improved identification of patients with LC and early-stage LC from those with non-malignant lung diseases.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• 제48권2호
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• pp.121-125
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• 2018

Purpose: Detecting laryngeal cartilages (triticeous and thyroid cartilages) on panoramic radiographs is important because they may be confused with carotid artery calcifications in the bifurcation region, which are a risk factor for stroke. This study assessed the efficiency of panoramic radiography in the diagnosis of calcified laryngeal cartilages using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) as the reference standard. Materials and Methods: A total of 312 regions(142 bilateral, 10 left, 18 right) in 170 patients(140 males, 30 females) were examined. Panoramic radiographs were examined by an oral and maxillofacial radiologist with 11 years of experience. CBCT scans were reviewed by 2 other oral and maxillofacial radiologists. The kappa coefficient(${\kappa}$) was calculated to determine the level of intra-observer agreement and to determine the level of agreement between the 2 methods. Diagnostic indicators(sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and false positive and false negative rates) were also calculated. P values <.05 were considered to indicate statistical significance. Results: Eighty-two images were re-examined to determine the intra-observer agreement level, and the kappa coefficient was calculated as 0.709 (P<.05). Statistically significant and acceptable agreement was found between the panoramic and CBCT images (${\kappa}=0.684$ and P<.05). The sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic accuracy rate, the false positive rate, and the false negative rate of the panoramic radiographs were 85.4%, 83.5%, 84.6%, 16.5%, and 14.6%, respectively. Conclusion: In most cases, calcified laryngeal cartilages could be diagnosed on panoramic radiographs. However, due to variation in the calcifications, diagnosis may be difficult.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.246-252
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• 2011

Background : The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of the Comprehensive Attention Test (CAT) by comparing the results of the continuous performance test (CPT) and the CAT in children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method : A total of 110 children and adolescents with ADHD (mean age : 11.2${\pm}$2.9 years, 76 boys) and 36 children and adolescents without ADHD (mean age : 12.0${\pm}$2.7 years, 25 boys) completed the CAT. We compared the specificity and sensitivity of the CPT and CAT at two different cut-off points via the McNemar test. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) between the two groups were compared using Medcalc software. Results : The sensitivity and specificity of the CPT were .419 and .806, respectively. The sensitivity of the CAT was .827, which was significantly higher than that of the CPT (p<.001), and the specificity of CAT is .444, which was significantly lower than that of CPT (p<.001). The AUC of the CPT and CAT was .664 and .692, respectively, and there were no significant difference between the two groups on the paired comparison (p=.513). Conclusions : The results of this study suggest that the CAT has moderate specificity and high sensitivity. The CAT can be used as a useful tool to evaluate the neuropsychological function of children and adolescents with ADHD.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• 제48권3호
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• pp.106-111
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• 2023

Purpose: In this study, we evaluate the potential of the relative ratio of capsular width (RCW) between the affected side (Aff) and non-affected side (Non-aff) in patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) arthralgia. We assessed whether RCW may hold greater diagnostic significance than the objective capsular width (CW) reported in previous studies when diagnosing arthralgia using ultrasonography (US). Methods: Forty-nine patients were assessed using US, excluding four patients with bilateral arthralgia. The patients were divided into two groups: 40 with unilateral arthralgia (UA), and nine without arthralgia (NA). We measured CW and masseter muscle thickness using US. Moreover, we employed RCW to analyze the variances between the groups. The numerical rating scale (NRS) and RCW were compared before and after dexamethasone injection in 10 patients who underwent follow-up evaluations. Results: Within the UA group, CW on the Aff was found to be significantly larger compared to the Non-aff (p<0.001). Additionally, RCW in the UA group was greater than that in the NA group (p<0.01). Furthermore, after dexamethasone injection, a reduction in the NRS and RCW values was observed in the 10 patients who were followed up. Conclusions: While previous studies have suggested a link between arthralgia and TMJ effusion, making CW a possible indirect diagnostic indicator for arthralgia, our findings propose that RCW could hold more diagnostic value than objective CW. However, additional studies are required to standardize the protocols for interpreting US results and determining the cutoff value of RCW in diagnosing TMJ arthralgia.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.52-59
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• 2022

Objective: To investigate whether the diagnostic performance of CT angiography (CTA) could be improved by modifying the conventional criterion (anastomosis site abnormality) to diagnose hepatic artery occlusion (HAO) after liver transplantation (LT) in suspected patients with Doppler ultrasound (US) abnormalities. Materials and Methods: One hundred thirty-four adult LT recipients (88 males and 46 females; mean age, 52.7 years) with suspected HAO on Doppler US (40 HAO and 94 non-HAO according to the reference standards) were included. We evaluated 1) abnormalities in the HA anastomosis, categorized as a cutoff, ≥ 50% stenosis at the anastomotic site, or diffuse stenosis at both graft and recipient sides around the anastomosis, and 2) abnormalities in the distal run-off, including invisibility or irregular, faint, and discontinuous enhancement. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of the conventional (considering anastomosis site abnormalities alone) and modified CTA criteria (abnormalities in both the anastomosis site and distal run-off) for the diagnosis of HAO were calculated and compared using the McNemar test. Results: By using the conventional criterion to diagnose HAO, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy were 100% (40/40), 74.5% (70/94), 62.5% (40/64), 100% (70/70), and 82.1% (110/134), respectively. The modified criterion for diagnosing HAO showed significantly increased specificity (93.6%, 88/94) and accuracy (93.3%, 125/134) compared to that with the conventional criterion (p = 0.001 and 0.002, respectively), although the sensitivity (92.5%, 37/40) decreased slightly without statistical significance (p = 0.250). Conclusion: The modified criterion considering abnormalities in both the anastomosis site and distal run-off improved the diagnostic performance of CTA for HAO in suspected patients with Doppler US abnormalities, particularly by increasing the specificity.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• 제54권1호
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• pp.49-56
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• 2024

Purpose: This study evaluated the impact of artifacts generated by metal crowns on the detection of proximal caries lesions in teeth at various distances using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Additionally, the diagnostic impacts of tube current and metal artifact reduction (MAR) were investigated. Materials and Methods: Thirty teeth were arranged within 10 phantoms, each containing 1 first premolar, 1 second premolar, and 1 second molar. A sound first molar (for the control group) or a tooth with a metal crown was placed. Of the 60 proximal surfaces evaluated, 15 were sound and 45 exhibited enamel caries. CBCT scans were acquired using an OP300 Maxio unit (Instrumentarium, Tuusula, Finland), while varying the tube current (4, 8, or 12.5 mA) and enabling or disabling MAR. Five observers assessed mesial and distal surfaces using a 5-point scale. Multi-way analysis of variance was employed for data comparison, with P<0.05 indicating statistical significance. Results: The area under the curve (AUC) varied from 0.40 to 0.60 (sensitivity: 0.28-0.45, specificity: 0.44-0.80). The diagnostic accuracy was not significantly affected by the presence of a metal crown, milliamperage, or MAR(P>0.05). However, the overall AUC and specificity were significantly lower for surfaces near a crown (P<0.05). Conclusion: CBCT-based caries detection was not influenced by the presence of a metal crown, variations in milliamperage, or MAR activation. However, the diagnostic accuracy was low and was further diminished for surfaces near a crown. Consequently, CBCT is not recommended for the detection of incipient caries lesions.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• 제7권3호
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• pp.150-154
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• 2002

Monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) have been used as diagnostic and analytical reagents since hybridoma technology was invented in 1975. In recent years, antibodies have become increasingly accepted as therapeutics for human diseases, particularly for cancer, viral infection and autoimmune disorders. An indication of the emerging significance of antibody-based therapeutics is that over a third of the proteins currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States are antibodies. Until the late 1980's, antibody technology relied primarily on animal immunization and the expression of engineered antibodies. However, the development of methods for the expression of antibody fragments in bacteria and powerful techniques for screening combinatorial libraries, together with the accumulating structure-function data base of antibodies, have opened unlimited opportunities for the engineering of antibodies with tailor-made properties for specific applications. Antibodies of low immunogenicity, suitable for human therapy and in vivo diagnosis, can now be developed with relative ease. Here, antibody structure-function and antibody engineering technologies are described.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권6호
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• pp.3437-3442
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• 2013

The high incidence of gastric cancer and consequent mortality pose severe threats to human health. Early screening, diagnosis and treatment are the key to improve the prognosis of the patients with gastric cancer. Gastroscopy with biopsy is an efficient method for the diagnosis of early gastric cancer, but the associated discomfort and high cost make it difficult to be a routine method for screening gastric cancer. Serum tumor marker assay is a simple and practical method for detection of gastric cancer, but it is limited by poor sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, people have been looking for novel serum markers of gastric cancer in recent years. Here we review the novel serum tumor markers of gastric cancer and their diagnostic significance, focusing on the discoveries from serum proteomics analyses and epigenetics researches.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권5호
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• pp.1677-1682
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• 2015

Cancer progression is attained by uncontrolled cell division and metastasis. Increase in tumor size triggers different vascular channel formation to address cell nutritional demands. These channels are responsible for transferring of nutrients and gaseous to the cancer cells. Cancer vascularization is regulated by numerous factors including vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs). These factors play an important role during embryonic development. Members included in this group are VEGFA, VEGFB, VEGFC, PIGF and VEGFD which markedly influence cellular growth and apoptosis. Being freely diffusible these proteins act in both autocrine and paracrine fashions. In this review, genetic characterization these molecules and their putative role in cancer staging has been elaborated. Prognostic significance of these molecules along with different stages of cancer has also been summarized. Brief outline of ongoing efforts to target hot spot target sites against these VEGFs and their cognate limitations for therapeutic implications are also highlighted.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.421-427
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• 2005

To evaluate the diagnostic significance of p16 overexpression in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we analyzed p16 status and growth inhibitory patterns by p16 overexpression in HCC cell lines having different pRE status. SKHep1 and SNU449 cells show homozygous deletion of p16. The p16 gene in SNU398 cell is inactivated at posttranscription level. Adenovira1-p16 (Ad-p16) infection inhibits the cell growth in Hep3B, SNU398, and SNU449. Failure of growth inhibition in SKHepl results from the low transduction efficiency of adenovirus. The p16-mediated growth inhibition shows G 1 phase arrest in pRE-positive SNU449 but not in pRE-negative Hep3B. These results suggest that therapeutic efficacy of p16 gene might be considered on the transduction efficiency and the toxicity of adenoviral vector. Beside, growth inhibitory effect of p16 could be exerted through either pRE-dependent or -independent pathway.