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

Survival after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is related to the number of diseased vessel, ejection fraction, extent of residual ischemic tissue, presence of ventricular arrhythmia. Because a variety of revascularization modalities are tried in recent years, the natural course after AMI seems to become difficult ot assess. From the experience of 129 cases of coronary angiography in AMI from Jan 1984 to Apr 1987, the factors related to invasive modality were analysed to evaluate the effect on the survival after AMI. The following results are obtained. 1) Single vessel disease and insignificant lesion were present in 60%, and multivessel disease comprised 40% in all group. 2) Patients were followed for a mean of 16.3 months and 2 cases(1.6%) expired suddenly and reinfarction developed in 6 cases(4.7%). 3) After exclusion of 4 cases taken CABG operation, the event free survival of all patients was 0.98, 0.90, 0.78, 0.78, 0.78 in double vessel disease, 0.94, 0.87, 0.87, 0.77, 0.51 in triple vessel disease. The survival was better in single vessel disease compared to multivessel disease (p<0.05), but no difference was present between double and triple vessel disease. 5) Event free survival in group with left ventricular end diastolic pressure(LVEDP) >16mm Hg was better than that of a group with LVEDP <16mm Hg. But no difference was present between group with ejection fraction <40% and group with ejection fraction >40%. From the above results, it can be concluded that the event free survival after mainly uncomplicated AMI in Koreans depends on the number of diseased vessel and LVEDP.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Coronary Angiography ; Disease-Free Survival* ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction*

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is used for curative or palliative treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, it is neither well known how much TACE induces tumor necrosis histologically, nor whether preoperative TACE has benefit for resectable HCC. The purpose of this study is to measure the degree of tumor necrosis induced by one session of TACE and to evaluate the effect of preoperative TACE for resectable HCC. METHODS: Between January 1999 and January 2004, 20 HCC patients with one session of preoperative TACE (TACE group) and 36 HCC patients with only preoperative hepatic angiography, without TACE (angiography group) were enrolled. RESULTS: In TACE group, 12 patients had tumor necrosis of 100%, 5 patients having between 80% and 99%, and 3 patients less than 50%. The mean tumor necrosis rate of HCC less than 5 cm in diameter were 84.7%, while 90.5% in larger size (>5 cm in diameter) of HCC (p>0.05). The mean tumor necrosis rate of the recurred patients in TACE group and in angiography group was 98.75 and 17.5% (p=0.02), respectively. Disease free survival time of the recurred patients in TACE and in angiography group was 16.75 and 20.25 months, respectively (p=0.77). CONCLUSIONS: The tumor size was not related with the degree of tumor necrosis and no relevant factors could be found. Although the mean tumor necrosis was greater in TACE group than in angiography group, the disease free survival time was not different between the two groups.
Angiography ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Necrosis ; Palliative Care

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical features of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients according to BRCA1/2 mutation status (mutation, variant of uncertain significance [VUS], or wild type). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 116 patients whose BRCA1/2 genetic test results were available for mutation type and clinical features, including progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and response rate. These characteristics were compared according to BRCA1/2 mutation status. RESULTS: Thirty-seven (37/116, 31.9%) BRCA1/2mutations were identified (BRCA1, 30; BRCA2, 7). Mutation of c.3627_3628insA (p.Leu1209_Glu1210?fs) in BRCA1 was observed in five patients (5/37, 13.5%). Twenty-five patients had BRCA1/2 VUSs (25/116, 21.6%). Personal histories of breast cancer were observed in 48.6% of patients with BRCA1/2 mutation (18/37), 16.0% of patients with BRCA1/2 VUS (4/25), and 7.4% of patients with BRCA wild type (4/54) (p < 0.001). Patients with BRCA1/2 mutation showed longer OS than those with BRCA1/2 wild type (p=0.005). No significant differences were detected in PFS, OS, or response rates between patients with BRCA1/2 VUS and BRCA1/2 mutation (p=0.772, p=0.459, and p=0.898, respectively). CONCLUSION: Patientswith BRCA1/2 mutation had longer OS than thosewith BRCA1/2wild type. Patients with BRCA1/2 mutation and BRCA1/2 VUS displayed similar prognoses.
Breast Neoplasms ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Ovarian Neoplasms* ; Prognosis

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

PURPOSE: To evaluate the correlation between serum methotrexate (MTX) peak levels and clinical outcome of osteosarcoma, as well as to determine the correlation of these levels with the histologic response and event-free survival (EFS). METHODS: To maintain the homogeneity of the study population, we selected 52 patients with localized extremity osteosarcoma who had received two cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy consisting of high-dose (HD) MTX (12 g/m2), cisplatin (100 mg/m2), and doxorubicin (60 mg/m2). RESULTS: Totally, 204 courses of HD MTX were administered. The serial MTX levels (mean+/-SE) at 4 h (peak), 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h were 1292.14+/-12.83 micrometer, 9.29+/-3.89 micrometer, 1.73+/-1.37 micrometer, and 0.58+/-0.44 micrometer, respectively. The peak MTX serum level was 1292.14+/-12.83 micrometer. Neither the continuous average MTX peak level nor the dichotomized MTX peak level was related to the histologic response. However, the patients with a high 24-h MTX level (3.4 micrometer) had a poor histologic response (P=0.044). An inverse relationship was observed between MTX levels and survival: the EFS was better in the patients with a mean MTX peak level of less than 1,400 micrometer (P=0.002) and mean 24-h MTX level of less than 3.4 micrometer (P=0.011). CONCLUSION: The inverse correlation between the MTX level and the outcome is an unexpected finding. Further study on the pharmacokinetics of MTX is required to substantiate our findings and elucidate the mechanism involved.
Cisplatin ; Disease-Free Survival ; Doxorubicin ; Extremities ; Humans ; Methotrexate ; Osteosarcoma

PURPOSE: To evaluate the correlation between serum methotrexate (MTX) peak levels and clinical outcome of osteosarcoma, as well as to determine the correlation of these levels with the histologic response and event-free survival (EFS). METHODS: To maintain the homogeneity of the study population, we selected 52 patients with localized extremity osteosarcoma who had received two cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy consisting of high-dose (HD) MTX (12 g/m2), cisplatin (100 mg/m2), and doxorubicin (60 mg/m2). RESULTS: Totally, 204 courses of HD MTX were administered. The serial MTX levels (mean+/-SE) at 4 h (peak), 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h were 1292.14+/-12.83 micrometer, 9.29+/-3.89 micrometer, 1.73+/-1.37 micrometer, and 0.58+/-0.44 micrometer, respectively. The peak MTX serum level was 1292.14+/-12.83 micrometer. Neither the continuous average MTX peak level nor the dichotomized MTX peak level was related to the histologic response. However, the patients with a high 24-h MTX level (3.4 micrometer) had a poor histologic response (P=0.044). An inverse relationship was observed between MTX levels and survival: the EFS was better in the patients with a mean MTX peak level of less than 1,400 micrometer (P=0.002) and mean 24-h MTX level of less than 3.4 micrometer (P=0.011). CONCLUSION: The inverse correlation between the MTX level and the outcome is an unexpected finding. Further study on the pharmacokinetics of MTX is required to substantiate our findings and elucidate the mechanism involved.
Cisplatin ; Disease-Free Survival ; Doxorubicin ; Extremities ; Humans ; Methotrexate ; Osteosarcoma