No abstract available.
Gynecomastia* ; Male

No abstract available.
Central Nervous System*

PURPOSE: Colorectal cancers have been known to be refractory to chemotherapy in the past decades. Recently, novel agents have been developed and various data have shown an improved response rate and a survival benefit. However, considerable heterogeneity exists between cancers of the same tissue type, including colorectal cancer. Thus, Individualized chemotherapy that is tailored specifically to the characteristics of the tumor is necessary for an improved clinical outcome. RESULTS: We evaluate the chemosensitivity of colorectal cancer to standard drugs (5-FU, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan) and to drugs used for other cancers (mitomycin, paclitaxel, and gemcitabine) by using Adenosine-triphosphate-based chemotherapy response assay (ATP-CRA). RESULTS: The degree of in-vitro response to a single anticancer medication was highest for 5-FU. According to stages, 5-FU is the most sensitive chemotherapeutic agent in Duke's B, irinotecan in Duke's C, and 5-FU in Duke's D patients. With tumor location, irinotecan is most sensitive in colon cancers and 5-FU in rectal cancers. The effect of treatment is superior in the test-guided therapy group in Duke's D colorectal cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: Chemosensitivity tests may be useful in selecting optimum drugs for patient who require chemotherapy. However, the results of this study do not strongly support the usefulness of this assay; further studies with a sufficient number of cases and an extended observation period are ongoing.
Colonic Neoplasms ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Drug Therapy ; Fluorouracil ; Humans ; Paclitaxel ; Population Characteristics ; Rectal Neoplasms

PURPOSE: To evaluate the relationship between depressive symptoms and health care costs in outpatients with chronic medical illnesses in Korea, we screened for depressive symptoms in 1,118 patients with a chronic medical illness and compared the severity of somatic symptoms and health care costs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were compared between outpatients with depressive symptoms and those without depressive symptoms. Depression and somatic symptoms were measured by Zung's Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-15, respectively. We also investigated additional data related to patients' health care costs (number of visited clinical departments, number of visits made per patients, and health care costs). A total of 468 patients (41.9%) met the criteria for depressive disorder. RESULTS: A high rate of severe depressive symptoms was found in elderly, female and less-educated patients. A positive association between the severity of somatic symptoms and depressive symptoms was also identified. The effects of depressive symptoms in patients with chronic illnesses on three measures of health services were assessed by controlling for the effects of demographic variables and the severity of somatic symptoms. We found that the effects of depressive symptoms on the number of visited departments and number of visits made per patients were mediated by the severity of somatic symptoms. However, for health care costs, depressive symptoms had a significant main effect. Furthermore, the effect of gender on health care costs is moderated by the degree of a patient's depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: In summary, there is clearly a need for increased recognition and treatment of depressive symptoms in outpatients with chronic medical illnesses.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Chronic Disease/*economics ; Depression/*complications/diagnosis/*economics ; Female ; *Health Care Costs ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Outpatients ; Regression Analysis ; Sex Factors