Fungi are the known sources of irritation associated with atopic diseases (e.g., asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and atopic eczema). To quantitatively estimate their presence in the indoor environment of atopic dermatitis-inflicted child patient's houses (ADCPHs), the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters installed inside the air cleaners of three different ADCPHs were investigated for the presence of mold. The air cleaner HEPA filters obtained from the three different ADCPHs were coded as HEPA-A, -B, and -C, respectively, and tested for the presence of mold. The colony forming units (CFUs) corresponding to the HEPA-A, -B, and -C filters were estimated to be 6.51 x 10(2) +/- 1.50 x 10(2) CFU/cm2, 8.72 x 10(2) +/- 1.69 x 10(2) CFU/cm2, and 9.71 x 10(2) +/- 1.35 x 10(2) CFU/cm2, respectively. Aspergillus, Penicillium, Alternaria, Cladosporium, Trichoderma, and other fungal groups were detected in the 2,494 isolates. The distribution of these fungal groups differed among the three filters. Cladosporium was the major fungal group in filters HEPA-A and -C, whereas Penicillium was the major fungal group in the filter HEPA-B. Nine fungal species, including some of the known allergenic species, were identified in these isolates. Cladosporium cladosporioides was the most common mold among all the three filters. This is the first report on the presence of fungi in the air cleaner HEPA filters from ADCPHs in Korea.
Air Filters* ; Alternaria ; Aspergillus ; Asthma ; Child* ; Cladosporium ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Fungi* ; Humans ; Korea ; Penicillium ; Stem Cells ; Trichoderma

PURPOSE: For patients with Dukes' stage B and C rectal cancer, surgery followed by adjuvant chemoradiotherapy is considered to be the standard treatment. However, the drugs used in combination with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), the method of administration, duration of adjuvant therapy and the frequencies of administration presently remain controversial topics. We investigated (1) the efficacy and safety of adjuvant radiotherapy and 5-FU/leucovorin (LV) chemotherapy for patients who had undergone curative resection and (2) the effect of dose related factors of 5-FU on survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 130 rectal cancer patients with Dukes' B or C stage disease who were treated with curative resection were evaluated. The adjuvant therapy consisted of two cycles of 5-FU/LV chemotherapy followed by pelvic radiotherapy with chemotherapy, and then 4~10 more cycles of the same chemotherapy regimen were delivered based on the disease stage. The cumulative dose of 5-FU per body square meter (BSA), actual dose intensity and relative dose intensity were obtained. The patients were divided into two groups according to the median value of each factor, and the patients' survival rates were compared. RESULTS: With a median follow-up duration of 52 months, the 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival rates of 130 patients were 57% and 73%, respectively. Loco- regional failure occurred in 17 (13%) of the 130 patients, and the distant failure rate was 27% (35/130). The chemotherapy related morbidity was minimal, and there was no mortality for these patients. The cumulative dose of 5-FU/ BSA had a significant effect on the 5-year overall survival for Dukes' C rectal cancer patients (p=0.03). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that only the performance status affected the 5-year overall survival (p=0.003). CONCLUSION: An adjuvant therapy of radiotherapy and 5-FU/LV chemotherapy is effective and tolerable for Dukes' B and C rectal cancer patients. A rospective, multicenter, randomized study to evaluate the effects of the cumulative dose of 5-FU/BSA on survival is required.
Chemoradiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Fluorouracil ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mortality ; Multivariate Analysis ; Radiotherapy ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Rectal Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: To evaluate the outcomes of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) and to analyze prognostic factors of survival in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) IB-IIA uterine cervical cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 148 patients with FIGO IB-IIA uterine cervical cancer who underwent surgery followed by adjuvant RT at the Yonsei Cancer Center between June 1997 and December 2011. Adjuvant radiotherapy was delivered to the whole pelvis or an extended field with or without brachytherapy. Among all patients, 57 (38.5%) received adjuvant chemotherapy either concurrently or sequentially. To analyze prognostic factors, we assessed clinicopathologic variables and metabolic parameters measured on preoperative 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). To evaluate the predictive performance of metabolic parameters, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 63.2 months (range, 2.7 to 206.8 months). Locoregional recurrence alone occurred in 6 patients, while distant metastasis was present in 16 patients, including 2 patients with simultaneous regional failure. The 5-year and 10-year OSs were 87.0% and 85.4%, respectively. The 5-year and 10-year DFSs were 83.8% and 82.5%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, pathologic type and tumor size were shown to be significant prognostic factors associated with both DFS and OS. In subset analysis of 40 patients who underwent preoperative PET/CT, total lesion glycolysis was shown to be the most significant prognostic factor among the clinicopathologic variables and metabolic parameters for DFS. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that adjuvant RT following hysterectomy effectively improves local control. From the subset analysis of preoperative PET/CT, we can consider that metabolic parameters may hold prognostic significance in early uterine cervical cancer patients. More effective systemic treatments might be needed to reduce distant metastasis in these patients.
Brachytherapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Disease-Free Survival ; Electrons ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glycolysis ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Medical Records ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Obstetrics ; Pelvis ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the outcomes of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) and to analyze prognostic factors of survival in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) IB-IIA uterine cervical cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 148 patients with FIGO IB-IIA uterine cervical cancer who underwent surgery followed by adjuvant RT at the Yonsei Cancer Center between June 1997 and December 2011. Adjuvant radiotherapy was delivered to the whole pelvis or an extended field with or without brachytherapy. Among all patients, 57 (38.5%) received adjuvant chemotherapy either concurrently or sequentially. To analyze prognostic factors, we assessed clinicopathologic variables and metabolic parameters measured on preoperative 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). To evaluate the predictive performance of metabolic parameters, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 63.2 months (range, 2.7 to 206.8 months). Locoregional recurrence alone occurred in 6 patients, while distant metastasis was present in 16 patients, including 2 patients with simultaneous regional failure. The 5-year and 10-year OSs were 87.0% and 85.4%, respectively. The 5-year and 10-year DFSs were 83.8% and 82.5%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, pathologic type and tumor size were shown to be significant prognostic factors associated with both DFS and OS. In subset analysis of 40 patients who underwent preoperative PET/CT, total lesion glycolysis was shown to be the most significant prognostic factor among the clinicopathologic variables and metabolic parameters for DFS. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that adjuvant RT following hysterectomy effectively improves local control. From the subset analysis of preoperative PET/CT, we can consider that metabolic parameters may hold prognostic significance in early uterine cervical cancer patients. More effective systemic treatments might be needed to reduce distant metastasis in these patients.
Brachytherapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Disease-Free Survival ; Electrons ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glycolysis ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Medical Records ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Obstetrics ; Pelvis ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

Thus far, the role of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) after radical cystectomy (RC) in urinary bladder cancer patients has yet to be defined. The purpose of this study is to analyze patterns of failure, and suggest the rationale for RT. Between 1986 and 2005, a total of 259 patients treated with RC and pelvic lymph node dissection was enrolled. The age range was 27-82 yr (median, 62 yr). Node positivity increased according to tumor staging. Patients were divided into the following two groups based on pathologic analysis: organ-confined disease group (n=135) and extravesical/lymph node-positive disease group (n=80). Pelvic failures (PF) were observed in 8 (4.9%) in organ-confined disease group, and 21 (21.7%) in extravesical/lymph node-positive disease group. Five-year PF-free survival rates were 91.2% in organ-confined disease group and 68.0% in extravesical/lymph node-positive disease group. Five-year cancer-specific survival rates were 86.2% in organ-confined disease group and 53.9% in extravesical/lymph node-positive disease group. In conclusion, a relatively high PF rate was observed in extravesical lymph node-negative and lymph node-positive disease patients in this study. Adjuvant pelvic RT may be considered to reduce pelvic failures in extravesical lymph node-positive bladder cancer. Future prospective trials are required to test the clinical benefit of adjuvant RT.