BACKGROUND: DNA content analysis of human solid tumor is now widely performed by flow cytometric study. One of the most interesting and potentially observation in this field is that proliferative activity(S-Phase fraction of cell cycle) may profoundly affect the prognosis. METHOD: S-Phase fraction(SPF) have been measured by flow cytometric method using tumor cells isolated from paraffin embedded tissue. To evaluate the prognostic significance, SPF of small lung cancer cell was assessed in 42 patients who died after receiving anticancer chemotherapy. RESULTS: 1) Mean survival time of patients with small cell lung cancer was 190(± 156) days, Survival time were shortened, when TNM stage and PS scale were advanced. 2) Mean value of SPF of patients with small cell lung cancer was 27.4(±8.5)%. SPF had nothing to do with advance of TNM stage and PS scale. 3) In each identical TNM stage, there were not statistic significance between SPF and survival times. 4) There was a tendency like that higher SPF, better chemotherapeutic CONCLUSION: We could not find statistic significance between SPF and survival times, but SPF was a good predictive factor for chemotherapeutic response.
DNA ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Paraffin ; Prognosis ; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUND: To study the prognosis of patients with lung cancer, many investigators have reported the methods to detect cell proliferation in tissues including PCNA, thymidine autoradiography, flow cytometry and Ki-67. PCNA, also known as cyclin, is a cell related nuclear protein with 36KD intranuclear polypeptide that is maximally elevated in S phase of proliferating cells. In this study, PCNA was identified by paraffin-embedding tissue using immunohistochemistry which has an advantage of simplicity and maintenance of tissue architecture. The variation of PCNA expression is known to be related with proliferating fraction, histologic type, anatomic(TNM) stage, degree of cell differentiation, S-phase fraction and survival rate. We analyzed the correlation between PCNA expression and S-phase fraction, survival. METHODS: To investigate expression of PCNA in primary lung cancer, we used immunohistochemical stain to paraffin-embedded sections of 57 resected primary non-small cell lung cancer specimen and the results were analyzed according to the cell type, cell differentiation, TNM stage, S-phase fraction and survival. RESULTS: PCNA expression was dMded into five group according to degree of staging(-, +, ++, +++,++++). Squamous cell type showed high positivity than in adenocarcinoma. Nonsignificant difference related to TNM stage was noticed. Nonsignificant difference related to degree of cell differentiation was noticed. S-phase fraction was increased wit advance of PCNA positivity, but t could not reach the statistic significance. The 2 year survival rate and median survival time were -50% 13 months, +75% 41.3 months, ++73% 33.6 months, +++67% 29.0 months, ++++25% 9 months with statistic significance (P<0.05, Kaplan-Meier, generalized Wilcox). CONCLUSION: From this study. PCNA expression was high positive n squamous cell cancer. And, there was no relationship between PCNA positivity and TNM stage, cellular differentiation or S-phase fraction. But, the patients with high positive PCNA staining showed poor survival rate than the patients with lower positive PCNA. It was concluded that PCNA immunostaining is a simple and useful method for survival prediction in paraffin embedded tissue of non-small cell lung cancer.
Adenocarcinoma ; Autoradiography ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cyclins ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung Neoplasms ; Neoplasms, Squamous Cell ; Nuclear Proteins ; Paraffin ; Prognosis ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen* ; Research Personnel ; S Phase ; Survival Rate* ; Thymidine

No abstract available.
Lung Injury* ; Lung* ; Paraquat*

The method of ankle arthrodesis is variable but compression arthrodesis has been widely used because of better results than non-compression arthrodesis. Twenty-one cases of ankle arthrodesis were carried out at department of orthopaedic surgery of Korea Veterans Hospital from January 1980 to June 1986, and were analysed clinically. The results obtained were as follows; l. Among 11 cases of compression arthrodesis, Charnleys method was done in 8 cases and Monofixateur in 3 cases. 2. Among 10 cases of non-compression arthrodesis, Chuinard-Peterson method was done in 7 cases and anterior 'sliding graft in 3 cases. 3. The average duration of immobilization after ankle arthrodesis was 11.7 weeks, and average 4.2 weeks were less needed in the compression arthrodesis than non-compression arthrodesis. 4. The postoperative complications were developed in 8 cases (38%): wound infection in 4 cases,skin necrosis in 3 cases and incisional neuroma in 1 case. 5. Bony union was obtained in 20 cases(95.2%) out of 21 cases at average 15.7 weeks, and in the non-compression arthrodesis and in the cnmpression arthrodesis, respectively, 90% at 17.7 weeks and 100% at 13.9 weeks.
Ankle Joint ; Ankle ; Arthrodesis ; Hospitals, Veterans ; Immobilization ; Korea ; Methods ; Necrosis ; Neuroma ; Postoperative Complications ; Transplants ; Wound Infection

No abstract available.
Humans ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung*

Fingerprints remain the most important methodology of personal identification in the field of scene investigation despite of outstanding current DNA typing technique. Restoration of fingerprints may be, however, difficult or impossible in cases of severely putrefied or dried bodies. Several methods have been used in fingerprints recovery but they are somewhat easy and costly. We introduce a new practical method that is reconditioning of friction ridge skin with rehydration, which can obtain a good quality for comparison and identification via the automated fingerprint identification system. We think this method is easy to use and could contribute to restoring fingerprints of dead bodies with severe postmortem change.
Dermatoglyphics ; DNA Fingerprinting ; Fluid Therapy ; Friction ; Humans ; Skin

No abstract available.
Hemoptysis*

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Cigarette smoking induces an inflammatory response in the airways, which may play a key role in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is one of the cytokines that plays an important role in inducing bronchial inflammation. The aim of this study was to determine if the level of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, Interleukin-6 , is increased when the bronchial epithelial cells are exposed to a cigarette smoke extract (CSE) and an extract from stop smoking-aiding cigarettes, and examined the safety of these commercially available stop smoking-aiding cigarettes. METHOD: Bronchial epithelial cells were exposed to CSE from cigarette and stop smoking-aiding cigarettes for 24 hours. ELISA was used to measure the IL-6 levels in the supernatant from each condition. The IL-6 mRNA levels were measured by Taqman Real time RT-PCR. N-acetyl-L-cysteine(NAC) was added to each condition to determine if NAC can inhibit the release of IL-6 from the bronchial epithelial cells when they are exposed to CSE from cigarette and stop smoking-aiding cigarettes. RESULT: When bronchial epithelial cells were exposed to a CSE from cigarettes and stop smoking- aiding cigarettes, each type of CSE stimulated IL-6 production from the bronchial epithelial cells. The IL-6 mRNA level in the Bronchial epithelial cells was also elevated and NAC was found to inhibit the release of IL-6 from bronchial epithelial cells when they were exposed to the CSE from cigarettes and stop smoking-aiding cigarettes. CONCLUSION: Commercially available stop smoking-aiding cigarette can induce bronchial inflammation and can be harmful to smokers. Therefore, the safety of these cigarettes for smoking cessation should be evaluated.
Cytokines ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epithelial Cells* ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; RNA, Messenger ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Smoking Cessation ; Tobacco Products*

BACKGROUND: Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is an inducible enzyme that catalyzes the oxidative degradation of heme to form biliverdin, carbon monoxide (CO), and free iron. The current evidence has indicated a critical role of HO-1 in cytoprotection and also in other, more diverse biological functions. It is known that the high expression of HO-1 occurs in various tumors, and that HO-1 has an important role in rapid tumor growth because of its antioxidative and antiapoptotic effects. Therefore, the role of HO-1 was analyzed in human lung cancer cell lines, and especially in the A549 cell line. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Human lung cancer cell lines, i.e., A549, NCI-H23, NCI-H157 and NCI-H460, were used for this study. The expression of HO-1 in the untreated state was defined by Western blotting. ZnPP, which is the specific HO inhibitor we used, and the viability of cells were tested for by conducting MTT assaysy. The HO enzymatic activity, as determined via the bilirubin level, was also indirectly measured. Moreover, the generation of intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was monitored fluorimetrically with using a scopoletin-horse radish peroxidase (HRP) assay and 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA). We have also transfected small HO-1 interfering RNA (siRNA) into A549 cells, and the apoptotic effects were evaluated by flow cytometric analysis and Western blotting. RESULTS: The A549 cells had a greater expression of HO-1 than the other cell lines, whereas ZnPP significantly decreased the viability of the A549 cells more than the viability of the other lung cancer cells in a dose-dependant fashion. Consistent with the viability, the HO enzymatic activity also was decreased. Moreover, intracellular H2O2 generation via ZnPP was induced in a dose-dependent manner. Apoptotic events were, then induced in the HO-1 siRNA transfected A549 cells. CONCLUSION: HO-1 provides new important insights into the possible molecular mechanism of the antitumor therapy in lung cancer.
Bilirubin ; Biliverdine ; Blotting, Western ; Carbon Monoxide ; Cell Line ; Cytoprotection ; Heme Oxygenase-1* ; Heme* ; Humans ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; Iron ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Peroxidase ; Raphanus ; RNA ; RNA, Small Interfering

PURPOSE: As one of the new chemotherapeutic agents, gemcitabine is widely used as a four-week schedule in combination with cisplatin in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we evaluated the efficacy, tolerance, and survival effect of this combination in a three-week schedule in patients with locally advanced inoperable or metastatic NSCLC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2000 and September 2002, previously untreated 124 NSCLC patients were enrolled and 118 patients, who completed at least two cycles of chemotherapy, were evaluated. Patients received gemcitabine 1200 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8, cisplatin 75 mg/m2 on day 1 of a 21-day cycle, for a maximum of 6 cycles. RESULTS: They were 81 men and 37 women. Clinical stage IIIB was present in 56 (47.5%), and stage IV in 62 (52.4%) patients. Sixty-seven patients (56.8%) had a performance status of ECOG grade 0 or 1 and fifty-one patients (43.2%) of grade 2. During the period of chemotherapy, grade 3/4 leukopenia and neutropenia were observed in 19.5% and 31.4%, respectively and grade 3/4 thrombocytopenia in 7.6%. The overall response rate was 52.5% among the 118 patients. Overall median survival time was 12.2 months, and one-year and two-year survival rates were 50.2% and 20.4% respectively. The presence of response to chemotherapy, ECOG performance status of grade 0~1, and women showed better survival by the univariate analysis (p=0.010, 0.001 and 0.015, respectively). CONCLUSION: A three weekly gemcitabine/cisplatin doublet was relatively well tolerated, with an acceptable response rate and a reasonable median survival in locally advanced inoperable or metastatic NSCLC.
Appointments and Schedules ; Cisplatin* ; Drug Therapy* ; Female ; Humans ; Leukopenia ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Male ; Neutropenia ; Survival Rate ; Thrombocytopenia