• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.408-420
• /
• 2020

Purpose: Isoform 2 of tight junction protein claudin-18 (CLDN18.2) is a potential target for gastric cancer treatment. A treatment targeting CLDN18.2 has shown promising results in gastric cancer. We investigated the clinical significance of CLDN18.2 and other cell-adherens junction molecules (Rho GTPase-activating protein [RhoGAP] and E-cadherin) in metastatic diffuse-type gastric cancer (mDGC). Materials and Methods: We evaluated CLDN18.2, RhoGAP, and E-cadherin expression using two-plex immunofluorescence and quantitative data analysis of H-scores of 77 consecutive mDGC patients who received first-line platinum-based chemotherapy between March 2015 and February 2017. Results: CLDN18.2 and E-cadherin expression was significantly lower in patients with peritoneal metastasis (PM) than those without PM at the time of diagnosis (P=0.010 and 0.013, respectively), whereas it was significantly higher in patients who never developed PM from diagnosis to death than in those who did (P=0.001 and 0.003, respectively). Meanwhile, CLDN18.2 and E-cadherin expression levels were significantly higher in patients with bone metastasis than in those without bone metastasis (P=0.010 and 0.001, respectively). Moreover, we identified a positive correlation between the expression of CLDN18.2 and E-cadherin (P<0.001), RhoGAP and CLDN18.2 (P=0.004), and RhoGAP and E-cadherin (P=0.001). Conversely, CLDN18.2, RhoGAP, and E-cadherin expression was not associated with chemotherapy response and survival. Conclusions: CLDN18.2 expression was reduced in patients with PM but significantly intact in those with bone metastasis. Furthermore, CLDN18.2 expression was positively correlated with other adherens junction molecules, which is clinically associated with mDGC and PM pathogenesis.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.234-240
• /
• 2010

Purpose: Most gastric cancer patients undergo operations at large tertiary hospitals in Korea. However, some patients are treated at low volume hospitals. We investigated patient outcomes after gastric surgery at a secondary hospital and compared with outcomes of large volume centers. Materials and Methods: We included 184 patients who underwent gastric surgery for gastric cancer at our hospital from January 2003 to December 2008. We conducted a retrospective study and evaluated the clinicopathological characteristics, clinical outcomes and survival rate of patients. Results: Mean age was 61.7 years old. Male to female ratio was 2.2 : 1. Proportion of early gastric cancer was 38.6% and that of advanced gastric cancer was 61.4%. The 5 year overall survival rate of 184 patients was 66.3%. The overall survival rate was significantly lower for people over 62 years old. The morbidity rate and mortality at our hospital were 10.3% and 0.5%, respectively. Conclusions: The overall survival rate, morbidity and mortality were similar to those of the previous reports from Korea. Treatment of gastric cancer at a secondary hospital is feasible and safe. Standardization of operations and management of gastric cancer patients of the Korean Gastric Cancer Association is the most important factor to achieve these outcomes.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.7-14
• /
• 2014

Endoscopic resection is the established treatment for early gastric cancer in selected patients with negligible risk of lymph node metastasis ('absolute indication'). Based on clinical observations and large pathological databases, expanding indications for endoscopic resection beyond absolute indication has been tried in Japan and Korea. However, controversies exist regarding the safety of treating early gastric cancer beyond absolute indication in terms of pathological evaluation of the resected specimen, definition of expanded indication, discrepancy between pre-endoscopic resection and post-endoscopic resection diagnoses of gastric neoplasm, and the best strategy for cases with non-curative resection. In this brief review, current evidence and clinical experience regarding issues of endoscopic resection beyond absolute indication will be summarized.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.262-269
• /
• 2015

Purpose: Intraabdominal abscess is one of the most common reasons for re-hospitalization after gastrectomy. This study aimed to develop a model for estimating the probability of intraabdominal abscesses that can be used during the postoperative period. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinicopathological data of 1,564 patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer between 2010 and 2012. Twenty-six related markers were analyzed, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to develop the probability estimation model for intraabdominal abscess. Internal validation using a bootstrap approach was employed to correct for bias, and the model was then validated using an independent dataset comprising of patients who underwent gastrectomy between January 2008 and March 2010. Discrimination and calibration abilities were checked in both datasets. Results: The incidence of intraabdominal abscess in the development set was 7.80% (122/1,564). The surgical approach, operating time, pathologic N classification, body temperature, white blood cell count, C-reactive protein level, glucose level, and change in the hemoglobin level were significant predictors of intraabdominal abscess in the multivariate analysis. The probability estimation model that was developed on the basis of these results showed good discrimination and calibration abilities (concordance index=0.828, Hosmer-Lemeshow chi-statistic P=0.274). Finally, we combined both datasets to produce a nomogram that estimates the probability of intraabdominal abscess. Conclusions: This nomogram can be useful for identifying patients at a high risk of intraabdominal abscess. Patients at a high risk may benefit from further evaluation or treatment before discharge.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.182-187
• /
• 2010

Purpose: Additional surgery is commonly recommended in gastric cancer patients who have a high risk of lymph node metastasis or a positive resection margin after endoscopic resection. We conducted this study to determine factors related to residual cancer and to determine the appropriate treatment strategy. Materials and Methods: A total of 28 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy due to non-curative endoscopic resection for early gastric cancer between January 2006 and June 2009 were enrolled in this study. Their clinicopathological findings were reviewed retrospectively and analyzed for residual cancer. Results: Of the 28 patients, surgical specimens showed residual cancers in eight cases (28.6%) and lymph node metastasis in one case (3.8%). Based on results of the endoscopic resection method, the rate of residual cancer was significantly different between the en-bloc resection group (17.4%) and the piecemeal resection group (80.0%). The rate of residual cancer was significantly different between the diffuse type group (100%) and the intestinal type group (20%). The rate of residual cancer in the positive lateral margin group (25.0%) was significantly lower than that in the positive vertical margin group (33.3%) or in the positive lateral and vertical margin group (66.7%). Conclusions: We recommended that patients who were lateral and vertical margin positive, had a diffuse type, or underwent piecemeal endoscopic resection, should be treated by surgery. Minimal invasive procedures can be considered for patients who were lateral margin positive and intestinal type through histopathological examination after en-bloc endoscopic resection.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.328-336
• /
• 2020

Purpose: The standard treatment for stage IB gastric cancer is curative surgery alone, but some patients show poor survival with disease recurrence after curative surgery. The aim of this study was to identify prognostic factors of recurrence and long-term survival in patients with stage IB gastric cancer after surgery. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from 253 patients with stage IB gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy between 2011 and 2016 at Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital and analyzed the clinicopathological characteristics associated with recurrence and survival. Results: Fourteen patients experienced recurrence with a mean follow-up of 54.1 months. Two of these patients had locoregional recurrence and 12 patients had systemic recurrence. The median interval between the operation day and the day of recurrence was 11 months (range 4-56 months). Multivariate analysis revealed that lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI) (hazard ratio [HR], 3.851; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.264-11.732) and the elderly (age≥65) (HR, 3.850; 95% CI, 1.157-12.809) were independent risk factors for recurrence after surgery. The LVI (HR, 3.630; 95% CI, 1.105-11.923) was the independent prognostic factors for disease-specific survival (DSS). The 5-year DSS rates were 96.8% in patients who did not have LVI, and 89.3% in patients who had LVI. Conclusions: This study shows that LVI was associated with recurrence and poor survival in patients with stage IB gastric cancer after curative gastrectomy. Patients diagnosed with LVI require careful attention for systemic recurrence during the follow-up period.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.37.1-37.11
• /
• 2020

BET inhibitor, as an epigenetic regulator inhibitor, reduces the expression of oncogenes such as Myc and Bcl-2, which affects cancer growth and development. However, it has modest activity because of the narrow therapeutic index. Therefore, combination therapy is necessary to increase the anti-tumor effect. Paclitaxel, an anti-mitotic inhibitor, is used as second-line therapy for gastric cancer (GC) as a monotherapy or combination. In this study, we performed RNA sequencing of GC cells treated with iBET-151 and/or paclitaxel to identify the differentially expressed genes associated with possible mechanisms of synergistic effect. We also performed Gene Ontology enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses to determine the most enriched terms and pathways of upregulated and downregulated genes. We found 460 genes in which iBET-151 and paclitaxel combination treatment changed more than single-treatment or no-treatment. Thus, additional functional studies are needed, but our results provide the first evidence of the synergistic effect between iBET-151 and paclitaxel in regulating the transcriptome of GC cells.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
• /
• v.42 no.sup1
• /
• pp.39-45
• /
• 2008

PET or PET/CT detects only less than 50% of early gastric cancer and 62-98% of advanced gastric cancer. Therefore, mass screening programs are recommended for all adults over the age of 40 for early detection and early treatment of gastric cancer through endoscopy or various radiological tests. The most important step after diagnosis of gastric cancer is accurate staging, which mainly evaluates tumor resectability to avoid unnecessary surgery. Important factors that affect tumor resectability are whether the tumor can be separated from adjacent organs or important blood vessels, the extent of lymph node metastasis, presence of peritoneal metastasis, or distant organ metastasis. To evaluate the extent of local tumor invasion, anatomical imaging that has superior spatial resolution is essential. There are a few studies on prognostic significance of FDG uptake with inconsistent results between them. In spite of lower sensitivity for lymph node staging, the specificity of CT and PET are very high, and the specificity for PET tends to be higher than that for CT. Limited data published so far show that PET seems less useful in the detection of lung and bone metastasis. In the evaluation of pleural or peritoneal metastasis, PET seems very specific but insensitive as well. When FOG uptake of primary tumor is low, distant metastasis also tends to show low FDG uptake reducing its detection on PET. There are only a few data available in the evaluation of recurrence detection and treatment response using FDG PET or PET/CT.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.17-22
• /
• 2013

Objectives : The aim of this report is to evaluate antitumor efficacy of Rhus vernifciflua STOKES decoction (Chijong-tang). Methods : One advanced gastric cancer patient with peritoneal seeding and mesenteric metastasis visited Hana integrative Clinic of Korean medicine in Aug 2012 and was treated with Chijong-tang for 14 months. Results : Chijong-tang showed no side effect during its treatment (Aug 2012 ~ Oct 2013) and the patient showed no disease progression. Conclusion : This case report suggests that Rhus vernifciflua Stokes decoction (Chijong-tang) can be a potent anticancer agent for gastric cancer, but it still required further scientific and clinical evidence.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.2 no.4
• /
• pp.200-204
• /
• 2002

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the clinicopathological characteristics and postoperative prognosis of two age groups with gastric cancer in order to establish the proper treatment strategy in these groups of patients. Materials and Methods: Among patients with gastric cancer who underwent a gastrectomy between 1990 and 1996 at the Department of Surgery, Kyungpook National University, the clinicopathological characteristics, including the postoperative survival, of patients younger than 40-years old were compared with those of patients over 69-years old. Results: During that period 1,125 gastric cancer patients underwent a gastrectomy. Among them, 111 patients ($9.9\%$) were less than 40-years old, and 96 patients ($8.5\%$) were over 69-years old. In the young group, 79 patients ($71.2\%$) had a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, and 59 patients from the elderly group ($61.5\%$) had a well- or moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma (P<0.05). Curative surgery was performed for 88 ($79.3\%$) patients in the young group and 78 ($81.3\%$) patients in the elderly group. This difference was not statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference in the 5-year survival rates between the young and the elderly ($66.3\%\;vs.\;47.2\%$) groups, but the 5-year survival rate of the young group was significantly higher than that of the elderly group after a curative resection ($83.2\%\;vs.\;53.3\%$; P<0.05). Also the 5-year survival rate of the elderly group was significantly higher than that of the young group after a non-curative resection ($20.4\%\;vs.\;4.6\%$; P<0.05). Conclusions: For young patients, more efforts are needed to detect gastric cancer in its early stages so that a curative surgery can be performed. However, for the elderly, surgical treatment is recommended at any stage because of the relatively high survival rate, even after non-curative surgery.