• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.4205-4208
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• 2016

Background: The aim of this study was to analyse the expression of EGFR in newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Materials and Methods: Our study included a total of 48 paired samples collected from 24 patients diagnosed with GBM. The intensity of EGFR cytoplasmatic staining was scored on a scale of 1-3+ (weak, intermediate or strong). Results: We found EGFR overexpression in 23 patients (96%) with newly diagnosed GBM, while all recurrent tumours overexpressed EGFR. Ten recurrent tumours (42%) had a lower expression than their new counterpart 13 tumours (54%) had a similar expression, and only one case (2%) had increased expression on recurrence. The expression of EGFR in newly diagnosed GBM was significantly correlated with EGFR expression in recurrent tumour (p = 0.036). In addition, new GBMs with strong EGFR expression had a mean relapse-free interval of 11.5 months (p=0.017). A benefit of combined therapy was observed in the radiotherapy-plus-chemotherapy group where the average time was 11 months (p=0.011), as compared with surgery/radiotherapy alone (average time 6.8 months). Conclusions: The present data show that EGFR is overexpressed in paired GBMs. The discrepancies of EGFR expression between the primary tumour and the recurrence suggest heterogeneity of GBMs but also unity at relapse.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.52 no.10
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• pp.755-767
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• 2022

Background and Objectives: Cryoballoon catheter ablation for the treatment of patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) has been adopted globally, but there are limited multicenter reports of 12-month outcomes in the Korean patient population. This analysis evaluated the clinical performance and safety of cryoballoon ablation (CBA) according to standard-of-care practices in Korea. Methods: This evaluation of Korean patients with AF was conducted within the larger Cryo Global Registry, which is a prospective, multicenter, post-market registry. Freedom from a ≥30-second recurrence of atrial arrhythmias (after a 90-day blanking period until 12 months) and procedural safety were examined in subjects treated with CBA at 3 Korean centers. Results: Overall, 299 patients with AF (60±11 years old, 24.7% female, 50.5% paroxysmal AF) underwent CBA using the Arctic Front Advance cryoballoon. Of those, 298 were followed-up for at least 12 months. Mean procedure-, left atrial dwell- and fluoroscopy time was 76±21 minutes, 56±23 minutes, and 27±23 minutes, respectively. Freedom from AF recurrence at 12 months was 83.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 76.9-88.9%) in the paroxysmal and 61.6% (95% CI, 53.1-69.0%) in the persistent AF cohort. Rhythm monitoring was performed on average 4.7±1.4 times during the follow-up period. Serious device- or procedure-related adverse events occurred in 2 patients (0.7%). The 12-month Kaplan-Meier estimate of freedom from repeat ablation and cardiovascular-related hospitalization was 93.8% (95% CI, 90.4-96.1%) and 89.7% (95% CI, 85.6-92.7%), respectively. Conclusions: CBA is an efficient, effective, and safe procedure for the treatment of AF patients when used according to real-world practices in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.212-218
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• 2018

Objective : Surgical clipping of the cerebral aenurysm is considered as a standard therapy with endovascular coil embolization. The surgical clipping is known to be superior to the endovascular coil embolization in terms of recurrent rate. However, a recurrent aneurysm which is initially treated by surgical clipping is difficult to handle. The purpose of this study was to research the management of the recurrent cerebral aneurysm after a surgical clipping and how to overcome them. Methods : From January 1996 to December 2015, medical records and radiologic findings of 14 patients with recurrent aneurysm after surgical clipping were reviewed retrospectively. Detailed case-by-case analysis was performed based on preoperative, postoperative and follow-up radiologic examinations and operative findings. All clinical variables including age, sex, aneurysm size and location, type and number of applied clips, prognosis, and time to recurrence are evaluated. All patients are classified by causes of the recurrence. Possible risk factors that could contribute to those causes and overcoming ways are comprehensively discussed. Results : All recurrent aneurysms after surgical clipping were 14 of 2364 (0.5%). Three cases were males and 11 cases were females. Mean age was 52.3. At first treatment, nine cases were ruptured aneurysms, four cases were unruptured aneurysms, and one case was unknown. Locations of recurrent aneurysm were determined; anterior communicating artery (A-com) (n=7), posterior communicating artery (P-com) (n=3), middle cerebral artery (n=2), anterior cerebral artery (n=1) and basilar artery (n=1). As treatment of the recurrence, 11 cases were treated by surgical clipping and three cases were treated by endovascular coil embolization. Three cases of all 14 cases occurred in a month after the initial treatment. Eleven cases occurred after a longer interval, and three of them occurred after 15 years. By analyzing radiographs and operative findings, several main causes of the recurrent cerebral aneurysm were found. One case was incomplete clipping, five cases were clip slippage, and eight cases were fragility of vessel wall near the clip edge. Conclusion : This study revealed main causes of the recurrent aneurysm and contributing risk factors to be controlled. To manage those risk factors and ultimately prevent the recurrent aneurysm, neurosurgeons have to be careful in the technical aspect during surgery for a complete clipping without a slippage. Even in a perfect surgery, an aneurysm may recur at the clip site due to a hemodynamic change over years. Therefore, all patients must be followed up by imaging for a long period of time.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1078-1088
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• 2022

Objective: To develop and validate a model using radiomics features from apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map to diagnose local tumor recurrence in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 285 patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 62 ± 12 years; 220 male, 77.2%), including 215 for training (n = 161) and internal validation (n = 54) and 70 others for external validation, with newly developed contrast-enhancing lesions at the primary cancer site on the surveillance MRI following definitive treatment of HNSCC between January 2014 and October 2019. Of the 215 and 70 patients, 127 and 34, respectively, had local tumor recurrence. Radiomics models using radiomics scores were created separately for T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (CE-T1WI), and ADC maps using non-zero coefficients from the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator in the training set. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of each radiomics score and known clinical parameter (age, sex, and clinical stage) in the internal and external validation sets. Results: Five radiomics features from T2WI, six from CE-T1WI, and nine from ADC maps were selected and used to develop the respective radiomics models. The area under ROC curve (AUROC) of ADC radiomics score was 0.76 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.89) and 0.77 (95% CI, 0.65-0.88) in the internal and external validation sets, respectively. These were significantly higher than the AUROC values of T2WI (0.53 [95% CI, 0.40-0.67], p = 0.006), CE-T1WI (0.53 [95% CI, 0.40-0.67], p = 0.012), and clinical parameters (0.53 [95% CI, 0.39-0.67], p = 0.021) in the external validation set. Conclusion: The radiomics model using ADC maps exhibited higher diagnostic performance than those of the radiomics models using T2WI or CE-T1WI and clinical parameters in the diagnosis of local tumor recurrence in HNSCC following definitive treatment.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.217-222
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• 1999

Purpose : To evaluate prognostic factors and survival rates of the patients who received radiation therapy for locally recurrent uterine cervical cancer after curative surgery. Materials and Methods : Between October 1983 and July 1990, fifty three patients who received radiation therapy for locally recurrent cervical cancer after curative surgery at the Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea were analysed retrospectively. Age at diagnosis ranged from 33 to 69 years (median 53 years). Pathological analysis showed that forty five ($84.9\%$) patients had squamous cell carcinoma, seven ($13.2\%$) patients had adenocarcinoma, and one (1.9%) patient had adenosquamous cell carcinoma. The interval between hysterectomy and tumor recurrence ranged from 2 months to 25 years (mean 34.4 months). The recurrent sites were vaginal stump in 41 patients ($77.4\%$) and pelvic side wall in 12 patients ($22.6\%$). Recurrent tumor size was devided into two groups : less than 3 cm in 43 patients ($81.1\%$) and more than 3 cm in 10 patients ($18.9\%$). External beam irradiation of whole pelvis was done first up to 46.8 Gy to 50.4 Gy in 5 weeks to 6 weeks, followed by either external beam boost to the recurrent site in 18 patients ($34\%$) or intracavitary irradiation in 24 patients ($45.3\%$). Total dose of radiation ranged from 46.8 Gy to 111 Gy (median 70.2 Gy). Follow up period ranged from 2 to 153 months with a median of 35 months. Results : Overall response rate was $66\%$ (35/53). Among them, six patients ($17.1\%$) relapsed between 7 months and 116 months after radiation therapy (mean 47.7 months), Therefore overall recurrence rate was $45.3\%$. Overall five-year actuarial survival rate was $78.9\%$ and distant failure rate was $10\%$ (5/50). The significant prognostic factors affecting survival rate were interval between primary surgery and tumor recurrence (p=0.0055), recurrent tumor size (p=0.0039), and initial response to radiation therapy (p=0.0428). Complications were observed in 10 ($20/%$) patients, which included mild to moderate lower gastrointestinal, genitourinary, or skin manifestations. One patient died of pulmonary embolism just after intracavitary irradiation. Conclustion : Radiation therapy is the effective treatment for the patients with locally recurrent cervical cancer after curative surgery. These results suggest that interval between primary surgery and tumor recurrence, recurrent tumor size, and initial response to radiation therapy were significant prognostic factors for recurrent cervical cancer.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.199-204
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• 2008

Objective : This study was designed to compare the efficacy of micro-vascular decompression (MVD) and Gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) for elderly idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia patients by analyzing the clinical outcome. Methods : In the past 10 years, 27 elderly patients were treated with MVD while 18 patients were treated with GKRS (>65-years-old). We reviewed their clinical characteristics and clinical courses after treatment as well as the treatment outcomes. For patients who were treated with MVD, additional treatment methods such as rhizotomy were combined in some areas. In GKRS, we radiated the root entry zone (REZ) with the mean maximum dose of 77.8 (70-84.3) Gy and one 4 mm collimator. Results : The mean age was 68.1 years for MVD, and 71.1 years for GKS group. The average time interval between first presenting symptom and surgery was 84.1 (1-361) months, and 51.4 (1-120) months, respectively. The mean follow-up period after the surgery was 35.9 months for MVD, and 33.1 months for GKRS. According to Pain Intensity Scale, MVD group showed better prognosis with 17 (63%) cases in grade I-II versus 10 (55.6%) cases in GKRS group after the treatment. The pain recurrence rate during follow up did not show much difference with 3 (11.1%) in MVD, and 2 (11.1%) in GKRS. After the treatment, 2 cases of facial numbness, and 1 case each of herpes zoster, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage, hearing disturbance, and subdural hematoma occurred in MVD Group. In GKRS, there was 1 (5.6%) case of dysesthesia but was not permanent. Three cases were retreated by GKRS but the prognosis was not as good as when the surgery was used as primary treatment, with 1 case of grade I-II, and 1 case of recurrence. The maximal relieve of pain was seen just after surgery in MVD group, and 1 year after treatment in GKRS group. Conclusion : For trigeminal neuralgia patients with advanced age, MVD showed advantages in immediately relieving the pain. However, in overall, GKRS was preferable, despite the delayed pain relief, due to the lower rate of surgical complications that arise owing to the old age.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.604-610
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• 2001

Stanford type A aortic dissection after graft replacement of ascending aorta and/or aortic arch required careful follow-up due to progression of the enlarged false lumen or the recurrence of dissection. From June 1984 to June 200, 124 patients underwent operations for type A aortic dissection. Among them, 6 patients underwent reoperation due to recurred aneurysm or dissection. We evaluated that the causes of reoperation, including Marfan syndrome, the approach and result of reoperation, and strategy to reduce the risk of reoperation. Material and method: The first operation was done on acute stage in 4 cases, and chronic stage in 2 cases. There were Marfan syndromes in 3 cases. The entry site was the ascending aorta for all cases except one who underwent Bentall operation(n=3) or ascending aorta graft replacement(n=2). In one case, Bentall operation and total arch replacement was performed due to chronic type A dissection with multiple fenestrations. Mean interval of reoperation was 67.6months(range 5 months to 14 year 4months) after the first operation. Reoperations were performed with recurrence of dissection(n=4), threatening aneurysmal evolution of persisting dissection(n=1), and false aneurysm with infection(n=1). The redo operation involved the hemiarch in 1 case, distal ascending to total arch and descending thoracic aorta in 4 cases, and only descending thoracic aorta in 1 case. Result: There were Marfan syndromes in 18 patients. The mean age in type A dissection was 56.7 years and that in the first operation of reoperationc ases was 32.2 years. Especially in 3 patients with Marfan syndrome, the mean age was 29 years.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.159-171
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• 2022

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of baseline values and temporal changes in body composition parameters, including skeletal muscle index (SMI) and visceral adipose tissue area (VAT), measured using serial computed tomography (CT) imaging on the prognosis of operable breast cancers in Asian patients. Materials and Methods: This study retrospectively included 627 Asian female (mean age ± standard deviation [SD], 53.6 ± 8.3 years) who underwent surgery for stage I-III breast cancer between January 2011 and September 2012. Body composition parameters, including SMI and VAT, were semi-automatically calculated on baseline abdominal CT at the time of diagnosis and follow-up CT for post-treatment surveillance. Serial changes in SMI and VAT were calculated as the delta values. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the association of baseline and delta SMI and VAT values with disease-free survival. Results: Among 627 patients, 56 patients (9.2%) had breast cancer recurrence after a median of 40.5 months. The mean value ± SD of the baseline SMI and baseline VAT were 43.7 ± 5.8 cm²/m² and 72.0 ± 46.0 cm², respectively. The mean value of the delta SMI was -0.9 cm²/m² and the delta VAT was 0.5 cm². The baseline SMI and VAT were not significantly associated with disease-free survival (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.983; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.937-1.031; p = 0.475 and adjusted HR, 1.001; 95% CI, 0.995-1.006; p = 0.751, respectively). The delta SMI and VAT were also not significantly associated with disease-free survival (adjusted HR, 0.894; 95% CI, 0.766-1.043; p = 0.155 and adjusted HR, 1.001; 95% CI, 0.989-1.014; p = 0.848, respectively). Conclusion: Our study revealed that baseline and early temporal changes in SMI and VAT were not independent prognostic factors regarding disease-free survival in Asian patients undergoing surgery for breast cancer.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.177-191
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• 2000

This paper presents an approach for evaluating directionality effects for both wind speeds and wind loads in hurricane-prone regions. The focus of this study is on directional wind loads on low-rise structures. Using event-based simulation, hurricane directionality effects are determined for an open-terrain condition at various locations in the southeastern United States. The wind speed (or wind load) directionality factor, defined as the ratio of the N-year mean recurrence interval (MRI) wind speed (or wind load) in each direction to the non-directional N-year MRI wind speed (or wind load), is less than one but increases toward unity with increasing MRI. Thus, the degree of conservatism that results from neglecting directionality effects decreases with increasing MRI. It may be desirable to account for local exposure effects (siting effects such as shielding, orientation, etc.) in design. To account for these effects in a directionality adjustment, the factor described above for open terrain would need to be transformed to other terrains/exposures. A "local" directionality factor, therefore, must effectively combine these two adjustments (event directionality and siting or local exposure directionality). By also considering the direction-specific aerodynamic coefficient, a direction-dependent wind load can be evaluated. While the data necessary to make predictions of directional wind loads may not routinely be available in the case of low-rise structures, the concept is discussed and illustrated in this paper.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.219-225
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• 2010

Purpose: The long-term survival rate of gastric cancer patients after surgery has recently increased as a result of making an early diagnosis of gastric cancer. Therefore, the incidence of remnant gastric cancer is increasing. This study was performed to evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients with remnant gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: From January 2005 to December 2009, twenty-nine patients with remnant gastric cancer and who underwent surgery at Pusan National University Hospital were enrolled in this study. We retrospectively reviewed and analyzed their medical records. We also divided them into two groups: the remnant gastric cancer (RGC)-B group (first operation for benign disease) and the RGC-M group (first operation for malignant disease). Results: The RGC-B group included ten patients and the RGC-M group included nineteen patients. The mean interval between the first and second operations was 17 years. The curative resection rate was 93.1% (27/29). The postoperative complication rate was 20.7% (6/29) and there was no perioperative mortality. Ten (37%) of twenty-seven patients experienced recurrence after curative resection and eight patients (27.6%) expired due to aggravation of remnant stomach cancer. An advanced TNM stage and non-curative resection were the negative prognostic factors for survival for patients with remnant stomach cancer (P=0.0453 and P<0.001). The RGC-M group showed a shorter interval (P<0.001) and the RGC-B group had more advanced TNM stage (P=0.003). Conclusions: Long-term follow-up should be considered not only for patients who undergo an operation for malignant disease, but also for the patients who underwent an operation for benign disease. When remnant gastric cancer is diagnosed, curative resection is essential to improve the survival.