OBJECTIVE: To assess whether there is an association between improvement of computed tomography imaging results prior to interval debulking with survival in patients treated by neoadjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: The clinical and outcome data of all advanced ovarian, primary peritoneal and tubal carcinoma patients who after diagnosis had neoadjuvant chemotherapy and underwent interval debulking during the period 2000-2010, were abstracted. Results of computed tomography imaging at diagnosis and prior to interval debulking were compared. Two parameters were assessed: the change of the size and number of abnormal findings and the change in the amount of ascites. CA-125 level response was also calculated. An assessment of progression free survival and of survival by the Kaplan-Meier method was made according to the change in computed tomography imaging results and according to response of CA-125 levels. RESULTS: The median progression free survival and the median survival of the 37 study group patients were 7.9 and 49.2 months respectively. No significant difference in progression free survival and survival was observed between patients with marked improvement in the computed tomography results and those with less desirable results (7.93 vs. 7.23 months respectively, p=0.89; 45.8% vs. 52.5% months respectively, p=0.95). There were also no statistically significant difference according to CA-125 level response. CONCLUSION: It seems that neither improvement in imaging results nor CA-125 level response can predict the survival of ovarian carcinoma patients prior to interval debulking after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Ascites ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans

PURPOSE: We analyzed the clinical outcome of osteosarcoma developed in distal radius and the effect of delayed treatment on prognosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve patients with distal radius osteosarcoma were analysed. We categorized patients into two groups of standard treatment or non-standard treatment. The patients of standard treatment group are all stage IIB and non-standard treatment group includes five stage IIB and one stage III. RESULTS: Five-year overall survival and disease-free survival rates of standard treatment group were 100% and 83%. Five-year overall survival rate of non-standard treatment group was 44%. Between two group, there are differences in age, tumor size, surgery type, symptom duration. CONCLUSION: Distal radius osteosarcoma have good prognosis than other extremity osteosarcoma. Survival rate of non-standard treatment group were lower than standard treatment group. Although the prognosis of non standard treatment group is poorer, the duration till death was longer than that of other sites with similar condition. Further multi-institutional study should be needed.
Disease-Free Survival ; Extremities ; Humans ; Osteosarcoma ; Prognosis ; Radius ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: Hepatic resection and liver transplantation are considered a curative treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within the Milan criteria. In this study, we examine the outcome of hepatic resection for HCC within the Milan criteria, and determine the effectiveness of hepatic resection as the primary treatment for HCC within the Milan criteria in Child-Pugh class A. METHODS: 110 patients underwent curative surgical resection for HCC in Child-Pugh class A between August 1991 and June 2008. Fifty-six patients met Milan criteria (Group M) and the remaining 54 did not (Group N). RESULTS: Overall survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years were 92.6%, 72.5% and 54.6% versus 70.4%, 43.1%, and 28.7% in Group M and Group N, respectively (P=0.0043). The corresponding disease-free survival rates were 81.5%, 69.7%, and 38.2% versus 46.0%, 32.9%, and 26.9% in Group M and Group N (P=0.0012). HCC recurred in 25 patients in Group M (44.6%) and 35 patients in Group N (64.8%)(P=0.034). Outcomes of hepatic resection in Group M were significantly better compared to Group N. CONCLUSION: Hepatic resection can achieve a comparable 5-year overall survival & disease-free survival to that reported for liver transplantation. Hepatic resection should be considered as the standard therapy for HCC within the Milan criteria in Child-Pugh class A patients.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Liver Transplantation ; Survival Rate

Authors analyzed the results of treatment in 49 cases of medulloblastoma who had been operated upon at the Seoul National University Hospital from January 1972 to June 1987. There were 2 cases(4%) of postoperative mortality(death within postoperative one month) and 13 cases of late moratlity. The 3-year overall survival rate was 49.3% and 3-year disease-free survival rate was 48.5%. The risk period of recurrence was about 2 years after surgery. The 3-year survival rate was significantly better in "grow total resection" group, "radiation dose more than 50 Gy" group, and group II(23 cases operated after July 1982) (p<0.05). The rate of posterior fossa recurrence was lower in "gross total resection" group for the patients who received posterior fossa irradiation of more than 50 Gy.
Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Medulloblastoma ; Prognosis* ; Recurrence ; Seoul ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVE: Loss of ARID1A is related to oncogenic transformation of ovarian clear cell adenocarcinoma. The present study was conducted in epithelial ovarian cancer of all tissue types to investigate whether an increased or decreased expression level of ARID1A can be a prognostic factor for ovarian cancer or can influence the sensitivity to anticancer drugs. METHODS: The expression level of ARID1A was investigated in 111 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer who received initial treatment at the Hirosaki University Hospital between 2006 and 2011. The expression level of ARID1A was immunohistochemically graded using staining scores, which were calculated by multiplying the staining intensity of the nuclei by the stain-positive area. RESULTS: The level of ARID1A was significantly lower in clear cell adenocarcinoma than in other histologic types. Among the patients with stage III, IV cancer (n=46), the level of ARID1A was significantly lower (p=0.026) in patients who did not achieve complete response (CR; n=12) than in patients who achieved CR (n=34). The level of ARID1A was relatively lower (p=0.07) in patients who relapsed after achieving CR (n=21) than in patients who did not relapse (n=13). When the staining score of 0 was defined as ARID1A-negative and other staining scores were defined as ARID1A-positive, there was significant difference in progression-free survival between ARID1A-negative (n=11) and ARID1A-positive (n=35) patients in stage III, IV disease. CONCLUSION: The result suggests that decreased ARID1A expression is correlated with chemoresistance and may be a predictive factor for the risk of relapse of advanced cancer after achieving CR.
Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Ovarian Neoplasms* ; Recurrence

BACKGROUND: The predominant treatment modality for meningioma is surgical resection. However, gamma knife radiosurgery is also an important treatment modality for meningioma that is small or cannot be completely removed because of its location. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness and long-term results of radiosurgical treatment for meningioma in our institution. METHODS: We studied 628 patients (130 men and 498 women) who underwent gamma knife radiosurgery for intracranial meningioma, which is radiologically diagnosed, from Jan 2008 to Nov 2012. We included patients with single lesion meningioma, and followed up after 6 months with imaging, and then at 24 months with a clinical examination. Patients with high-grade meningioma or multiple meningiomas were excluded. We analyzed each of the factors associated with progression free survival. The median patient's age was 56.8 years. Maximal dosage was 27.8 Gy and marginal dosage was 13.9 Gy. RESULTS: The overall tumor control rate was 95%. Twenty-eight patients (4.4%) showed evidence of tumor recurrence. Ninety-eight patients (15%) developed peritumoral edema (PTE) after gamma-knife surgery; two of them (2%) underwent surgical resections due to PTE. Nine patients had craniotomy and tumor removal after gamma knife surgery. CONCLUSION: Gamma knife surgery for intracranial meningioma has proven to be a safe and effective treatment tool with successful long-term outcomes. Gamma knife radiosurgery can be especially effective in cases of remnant meningioma after surgical resection or where PTE is not present.
Craniotomy ; Disease-Free Survival ; Edema ; Humans ; Male ; Meningioma* ; Radiosurgery* ; Recurrence

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: Liver resection is a curative procedure performed worldwide for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Deciding on the appropriate resection range for postoperative hepatic function preservation is an important surgical consideration. This study compares survival outcomes of HCC patients who underwent anatomical or non-anatomical resection, to determine which offers the best clinical survival benefit. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-one patients underwent liver resection with HCC, between January 2007 and February 2015, and were divided into two groups: those who underwent anatomical liver resection (n=88) and those who underwent non-anatomical liver resection (n=43). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regressions were used to compare the disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates between the groups. RESULTS: The mean follow-up periods were 27 and 40 months in the anatomical and non-anatomical groups, respectively (p=0.229). The 3- and 5-year DFS rates were 70% and 60% in the anatomical group and 62% and 48% in the non-anatomical group, respectively. The 3 and 5-year OS rates were 94% and 78% in the anatomical group, and 86% and 80% in the non-anatomical group, respectively. The anatomical group tended to show better outcomes, but the findings were not significant. However, a relative risk of OS between the anatomical and non-anatomical group was 0.234 (95% CI, 0.061-0.896; p=0.034), which is statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Although statistical significance was not detected in survival curves, anatomical resection showed better results. In this respect, anatomical resection is more likely to perform in HCC patients with preserve liver function than non-anatomical resection.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Liver

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI) and FLIPI2 are well-known prognostic models for patients with follicular lymphoma (FL). However, their prognostic relevance has not been examined before in Korean patients with FL. METHODS: We reviewed clinical and laboratory information from our database of patients between 1995 and 2012. In total, 125 patients were stratified in three categories according to FLIPI or FLIPI2 scores: low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups. We compared FLIPI and FLIPI2 in terms of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Among the 125 patients, the prognostic value of FLIPI and FLIPI2 was evaluated in 73 patients who fulfilled the criteria of both prognostic models. Risk stratification by FLIPI and FLIPI2 showed significant differences in unfavorable parameters among each risk group, particularly between low- and intermediate-risk groups. The high-risk group b was significantly associated with poor PFS on both FLIPI and FLIPI2 (p < 0.05). However, the OS was significantly different only in the risk groups determined by FLIPI2 (p = 0.042). In a subgroup analysis of patients who received rituximab-containing chemotherapy, the risk stratification of both prognostic models showed a significant impact on PFS, especially in the low-risk group. CONCLUSIONS: FLIPI and FLIPI2 are appropriate prognostic models in Korean FL patients, especially for discriminating low-risk patients from intermediate- and high-risk groups.
Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Follicular* ; Prognosis

PURPOSE: We sought to determine if organ preservation (OP) with neoadjuvant chemoradiation (CRT) was feasible in patients with sinonasal cancer determined to require exenteration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients were determined to require exenteration for definitive treatment from 2005 to 2014. Fourteen patients underwent OP and 6 patients received exenteration with adjuvant CRT. Exenteration free survival (EFS), locoregional control (LRC), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were estimated. RESULTS: Five patients (36%) receiving OP had complete disease response at time of surgery. With a median follow-up of 18.8 months, EFS was 62% at 2 years for patients undergoing OP. At 2 years, there were no significant differences in LRC, PFS or OS (all all p > 0.050) between the groups. Less grade 3 or greater toxicity was seen in patients undergoing OP (p = 0.003). Visual function was preserved in all patients undergoing OP. CONCLUSION: For patients with sinonasal cancer, OP may avoid exenteration, offering similar disease control and improved toxicity.
Disease-Free Survival ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Orbit* ; Organ Preservation*

OBJECTIVE: The chemotherapy response score (CRS) system based on histopathological examination has been recently proposed for tubo-ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) to assess response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). This study was aimed at validating the CRS system in an external cohort of tubo-ovarian HGSC patients. METHODS: This study included 110 tubo-ovarian HGSC patients who underwent NAC followed by interval debulking surgery. The 3-tiered CRS of the omental and adnexal tissue sections was determined by 3 independent pathologists. Differences in patient outcomes according to CRS were analyzed. RESULTS: The CRS system was highly reproducible among the 3 pathologists. Fleiss' kappa value and Kendall's coefficient of concordance for the omental CRS were 0.656 and 0.669, respectively. The omental CRS significantly predicted progression-free survival (PFS). The median PFS of patients whose tumors exhibited the omental CRS 1–2 (15 months) was significantly shorter than that of patients with an omental CRS of 3 (19 months; p=0.016). In addition, after adjusting for age, stage, and debulking status, the omental CRS was an independent prognostic factor for PFS of tubo-ovarian HGSC patients who were treated with NAC (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]=1.74; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.05–2.87). CONCLUSION: The CRS system for assessing NAC response was a reproducible prognostic tool in our cohort. The application of the CRS system after NAC can improve survival estimation in HGSC patients.
Cohort Studies ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Ovarian Neoplasms