OBJECTIVE: We have developed an instant messenger system that supports transmitting 3D medical image objects for telediagnostic use. METHODS: We used thresholding and down-scaling technique to build down-scaled 3D object with 80 sliced Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine(DICOM) images. And, we also construct instant messenger for medical data transfer and general communication. We measured total image size and transmission time which were decreased when applied peer to peer connection using instant messenger for medicine. RESULTS: Our study showed that total DICOM image size was decreased around 1% and transmission time was also decreased by 1.59% when we use proposed system. CONCLUSION: Proposed methods have a potential to be a useful tool in ubiquitous health network system. Also, we expect the synergy effect is increased by developing 3D object technique and security solutions.

Megameatus intact prepuce (MIP) is an unusual variant of hypospadias and comprised 3 percent of all hypospadias. Embryologically, maldevelopment of glandular epithelial infolding would appear to be the abnormal process responsible for MIP formation. We have performed the pyramid procedures in 3 patients seen with the MIP variant during 14 months and achieved good results. The pyramid procedure optimizes a safe and simple dissection of the megameatus-urethra, and allows for subsequent reduction and caliber of both with excellent functional and cosmetic results.
Female ; Humans ; Hypospadias ; Male

PURPOSE: Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis occurs in about 5% of patients with solid tumor and is being diagnosed with increasing frequency as patients live longer and as neuro-imaging studies improve. In general, the most commom cancers that involved the leptomeninges are breast cancer, lung cancer, and malignant melanoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated 25 patients presented with multiple neurologic symptoms and signs who were diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis at the Yonsei Cancer Center from January 1990 to December 1999. RESULTS: The primary disease of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis were stomach cancer (10 cases), breast cancer (7 cases), lung cancer (5 cases), unknown primary cancer (2 cases) and common bile duct cancer (1 case). All patients were presented with multiple neurologic symptoms and signs involving the central nervous system (CNS), cranial nerve or spinal nerves. Twenty-one of twenty- five patients were treated with intrathecal chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or combination therapy. Fourteen of them (66.7%) experienced improvement or stabilization of neurologic symptom and sign. The median survival was 122 days (10-2190). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, although early diagnosis and active treatment of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis may improve the quality of life in selected patients, the median survival was relatively short. Therefore, new diagnostic and therapeutic strategy for leptomeningeal carcinomatosis were needed.
Breast Neoplasms ; Central Nervous System ; Common Bile Duct ; Cranial Nerves ; Drug Therapy ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Melanoma ; Meningeal Carcinomatosis* ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Quality of Life ; Radiotherapy ; Spinal Nerves ; Stomach Neoplasms

The complications associated with the use of a guide wire, used during angioplasy, are rare and often go unrecognized. However, occasionally the guide wire itself may cause serious complications such as perforation or dissection of the distal coronary artery. A guide wire fracture during angioplasty is a rare complication, however entrapment and uncoiling of the guide wire can cause fracture. We report a case of guide wire fracture that developed by entrapment of the distal bending portion during stenting for bifurcation lesion. The broken free end of the guide wire remained within the stent strut, and urgent surgical intervention was necessary for its retrieval. We experienced a case of entrapment and fracture of the guide wire during stenting that was successfully surgically removed.
Angioplasty ; Coronary Vessels* ; Stents*

PURPOSE: The development of new therapeutic modalities such as gene therapy, which still requires further investigation, is clearly important to improve the prognosis of gastric cancer. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect on the growth and the tumorigenicity of retrovirus-mediated p53 gene transduction into gastric cancer cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human gastric cancer cell lines were cultured and their DNAs were analyzed to evaluate the p53 status with PCR-SSCP (polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism) and DNA sequencing. Retroviral supernatants were obtained from each producer cell line, PA317/LNCX and PA317/LNC/p53, after construction of retroviral vector LNC/p53 containing human p53 cDNA and producer cell line PA 317/ LNC/p53. To investigate the effect of retrovirus-mediated p53 gene transduction in human gastric cancer cell lines, the in vitro growth rates and in vivo tumorigenicities of the N-87 cell line having mutant p53 and the YCC-S-2 cell line having wild-type p53 were compared before and after infection with LNC/p53 retrovirus. RESULTS: The following results were obtained: 1) The growth inhibition of N-87 cells after p53 transduction was signficant when compared to that of the parent N-87 cells. The growth of the p53 transduced YCC-S-2 cells and the parent YCC-S-2 cells was not different. 2) In nude mice, the growth of tumors formed by N-87 cells was modestly inhibited after retrovirus-mediated wild-type p53 gene transduction. However, the growth of tumors formed by YCC-S-2 cells was not inhibited by retrovirus-mediated p53 gene transduction. 3) The expression rate of p53 protein after p53-containing retroviral infection in the KATO-III cell lines, which have no p53 gene, was dose-dependent on the m.o.i. of retrovirus, although it was not more than 15% with the m.o.i. of 100 upon immunohistochemical analysis. CONCLUSION: The growth inhibition by retrovirus-mediated p53 transduction in human gastric cancer cells was significant in a gastric cancer cell line having mutant p53 in vitro, and the growth of tumor masses formed by a gastric cancer cell line having mutant p53 was modestly inhibited after p53 transduction using retroviral vector in nude mice, although it was not statistically significant. Only modest inhibition of tumor growth using retrovirus-mediated p53 gene transduction in vivo is most likely to be due to low transduction efficiency.
Animals ; Cell Line* ; DNA ; DNA, Complementary ; Genes, p53* ; Genetic Therapy ; Humans* ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Parents ; Prognosis ; Retroviridae ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Zidovudine

PURPOSE: We compared the differences between parent hepatoma cell lines and interleukin-2 (IL-2) transduced hepatoma cell lines using N2A/IL-2 and LNC/IL-2 retrovirus with regards to in vitro sensitivity to peripheral blood monocytes and in vivo tumorigenic activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retroviral vector and producer cell line were constructed and IL-2 gene was transduced into the human hepatoma cell lines (SK-Hep1, Hep-G2, Hep-3B). IL-2 secretion after IL-2 transduction was measured by ELISA. MTT assay for in vitro sensitivity to peripheral blood monocytes was performed and the tumorigenic activity was observed in BALB/c mice and nude mice. RESULTS: IL-2 secretion was 186 pg/10 degrees C cells/24 hrs in SK-Hep1 cell line and was 147 pg/10 (6) cells/24 hrs in Hep-3B cell line with N2A/IL-2 retroviral vector and was 55,000 pg/10 (6) cells/24 hrs with LNC/IL-2 retroviral vector. In vitro sensitivity to peripheral blood monocytes was increased by 163.8~254% in IL-2 transduced hepatoma cell lines (Hep -3B/N2A/IL-2, Hep-G2/N2A/IL-2) compared to those of the parent cell lines. The tumorigenicity was observed in 1 of 3 BALB/c mice and all 3 nude mice. Simultaneous injection of 1 X 10 (7) cells of the parent cell line (Hep-3B) into the right flank and IL-2 transduced cell line (Hep-3B/LNC/IL-2) into the left flank of the three BALB/c mice and of 5 X 10 (5) cells for the three nude mice resulted in a complete regression of the IL-2 modified tumor cell line (Hep-3B/LNC/IL-2) in 3 weeks and the parent cell line (Hep-3B) in 5 weeks. But, after the injection of 1.5 X 10 (7) cells for other five nude mice, the tumor of the IL-2 transduced hepatoma cell line (Hep-3B/LNC/IL-2) was gradually disappeared, and the tumor of the parent hepatoma cell line (Hep-3B) was initially decreased and then gradually regrew 20 days later. CONCLUSION: IL-2 transduced hepatoma cell lines secreting IL-2 became more sensitive to peripheral blood monocytes and resulted in the increased antigenicity to the tumors formed by IL-2 transduced hepatoma cell line and parent cell line, and finally resulted in the regression of the tumors in experimental animals.
Animals ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Cell Line* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans* ; Interleukin-2* ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Monocytes ; Parents ; Retroviridae ; Zidovudine*

PURPOSE: Osteosarcoma is one of the most common juvenile malignant tumors in Korea. Combined modality treatment [pre-operative chemotherapy + surgery (limb salvage or amputation) + adjuvant chemotherapy] had improved the overall survival and quality of life. To improve the local control rate, we introduced pre-operative chemotherapy combined with intra-arterial (IA) cisplatin and continuous intravenous infusion (CI) of adriamycin. We evaluated the efficacy and feasibility, such as limb salvage rate, recurrence pattern and the survival impact, based on the histologic response of pre-operative chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fourty-one patients with histologically-proven high grade osteosarcoma of the extremities were enrolled from January 1990 to June 1996. Pre-operative chemotherapy, cisplatin 120 mg/m2 IA and adriamycin 75 mg/m2/72hrs CI, was administered for 3 cycles with 3 week interval, followed by surgery. Post-operative chemotherapy was applied by the tumor necrosis rate. If the tumor necrosis of the specimen was more than 90%, the same regimen af the preoperative one was administered for 3 cycles. A salvage regimen (Ifosfamide 7.5 gm/m2/5d IV + high dose MTX 10 gm/m2 IV VP-16 360 mg/m2/3d IV) was administered every 3 weeks for 6 cycles if the tumor necrosis was <90%. RESULTS: Of 41 patients, 37 were evaluable for efficacy and toxicities, because 4 refused further chemotherapy after 1 or 2 cycles. Twenty-one patients were male and 16 female, with the median age of 16 years (8-41). The tumor locations were as follows: distal femur 20, proximal tibia 8, humerus 6, distal tibia 2 and 1 in proximal femur. All but one patient, who died of neutropenic sepsis, completed the planned pre-operative therapy. Of the 36 patients who received surgery, limb salvage surgery was possible in 30 patients (83.3%) and 27 patients (75%) showed a good response (10 with grade III, 27.8%; 17 with grade IV, 47.2%). With a median follow-up of 23 months, 3-year disease-free survival rate was 54.7% and overall survival rate was 78.3%. Of the 15 patients who recurred, the major metastatic site was the lungs. No operation-related mortality was observed. Most patients experienced grade III-IV nausea, vomiting and hematologic toxicities, which were reversible with supportive care. CONCLUSION: Pre-operative chemotherapy combined with IA cisplatin and CI adriamycin induced higher good response rate without survival benefits. To improve the survival rate, the design of good salvage chemotherapy with a non-cross resistant regimen should be considered.
Cisplatin* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Doxorubicin* ; Drug Therapy ; Etoposide ; Extremities ; Female ; Femur ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Humerus ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Korea ; Limb Salvage ; Lung ; Male ; Mortality ; Nausea ; Necrosis ; Osteosarcoma* ; Quality of Life ; Recurrence ; Sepsis ; Survival Rate ; Tibia ; Vomiting

Background/Aims: This study examined the long-term outcomes of undifferentiated-type early gastric cancer (UD EGC) with positive horizontal margins (HMs) after endoscopic resection (ER) and compared them between additional surgery and nonsurgical management. Methods: From 2005 to 2015, a total of 1,124 patients with UD EGC underwent ER at 18 tertiary hospitals in Korea. Of them, 92 patients with positive HMs as the only noncurative factor (n=25) or with both positive HMs and tumor size >2 cm (n=67) were included. These patients underwent additional surgery (n=40), underwent additional endoscopic treatment (n=6), or were followed up without further treatment (n=46). Results: No lymph node (LN) metastasis was found in patients who underwent additional surgery. During a median follow-up of 57.7 months (interquartile range, 27.6 to 68.8 months), no LN or distant metastases or gastric cancer-related deaths occurred in the overall cohort. At baseline, the residual cancer rate was 57.8% (26/45) after additional surgery or ER. The 5-year local recurrence rate was 33.6% among patients who were followed up without additional treatment. The 5-year overall survival rates were 95.0% and 87.8% after additional surgery and nonsurgical management (endoscopic treatment or close follow-up), respectively (log-rank p=0.224). In the multivariate Cox regression analysis, nonsurgical management was not associated with an increased risk of mortality. Conclusions UD EGC with positive HMs after ER may have favorable long-term outcomes and a very low risk of LN metastasis. Nonsurgical management may be suggested as an alternative, particularly for patients with old age or chronic illness.

Background/Aims: This study examined the long-term outcomes of undifferentiated-type early gastric cancer (UD EGC) with positive horizontal margins (HMs) after endoscopic resection (ER) and compared them between additional surgery and nonsurgical management. Methods: From 2005 to 2015, a total of 1,124 patients with UD EGC underwent ER at 18 tertiary hospitals in Korea. Of them, 92 patients with positive HMs as the only noncurative factor (n=25) or with both positive HMs and tumor size >2 cm (n=67) were included. These patients underwent additional surgery (n=40), underwent additional endoscopic treatment (n=6), or were followed up without further treatment (n=46). Results: No lymph node (LN) metastasis was found in patients who underwent additional surgery. During a median follow-up of 57.7 months (interquartile range, 27.6 to 68.8 months), no LN or distant metastases or gastric cancer-related deaths occurred in the overall cohort. At baseline, the residual cancer rate was 57.8% (26/45) after additional surgery or ER. The 5-year local recurrence rate was 33.6% among patients who were followed up without additional treatment. The 5-year overall survival rates were 95.0% and 87.8% after additional surgery and nonsurgical management (endoscopic treatment or close follow-up), respectively (log-rank p=0.224). In the multivariate Cox regression analysis, nonsurgical management was not associated with an increased risk of mortality. Conclusions UD EGC with positive HMs after ER may have favorable long-term outcomes and a very low risk of LN metastasis. Nonsurgical management may be suggested as an alternative, particularly for patients with old age or chronic illness.