• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.611-621
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• 2001

Objective : We analyzed the clinical and endocrinological results of the transsphenoidal microsurgery for ACTH secreting pituitary adenomas. Marerials and Methods : From October 1995 to August 2000, 18 patients underwent transsphenoidal microsurgery for Cushing's disease. We analyzed the surgical results of 17 patients, one patient who was previously operated from other hospital was excluded. Age of the patients were 18 to 61 years old(mean 37.7), male to female ratio was 1 : 3.3, and follow-up period was 3 to 50 months(mean 20.3). The selection of candidates for transsphenoidal exploration was based on endocrinologic criteria. Magnetic resonance imaging was the preferred radiologic test. Selective inferior petrosal sinus sampling of adrenocorticotropic hormone futher refined the diagnosis when endocrinologic and radiologic procedures were not definitive. Results : Results of the preoperative endocrinological test were : level of serum ACTH 29.4 to $225{\mu}g/dL$(mean $93.88{\mu}g/dL$) ; serum cortisol 11.9 to $47.5{\mu}g/dL$(mean $27.49{\mu}g/dL$) ; 24-hour urine free cortisol 235 to $1019{\mu}g/day$(mean $571.0{\mu}g/day$). Inferior petrosal sinus sampling for ACTH was performed in 11 patients and all were confirmed by Cushing's disease and we could predict the laterality of the tumor in 9 of 11 patients. We performed transsphenoidal selective adenomectomy in 5 patients, adenomectomy and subtotal hypophysectomy in 2 patients, adenomectomy and partial hypophysectomy in 9 patients, and in the remaining one patient, hemihypophysectomy followed by total hypophysectomy due to remission failure. Fifteen of 17 patients(88.2%) showed endocrinological remission. Glucocorticoid replacement therapy was performed in all the patients who showed remission for 1 to 24 months(mean 5.9 months), and 6 patients received steroid over 6 months. Conclusion : We conclude that the direct demonstration of a tumor in the pituitary gland by MRI is the most important and definitive diagnostic tool and the location of a mass should be confirmed with increased level of ACTH by the inferior petrosal sinus sampling. Transsphenoidal microsurgery is effective treatment modality for Cushing's disease and the immediate postoperative evaluation of the surgical resection of the tumor is very important. The patients should show hypocortisolism, decreased, subnormal serum ACTH and cortisol levels and 24-hours urine free cortisol. We performed 18 transsphenoidal microsurgery for Cushing's disease in 17 patients and 15 patients(88.2%) showed endocrinological remission.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.28-35
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• 2008

Purpose: The aim of this study is to report the efficacy of infliximab, a monoclonal antibody directed against tumor necrosis factor alpha which is used for both treatment of refractory pediatric Crohn disease (CD) and induction of remission. Methods: Among pediatric patients who were diagnosed with CD at Samsung Medical Center between March 2001 and August 2007, a total of 16 patients were given infliximab to treat conventional therapyresistant refractory CD and severe active CD for induction of remission. Patients needing maintenance therapy were treated with an infliximab infusion every 8 weeks, and fistulizing CD patients occasionally received the infusion upon the condition that a fistula developed. The efficacy of treatment was assessed by comparing the Pediatric Crohn Disease Activity Index (PCDAI), Hct, ESR, CRP, and serum albumin levels using paired t-test. Results: The male/female ratio was 13:3, and the median age was 13 years (range, 21 months~15 years). The patients included 7 cases of therapy-resistant refractory CD, 7 cases of severe active CD, and 2 cases of fistulizing CD. Mean PCDAI before infliximab therapy was 34.19${\pm}$14.96, and mean follow-up PCDAI within 2 to 4 weeks after the last infusion was significantly lower, at 6.88${\pm}$10.31 (p=0.000). Hematological markers such as ESR (p=0.000), serum albumin (p=0.016), and CRP (p=0.009) also improved significantly after infusion. Remission was achieved in 2 of 4 patients refractory to conventional therapy. Among 3 steroid-dependent patients, 2 were able to discontinue steroid therapy, and dose reduction was possible in 1 patient. Remission after top-down therapy without prior use of other immunomodulators was achieved in 6 weeks in all 7 of the patients who had severe CD. Nine of ten refractory fistulizing CD patients also showed improvement after infliximab therapy. Conclusion: Infliximab was effective in pediatric refractory CD for induction of remission and maintenance therapy, as well as in severe CD for top-down induction therapy. Furthermore, infliximab has contributed to steroid cessation and dose reduction. Long-term follow-up evaluation is needed to determine safety and efficacy of infliximab in the future.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.37-47
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• 2002

Purpose: We reviewed the clinical manifestations, responsiveness to treatment, and prognosis in children with nephrotic syndrome. Methods: Medical records of 159 children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome who were admitted to the pediatric department of Chonbuk National University Hospital from January 1979 to December 2000 w ere retrospectively reviewed. Results: There were 32 females and 127 males. The most common age group was between 3 and 5 years of age among the 159 children with nephrotic syndrome. Generalized edema ($75.5\%$), scrotal edema ($20.1\%$), upper respiratory infection ($19.5\%$), and ascites ($28.3\%$) were frequently observed. After the initial steroid therapy, diuresis occurred within tile first two weeks in 138 children, and proteinuria disappeared within the first two weeks in 105 children. Among 159 patients who received initial daily steroid therapy, 110 children were in complete remission, 29 children were in partial remission and 20 children were in poor response state. Hematuria, hypertension and elevated serum creatinine were more frequently observed in the partial and the poor response groups than in the complete remission group. Among 107 children who were followed up for more than one year, 78 children were in complete remission and 55 children were relapsed within the first one year after steroid therapy. Renal biopsy was undertaken in 76 children and 53 children had minimal change nephrotic syndronm. Conclusion: Our study showed that illost children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome have a good responsiveness to steroid therapy and even most children show frequent relapse during 1st year after remission, long term prognosis is excellent.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.102-110
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• 2000

Purpose : Intravenous infusion of albumin has been widely und to relieve severe nephrotic edema in spite of beneficial or harmful effects. The purpose of this study is to examine the harmful effect of albumin on the clinical course of steroid sensitive nephrotic syndrome(SSNS). Method : We prospectively randomized the patients with nephrotic syndrome(biopsy proven or clinically compatible to minimal change nephrotic syndrome) into the albumin group(20$\%$ albumin 1 g/kg) or control group(5$\%$ D/W) between March 1997 and September 1999 at Ewha University Mokdong Hospital. We compared the clinical course of the albumin group(n=13) with the control group(n=13). Results : 1. The duration of steroid therapy until complete remission in the albumin group was significantly longer than the control group($13.7{\pm}6.4\;days\;vs\;7.5{\pm}2.8\;days$)(P<0.05). 2. The remission duration to the first relapse was significantly shorter in the albumin group ($94{\pm}63.5$ days) than the control group($190{\pm}106.4$ days)(P< 0.05). There was no significant difference in the relapse rate within 1 year after complete remission[77$\%$ (10/13) vs 46$\%$ (6/13)](P>0.05) and the relapse frequency per year($1.9{\pm}0.8\;vs\;1.5{\pm}0.5$) between the albumin and control groups. 3. Spot urine protein/creatinine ratio significantly increased in the albumin group at post-albumin 2, 4 days(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the change of the daily percent weight loss, blood pressure, serum Na, K concentration between the albumin and control groups. Conclusion : Albumin infusion in SSNS delayed the response to steroid and shortened the remission duration to the first relapse. Albumin should be carefully used in nephrotic edema.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.867-870
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• 2001

All-trans-retinoic acid (RA) plays essential roles in the regulation of differentiation and proliferation. It has been proved that RA is effective in the treatments of epithelial and hematologic malignancies. However, in spite of its pronounced effects, the clinical applications of RA are limited due to the retinoid acute resistance. Although RA induces complete remission in a high proportion of the patients of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), the cancer was relapsed in many patients after a brief remission in spite of a continued RA treatment. Patients who relapsed from remission that was initially induced by RA had clinically resistant to further RA treatment. That is, specific cytochrome P450 enzymes in the liver were induced by the continuous oral administration of RA, thereby accelerating the metabolism of RA. To overcome this problem, biodegradable microspheres were proposed by us, previously. And, several microsphere formulations for RA delivery have been prepared and studied on their effectiveness. Recently, poly(D,L-lactide) (PDLLA) microsphere formulation was optimized, And, from the animal studies by using a mouse and a rat, it have appeared to be effective on both the inhibition of tumor growth and chemoprevention of a carcinogenesis. In this study, subacute toxicities of the PDLLA microsphere formulation have been investigated as a preclinical test. For the test, the microspheres was injected subcutaneously into the back site of rats, and body weight change, clinical signs, hematological changes, blood biochemistry were evaluated. As a result, severe toxicities such as mortality were observed at the dose of 100mg RA/kg, and toxicities were not observed at the dose of 50mg RA/kg, which is the effective dose against carcinogenesis. Bone fracture, observed at several rats, might be inhibited by treating them with anti-inflammatory drugs.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.100-106
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• 2012

Purpose: The survival rate for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has improved significantly. However, overall prognosis for the 20 to 25% of patients who relapse is poor, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) offers the best chance for cure. In this study, we identified significant prognostic variables by analyzing the outcomes of allogeneic HSCT in ALL patients in second complete remission (CR). Methods: Fifty-three ALL patients (42 men, 79%) who received HSCT in second CR from August 1991 to February 2009 were included (26 sibling donor HSCTs, 49%; 42 bone marrow transplantations, 79%). Study endpoints included cumulative incidence of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), relapse, 1-year transplant-related mortality (TRM), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). Results: Cumulative incidences of acute GVHD (grade 2 or above) and chronic GVHD were 45.3% and 28.5%, respectively. The estimated 5-year DFS and OS for the cohort was $45.2{\pm}6.8%$ and $48.3{\pm}7%$, respectively. Only donor type, i.e., sibling versus unrelated, showed significant correlation with DFS in multivariate analysis ($p$=0.010). The rates of relapse and 1 year TRM were $28.9{\pm}6.4%$ and $26.4{\pm}6.1%$, respectively, and unrelated donor HSCT ($p$=0.002) and HLA mismatch ($p$=0.022) were significantly correlated with increased TRM in univariate analysis. Conclusion: In this single institution study spanning more than 17 years, sibling donor HSCT was the only factor predicting a favorable result in multivariate analysis, possibly due to increased TRM resulting from unrelated donor HSCT.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.42-47
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• 1999

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors lower urinary protein excretion in hypertensive and normotensive patients with renal disease. Most children with nephrotic syndrome have minimal change histology and the great majority of these patients respond to the treatment with oral prednisone. Here we have studied the effects of combination of Inhibace and oral prednisone in pediatric patients with nephrotic syndrome. 45 patients with nephrotic syndrome were selected. Of these, 29 patients were treated with prednisone(2mg/kg/day) and 16 children were treated with prednisone and Inhibace(2.5mg/day). Urinary protein, blood pressure, creatinine clearance, serum creatinine, serum albumin and serum cholesterol were measured in both control and Inhibace group. Also the duration to remission after treatment was compared in both groups. The amounts of proteinuria before and after treatment were not significantly different in both group. The duration to remission of proteinuria was significantly shorter in Inhibace group compared to that in control group. The changes of blood pressure and creatinine clearance were not significant in Inhibace group. In conclusion, the combination therapy of oral prednisone and ACE inhibitor have shortened the duration to remission of proteinuria in nephrotic syndrome of children.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5957-5961
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• 2015

Background: We designed this randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess whether lobaplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy might be superior to cisplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy for FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer in terms of efficacy and safety. Materials and Methods: This prospective, open-label RCT aims to enroll 180 patients with FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer, randomly allocated to one of the three treatment groups (cisplatin $15mg/m^2$, cisplatin $20mg/m^2$ and lobaplatin $35mg/m^2$), with 60 patients in each group. All patients will receive external beam irradiation (EBRT) and high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy (HDR-ICBT). Patients in cisplatin $15mg/m^2$ and $20mg/m^2$ groups will be administered four cycles of $15mg/m^2$ or $20mg/m^2$ cisplatin intravenously once weekly from the second week to the fifth week during EBRT, while patients inthe lobaplatin $35mg/m^2$ group will be administered two cycles of $35mg/m^2$ lobaplatin intravenously in the second and fifth week respectively during pelvic EBRT. All participants will be followed up for at least 12 months. Complete remission rate and progression-free survival (PFS) will be the primary endpoints. Overall survival (OS), incidence of adverse events (AEs), and quality of life will be the secondary endpoints. Results: Between March 2013 and March 2014, a total of 61 patients with FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer were randomly assigned to cisplatin $15mg/m^2$ group (n=21), cisplatin $20mg/m^2$ group (n=21) and lobaplatin $35mg/m^2$ group (n=19). We conducted a preliminary analysis of the results. Similar rates of complete remission and grades 3-4 gastrointestinal reactions were observed for the three treatment groups (P=0.801 and 0.793, respectively). Grade 3-4 hematologic toxicity was more frequent in the lobaplatin group than the cisplatin group. Conclusions: This proposed study will be the first RCT to evaluate whether lobaplatin-based chemoraiotherapy will have beneficial effects, compared with cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy, on complete remission rate, PFS, OS, AEs and quality of life for FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.24
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• pp.10967-10970
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• 2015

Objective: To analyze the efficacy and survival associated factors of gefitinib combined with cisplatin and gemcitabine for advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 57 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), who received platinum-based chemotherapy regimens for more than 1 cycle, were treated with gefitinib combined with cisplatin and gemcitabine until disease progression. Efficacy, survival time and adverse reactions were observed. The Kaplan-Meier method was adopted for analysis of survival and Cox regression for associated influencing factors. Results: The patients were followed up until October 31, 2013, and the median follow-up time was 19 months. Of 57 patients, there were 4 (7.0%) with complete remission (CR), 8 (14.0%) with partial remission, 31 (54.4%) with stable disease, and 14 (24.6%) with disease progression. The remission rate was 21.1% and the disease control rate was 75.4%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) time and the median overall survival time were 10 months and 15.2 months. The one-year, two-year and three-year survival rates were 47.4%, 23.3% and 10.0%. Gender and pathological types were the independent risk factors influencing PFS time (P=0.028, P=0.009). Tumor pathological type and early efficacy were independent factors for the prognosis (P=0.018, P=0.000). Adverse reactions were mostly rashes of I~II degree and diarrhea and slightly increasing level of aminopherase. The skin adverse event incidence of III degree or above was 1.8% (1/57) and brain metastasis was foudn in 31.6% (18/57). Conclusions: Gefitinib combined with cisplatin andgemcitabine, is effective for patients with IIIb~IV NSCLC who received multiple cycles of chemotherapy.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.65-71
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• 1990

Between January,1974 and December 1980, fifty eight patients with locoregional recurrent breast carcinoma who did not have evidence of distant metastasis after initial treatment of surgery with or without adjuvant chemotherapy were treated with radiation therapy. Among them, five patients were excluded from this study because of incomplete record or incomplete treatment. The 5-year overall survival and disease free survival from the time of locoregional recurrence was $27\%\;and\;15\%$ respectively. In univariate analysis of prognostic variables, the clinical stage at initial diagnosis, recur duration, number of recurrence sites, size of recurrences, response to the treatment, remission duration were all found to have no significant effect on survival or disease free survival. On the other hand, menopausal status at initial diagnosis, number of positive node at initial surgery, whether or not the use of adjuvant chemotherapy after initial mastectomy had definite prognositc significance. In multivariate analysis of prognostic variables, remission duration, menopausal status at diagnosis, number of axillary node at mastectomy had definite prognostic significance. On the other hand, remission duration more than 12 months, premenopaus at initial mastectomy, less than four positive axillary lymph nodes at mastectomy predicted a good prognosis.