• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.94 no.2 s.159
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• pp.73-81
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• 2005

This study was conducted to examine the geographic variation among provenances of Pinus densiflora in survival rate and height growth at four test plantations (Jungsun, Chungju, Naju, and Jeju). The plantations were parts of the eleven provenance trials of Pinus densiflora established by Korea Forest Research Institute in 1996. The survival rate and height growth were significantly different among test plantations at $p{\leq}0.01$. Latitude and longitude of test plantation were negatively correlated with survival rate and height growth. On the other hand, annual mean temperature, mean temperature (Nov.~Feb.), extremely low temperature (Dec.~Feb.), and annual mean growing days of test plantation were positively correlated with these two. The relationships between growth variables and geographic variables were analysed with canonical correlation analysis. A considerable amount of variation in survival rate and height growth was explained by latitude, annual mean growing days, extremely low temperature (Dec.~Feb.) and extremely high temperature (Nov.~Feb.) of provenances. It is estimated that up to 47.1% and 67.4% of the genetic variability in survival rate and height growth was attributable to the environmental variability of the provenances, respectively. The response surface curve of survival rate and height growth was plotted against latitude and longitude to examine growth performance of provenances for each test site. Generally, the local provenances showed better survival rate and height growth.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.368-378
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• 2018

Purpose: Fibrinogen and platelets have been reported to play important roles in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. The aim of this research was to investigate the combination of functions of fibrinogen, platelets, and mean platelet volume (MPV) in predicting the survival of patients with gastric cancer (GC). Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted with 1,946 patients with GC and 299 patients with benign gastric tumor to analyze their fibrinogen, platelet, and MPV levels, and other clinicopathological characteristics along with their prognoses. Several indicators were evaluated along with fibrinogen, platelets, and MPV and their prognostic abilities were assessed. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were conducted to determine the independent risk factors for overall survival. Results: Increased levels of fibrinogen, platelets, and MPV were observed with the progress of the GC stages. Elevated fibrinogen, platelets, and the combined indicators, including fibrinogen*MPV (FM), platelet*fibrinogen*MPV (PFM), fibrinogen/MPV (FMR), platelet*fibrinogen (PF), platelet*fibrinogen/MPV (PFMR), platelet*MPV (PM), and platelet/MPV (PMR), foreboded poor prognosis. Meanwhile fibrinogen and FMR can be considered as independent risk factors for overall survival in patients with non-metastatic GC. But these indicators can hardly predict survival of patients in stage IV. Conclusions: Elevated fibrinogen, platelets, and MPV levels were in accordance with advanced stages, and fibrinogen, platelet, and MPV, in combination, can be used to predict survival of patients with non-metastatic GC. FMR was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival of patients with GC.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.125-135
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• 1996

The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of cryoprotectants, equilibration step, freezing rate, culture condition following in vitro fertilization, and age and development stage of embryo by freezing with conventional slow freezing and vitrification on survival of frozen-thawed Korean native cattle(KNC) blastocysts produced in vitro. The KNC blastocysts produced in vitro were equilibrated in 1.8M ethylene glycol or 1.4M glycerol and cooled from -6$^{\circ}C$ to -35$^{\circ}C$ at -0.3$^{\circ}C$ or -O.6$^{\circ}C$ /minute. When equilibrated in 1.8M ethylene glycol, survival rate of fiozen4hawed blastocysts was sarne in both -0. 3$^{\circ}C$ /min and -0.6$^{\circ}C$ /min cooling rate(71.4%). With the equilibration in 1.4M glycerol, survival rate was higher in -0.3$^{\circ}C$ /min(63.6%) than in -0.6$^{\circ}C$ /min cooling rate(53.8%). For vitrification of the KNC blastocysts produced in vitro, they were equilibrated in 2-step or 3-step exposure to vitrification solution(25% ethylene glycol + 25% glycerol). Survival rate was sirilar in both 2-step(45.0%) and 3-step exposure(47.4%). According to culture condition following in vitro fertilization, higher survival rate was obtained for blastocysts co-cultured with bovine oviductal epithelial cell(BOEC, 77.3%) than for those cultured with epidermal growth factor(EGF, 65.7%) or for those co-cultured with BOEG + EGF (54.8%). According to embryo age and development stage, higher survival rate was obtained for 7-day ernbryos(70.0%) than 8-day(56.8%) or 9-day(20.0%) for blastocyst stage and obtained for 8-day embryos(74.3%) than 7-day(62.5%) or 9-day(42.9%) for exponded blastocyst. In surnmary, higher survival rate of frozen4hawed KNC blastocysts produced in vitro were obtained by using ethylene glycol for cryoprotectant and -0.3$^{\circ}C$ /min for cooling rate. And higher survival rate were obtained with co-culture with BOEC for culture condition following in vitro fertilization and with 7-day blastocyst or 8-day expanded blasto cyst for embryo age and development stage.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.6 s.263
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• pp.449-455
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• 2006

Background: Female sex was known to be a risk factor for mortality after coronary bypass grafting (CABG), and women showed higher in-hospital mortality than men. Material and Method: Between 1992 and 1996, 147 consecutive patients (98 men and 49 women) undergoing CABG were included in the study. Most patients had undergone CABG with left internal thoracic artery and saphenous vein under cardiopulmonary bypass. We examined the influence of gender on survival after CABG and looked for risk factors for survival. Result: There was no in-hospital mortality in women, but 3 death (3.0%) in men. During the mean follow-up period of $138.5{\pm}23.0$ months, mortality was lower in women than in men (20.4% vs 44.9%, p=0.004), and the most common cause of death in women was chronic renal failure (40%). Survival in women at 1, 5, 10, and f4 years was 100%, $98.0{\pm}2.0%,\;81.2{\pm}5.6%,\;and\;78.4{\pm}6.1%$, respectively, which was better than in men (p=0.004). Although preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction was higher in women than in men, this did not affect early and long-term survival difference between two sexes (p=0.15). Risk factor for long-term survival in women was diabetes (p=0.033) and in men number of diseased coronary artery (p=0.006). Conclusion: Long-term survival after CABG was better in women than men. Risk factor for long-term survival in women was morbid disease rather than cardiac disease.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.306-316
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• 2017

Purpose: To investigate the predictive role of maximum standardized uptake value ($SUV_{max}$) of 2-[$^{18}F$]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose($^{18}F-FDG$) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in nasopharyngeal cancer patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Materials and Methods: Between October 2006 and April 2016, 53 patients were treated with IMRT in two institutions and their PET/CT at the time of diagnosis was reviewed. The $SUV_{max}$ of their nasopharyngeal lesions and metastatic lymph nodes (LN) was recorded. IMRT was delivered using helical tomotherapy. All patients except for one were treated with concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT). Correlations between $SUV_{max}$ and patients' survival and recurrence were analyzed. Results: At a median follow-up time of 31.5 months (range, 3.4 to 98.7 months), the 3-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 83.2% and 77.5%, respectively. In univariate analysis, patients with a higher nodal pre-treatment $SUV_{max}$ (${\geq}13.4$) demonstrated significantly lower 3-year OS (93.1% vs. 55.5%; p = 0.003), DFS (92.7% vs. 38.5%; p < 0.001), locoregional recurrence-free survival (100% vs. 50.5%; p < 0.001), and distant metastasis-free survival (100% vs. 69.2%; p = 0.004), respectively. In multivariate analysis, high pre-treatment nodal $SUV_{max}$ (${\geq}13.4$) was a negative prognostic factor for OS (hazard ratio [HR], 7.799; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.506-40.397; p = 0.014) and DFS (HR, 9.392; 95% CI, 1.989-44.339; p = 0.005). Conclusions: High pre-treatment nodal $SUV_{max}$ was an independent prognosticator of survival and disease progression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with IMRT in our cohort. Therefore, nodal $SUV_{max}$ may provide important information for identifying patients who require more aggressive treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.287-293
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• 2009

Cell survival is the result of a balance between programmed cell death and cellular proliferation. Cell membrane receptors and their associated signal transducing proteins control these processes. Of the numerous receptors and signaling proteins, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one of the most important receptors involved in signaling pathways implicated in the proliferation and survival of cancer cells. EGFR is often highly expressed in human tumors including oral squamous cell carcinomas, and there is increasing evidence that high expression of EGFR is correlated with poor clinical outcome of common human cancers. Therefore, we examined the antiproliferative activity of gefitinib, epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR TKI), in head and neck cancer cell lines. SCC-9, KB cells were cultured and growth inhibition activity of gefitinib was measured with MTT assay. To study influence of gefitinib in cell cycle, we performed cell cycle analysis with flow cytometry. Western blot was done to elucidate the expression of EGFR in cell lines and phosphorylation of EGFR and downstream kinase protein, Erk and Akt. Significant growth inhibition was observed in SCC-9 cells in contrast with KB cells. Also, flow cytometric analysis showed G1 phase arrest only in SCC-9 cells. In Western blot analysis for investigation of EGFR expression and downstream molecule phosphorylation, gefitinib suppressed phosphorylation of EGFR and downstream protein kinase Erk, Akt in SCC-9. However, in EGFR positive KB cells, weak expression of active form of Erk and Akt and no inhibitory activity of phosphorylation in Erk and Akt was observed. The antiproliferative activity of gefitinib was not correlated with EGFR expression and some possibility of phosphorylation of Erk and Akt as a predictive factor of gefitinib response was emerged. Further investigations on more reliable predictive factor indicating gefitinib response are awaited to be useful gefitinib treatment in head and neck cancer patients.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2008

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the surgical outcome and to compare the surgical results between transsylvian and transcortical approaches in patients with putaminal hematomas. Methods : Retrospective review of charts and CT scan images was conducted in 45 patients (20 transsylvian and 25 transcortical approaches) who underwent open surgical evacuation of putaminal hematomas. Mean Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score and hematoma volume were $7.5{\pm}3.2$ and $78.1{\pm}29.3\;cc$, respectively. The factors affecting the functional mortality were investigated using a multivariate logistic regression analysis. In addition, surgical results between transsylvian and transcortical approaches were compared. Results : None of the patients had a good recovery after the surgery. Overall functional survival rate and mortality were 37.7% and 31%, respectively. The only risk factor for functional mortality was GCS motor score after controlling age, history of hypertension, side of hematoma, hematoma amount midline shift, presence of intraventricular hemorrhage and surgical approach (p=0.005). Even though a transcortical approach was shorter in operative time (4.4 versus 5.1 hour) and showed a higher mortality rate (40% versus 20%) and lower functional survival (45% versus 35%) compared to the transsylvian approach, the differences were not statistically significant between the two groups. Conclusion : In patients who have large amounts of hematoma and require open surgical evacuation, the only significant risk factor for functional survival is the preoperative GCS score. Cortical incision methods such as transsylvian and transcortical approaches have no influence on the surgical outcome. To decompress the swollen brain rapidly, transcortical approach seems to be more suitable than transsylvian approach.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.49-62
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of lymph node ratio (LNR) in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively enrolled gastric cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and curative surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University from 2004 to 2015 as the study cohort. Patients with the same inclusion criteria treated in 2016-2017 were enrolled as the validation cohort. Kaplan-Meier curves were assessed using the log-rank test to analyze the differences in overall survival (OS). Multivariate survival analysis was performed using the Cox proportional hazards model. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of ypN and LNR categories for predicting the actual 3-year OS were compared. Results: A total of 265 patients were included in the proposal cohort. The median number of retrieved lymph nodes (rLNs) was 32. The number of positive lymph nodes (pLNs) increased as rLN increased (P=0.037), but the LNR remained relatively constant (P=0.462). The LNR was categorized into 4 groups according to the prognosis: ypNr0, node-negative with rLN>25; ypNr1, node-negative with rLN≤25 or 00.3. In the validation cohort of 43 enrolled patients, there was a clear distinction in OS that significantly (P<0.001) varied depending on the LNR values and LNR was the only independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis (P<0.001). Conclusions: LNR was an independent prognostic factor for survival of patients with gastric cancer after preoperative chemotherapy and might be an alternative predictor for ypN stage.

• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.200-204
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• 1995

Twenty three rhabdomyosarcoma patients who were registered in Korea Cancer Center Hospital from Mar. 1985 to Apr. 1994 were analysed in the aspect of treatment and survival. Thirteen cases were male and 10 female. Average age was 29.5 years(range 1 to 66). Locations of the tumor were as follows: 13 in lower extremity, 6 in upper extremity and 4 in trunk. According to the UICC classification, stage II b was 1 case, stage III a 4, stage III b 10, stage IV a 3 and stage IV b 5. In histological categories, embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma was 7 cases, alveolar 7, pleomorphic 7 and undetermined 2. Average follow up period was 35.3 months(1 tk 7.5 years). Ten cases were continuous disease free, 3 no evidence of disease, 3 alive with disease and 7 died of disease at final follow up. Kaplan-Meier's actuarial 5-year survival rate was 60.3% and 5-year continuous disease free survival rate was 31.4%, Surgical margin was an important factor in local tumor control. Although there was no definite statistical significance, our results suggest chemotherapy and radiation therapy have meaningful roles in reducing local recurrence and improving survival.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2022

Background/Objectives: This study analyzed the prognostic significance of clinico-pathologic factors including comprehensive nodal factors in parotid gland cancers (PGCs) patients and constructed a survival prediction model for PGCs patients using machine learning techniques. Materials & Methods: A total of 131 PGCs patients were enrolled in the study. Results: There were 19 cases (14.5%) of lymph nodes (LNs) at the lower neck level and 43 cases (32.8%) involved multiple level LNs metastases. There were 2 cases (1.5%) of metastases to the contralateral LNs. Intraparotid LNs metastasis was observed in 6 cases (4.6%) and extranodal extension (ENE) findings were observed in 35 cases (26.7%). Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and perineural invasion findings were observed in 42 cases (32.1%) and 49 cases (37.4%), respectively. Machine learning prediction models were constructed using clinico-pathologic factors including comprehensive nodal factors and Decision Tree and Stacking model showed the highest accuracy at 74% and 70% for predicting patient's survival. Conclusion: Lower level LNs metastasis and LNR have important prognostic significance for predicting disease recurrence and survival in PGCs patients. These two factors were used as important features for constructing machine learning prediction model. Our machine learning model could predict PGCs patient's survival with a considerable level of accuracy.