• Spatial Information Research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 2011

This research examined relationships between Scientifically Estimated Environmental Risks (SEERs) of floods, hurricanes and hazardous material releases, and household characteristics. This research showed that there were no statistically significant relationships between most of the demographic characteristics (age, household size, tenure at the present home) and SEERs of the two natural hazards (a flood and a hurricane). These results support Drabek's findings (1986) that people tend to underestimate or ignore natural hazards in selecting their residence regardless of age, household size, and house tenure. Educational attainment and yearly household income were positively correlated with hurricane risk, but not with flood risk. By contrast, SEER of hazardous materials was correlated with all demographic characteristics mentioned above. This result may show that those who are relatively poorer and have lower educational level tend to be limited to living in communities more vulnerable to human-made risk.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.6919-6922
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• 2015

Background: The treatment selection for the oral squamous cell carcinoma remains controversial. Radiation therapy or surgical excision of the lesion can be applied as the sole treatment or it can be used in combination with other treatment modalities. Radiotherapy is considered to be the safest of all the treatment modalities and can be used in several situations for oral and oropharyngeal cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the survival outcome differences in patients treated with radical and palliative radiotherapy as the primary treatment modality. Materials and Methods: The study included a total of 47 patients with oral cancer reporting to our hospital between years 2009 to 2010. The age group for the selected patients was more than 65 years, treated with radical and palliative radiotherapy with no prior surgical interventions. Patients were evaluated till Dec 2013 for overall survival time. Results: Twenty nine patients were treated with radical radiotherapy as main stay of treatment, out of which 21 died during the follow up time with median survival of $352{\pm}281.7$ days with 8 patients alive. All the 16 patients were dead who received palliative radiotherapy with a median survival time of $112{\pm}144.0$ days. Conclusions: This retrospective study showed improved overall survival time, loco regional control rates and reduced morbidity in patients treated with radical radiotherapy when compared to patients treated with palliative radiotherapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.6877-6882
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• 2015

Background: Cisplatin (CDDP) is one of the most active cytotoxic agents in the treatment of cancer. We investigated the effect of selenium (Se) with high dose vitamin E (VE) administration to prevent CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Materials and Methods: In this study, 40 female Wistar rats were randomly divided into five equal groups. The first group, which served as the control, was administered physiological saline (2.5 cc/day, 5 days) intraperitoneally (IP), while group A was administered cisplatin (6 mg/kg BW/ single dose) plus physiological saline IP. Groups B, C, D received IP five doses of Se (1.5 mg/kg BW), and a high dose of VE (1000 mg/kg BW) (Se-VE) in combination before, simultaneously, and after CDDP, respectively. The rats were sacrificed five days after CDDP administration. Plasma malondialdehide (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase, urea, creatinine levels, renal histopathological changes were measured. Results: The histopathological injury score, plasma levels of MDA, urea, creatinine were found to increase in group A compared to the control (p<0.05), while plasma levels of GSH-Px, GSH and catalase decreased (p<0.05). In contrast, plasma levels of MDA decreased (p<0.05) in groups B, C, D, which were treated with Se- VE, whereas levels of GSH-Px, GSH were found to increase only for group D (p<0.05). Plasma urea, creatinine levels improved in the treatment groups compared to group A (p<0.001). Histopathological changes caused by CDDP were also significantly improved after Se-VE treatment (p<0.05). Conclusions: Oxidative stress increases with CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Se-VE supplementation might thus play a role in the prevention of CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity in patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4587-4592
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• 2012

Purpose: This study used receiver operating characteristic curve to analyze Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) neuroblastoma (NB) and other peripheral nerve cell tumors (PNCT) outcome data. This study found under usage of radiotherapy in these patients. Materials and methods: This study analyzed socio-economic, staging and treatment factors available in the SEER database for NB and other PNCT. For the risk modeling, each factor was fitted by a generalized linear model to predict the outcome (soft tissue specific death, yes/no). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was computed. Similar strata were combined to construct the most parsimonious models. A random sampling algorithm was used to estimate the modeling errors. Risk of neuroendocrine (other endocrine including thymus as coded in SEER) death was computed for the predictors. Results: There were 5261 patients diagnosed from 1973 to 2009 were included in this study. The mean follow up time (S.D.) was 83.8 (97.6) months. The mean (SD) age was 18 (25) years. About 30.45% of patients were un-staged. The SEER staging has high ROC (SD) area of 0.58 (0.01) among the factors tested. We simplified the 4-layered risk levels (local, regional, distant, un-staged/others) to a simpler 3-tiered model with comparable ROC area of 0.59 (0.01). Less than 50% of PNCT patients received radiotherapy (RT) including the ones with localized disease. This avoidance of RT use occurred in adults and children. Conclusion: The high under-staging rate may have precented patients from selecting definitive radiotherapy (RT) after surgery. Using RT for, especially, adult PNCT patients is a potential way to improve outcome.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.19
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• pp.8115-8119
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• 2014

Background: Breast cancer continues to be the most common type of cancer afflicting many women worldwide. Presently, educational campaigns and research target only women as if men have no role in the management of this disease. The study examined the willingness of male partners to assist in early female breast cancer detection as well as their awareness and knowledge levels. Materials and Methods: Using a semi-structured questionnaire, data was collected from 500 public servants within the Tamale Metropolis and analyzed in SPSS. Results: The level of awareness of breast cancer was very high (98.8%) but there was a low level of knowledge of breast cancer among the male population. Marital status and religion had no effect on attitude, but increasing educational status significantly increased knowledge and positive attitude towards breast cancer examination (${\chi}^2$=4.255, p=0.0391). The majority (92.0%) agreed that men can assist in early breast cancer detection and 96.2% were willing to be provided with breast examination skills. Conclusions: Although level of awareness on female breast cancers among the men was high, they generally lack knowledge of the disease. Majority of male partners want to assist in early breast cancer detection if provided with the necessary skills.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.4711-4716
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• 2014

Introduction: Adiponectin (ApN) is a complement C1q-related protein, mainly secreted from adipose tissue, that signals through ApN receptor1 (Adipo-R1) and ApN receptor 2 (Adipo-R2). Low serum ApN concentrations are associated with obesity-related malignancies. However, there are very few studies on any prognostic role of ApN receptors in gastric cancer. Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between AdipoR1/R2 expression and early/advanced stage gastric cancer in terms of clinicopathologic characteristics and survival. Materials and Methods: Eighteen patients with early and 39 with advanced stage gastric cancer who underwent surgical gastric resection were included in this study. Results: Adipo-R1 expression was low in 2 of the 18 patients with early stage gastric cancer (11.1%), while 4 had low Adipo-R2 expression (22.2%). In those with advanced stage gastric cancer, 7 of 39 had low Adipo-R1 expression (17.9%) and 16 had low Adipo-R2 expression (41%). Adipo-R2 expression was significantly higher (p=0.011) in moderately differentiated tumors when compared to well-differentiated tumors. While there was nearly a statistically significant relationship between TNM stage (T, tumor size; N, regional lymph node; M, whether distant metastases exist) and Adipo-R2 expression (p=0.054), there was no relationship between Adipo-R1/-R2 expression with tumor stage and survival. Conclusion: Adipo-R1/-R2 expression has no prognostic significance of in early/advanced stage gastric cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3921-3924
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• 2013

Background: To investigate the role of surgical treatment for locally advanced esophageal cancer, we compared the outcomes of chemoradiotheroy alone (CRT) to postoperative chemoradiotherapy (S/CRT), using, Regional Radiotherapy Center, database. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in North-West of Iran, included of 255 consecutive patients with esophageal cancer. Eligible operable and non-operable, were treated with S/CRT and CRT respectively. Radiotherapy (RT) was delivered at 1.8-2 Gy/day for five consecutive days in a given week. Chemotherapy (CT) consisted of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. Results: From March 2006 to March 2011 255 patients: male/female 129/96, median age 68 (35-90), squamous/adeno 213/12, received CRT/S+CRT 166/59, median radiation dose $45{\pm}13.6Gy$, Median survival 13.5 (11-15), overall survival (OS) One/Two/Three 57/21/16%, Died/alive 158/97, Univariate analysis prognostic factors: age/stag/differentiation/dose of RT/fraction/treatment, Multivariate analysis predictor factor: dose of RT/fraction. Conclusions: Although this treatment offers some possibility for improvement of patients with esophageal cancer, there remains a significant need for development of new drug and new therapeutic approaches that can substantially impact survival.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.318-323
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• 2017

Objectives: Mandibular angle reduction or reduction genioplasty is a routine well-known facial contouring surgery that reduces the width of the lower face resulting in an oval shaped face. During the intraoral resection of the mandibular angle or chin using an oscillating saw, unexpected peripheral nerve damage including inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) damage could occur. This study analyzed cases of damaged IANs during facial contouring surgery, and asked what the basic standard of care in these medical litigation-involved cases should be. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a total of 28 patients with IAN damage after mandibular contouring from August 2008 to July 2015. Most of the patients did not have an antipathy to medical staff because they wanted their faces to be ovoid shaped. We summarized three representative cases according to each patient's perceptions and different operation procedures under the approvement by the Institutional Review Board of Seoul National University. Results: Most of the patients did not want to receive any further operations not due to fear of an operation but because of the changes in their facial appearance. Thus, their fear may be due to a desire for a better perfect outcome, and to avoid unsolicited patient complaints related litigation. Conclusion: This article analyzed representative IAN cutting cases that occurred during mandibular contouring esthetic surgery and evaluated a questionnaire on the standard of care for the desired patient outcomes and the specialized surgeon's position with respect to legal liability.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1897-1900
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• 2015

Purpose: To evaluate acute toxicity in nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients treated with intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)/volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) with or without cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: A total of 45 newly diagnosed, histologically proven non-metastatic NPC patients treated with IMRT between May 2010 and December 2012, were evaluated retrospectively, 37 planned with Eclipse and 8 with Prowess Panther treatment planning system. The doses to the planning target volumes of primary tumor and involved lymph nodes, high risk region, and uninvolved regional nodal areas were 70 Gy, 60 Gy, and 54 Gy respectively and delivered simultaneously over 33 fractions to 39 patients. Another 6 patients irradiated with sequential boost technique. Some 84.4% of patients received chemotherapy. Acute toxicities were graded according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group scoring criteria and Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) for chemotherapy side effects. Results: Median age was 43 years (14-79) and all patients were WHO type II. Grade 1 mucositis and dysphagia were observed in 17 (37.8%), and 10 (22.2%) patients, respectively. The incidence of acute grade 2 mucositis and dysphagia was 55.6% and 68.9%, respectively. The most common chemoradiotherapy related acute toxicities were nausea, leucopenia and thrombocytopenia. Grade 3 toxicity was detected in 13 (28.8%) cases. No grade 4 toxicity was occurred. Mean weight loss was 9%. None of the patients required the insertion of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy for nutritional support. Radiation therapy was completed without interruption in all patients. Conclusions: IMRT is a safe and effective treatment modality, and well tolerated by patients in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. No unexpected side effects were observed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.4797-4802
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• 2016

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the top cancer among women worldwide and has been the most frequent malignancy among Kazakhstan women over the past few decades. Information on clinical and histopathological features of metastatic breast cancer (MBC), as well as the distribution of molecular subtypes is limited for Kazakh people. Materials and Methods: The present observational retrospective study was carried out at Regional Oncologic Dispensaries in the North-East Region of Kazakhstan (in Semey and Pavlodar cities). Сlinical and histopathological data were obtained for a total of 570 MBC patients in the 10 year period from 2004-2013, for whom data on molecular subtype were available for 253. Data from hospital charts were entered into SPSS 20 for analysis by one-way ANOVA analysis of associations of different variables with 1-5 year survival. Pearson correlation and linear regression models were used to examine the relation between parameters with a p-value < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: No significant relationships were evident between molecular subtype and survival, site of metastases, stage or ethnicity. Young females below the age of 44 were slightly more likely to have triple negative lesions. While the ductal type greatly predomonated, luminal A and B cases had a higher percentage with lobular morphology. Conclusions: In this select group of metastatice brease cancer, no links were noted for survival with molecular subtype, in contrast to much of the literature.