The optimal treatment strategy for unresectable huge hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is yet to be established. Non-surgical monotherapy demonstrated insufficient oncologic outcomes in previously reported studies. To improve the clinical outcomes of unresectable huge HCC, combined locoregional treatments can be considered in selected cases. Here, we report a case of 58-year-old male patient who was treated with combined transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and external beam radiotherapy for recurrent HCC after a previous hepatic resection. After combined TACE and radiotherapy for the intrahepatic lesion, two metastases were diagnosed in the pelvic bones and lung; each lesion was successfully treated with salvage radiotherapy. During the long-term follow-up period (around 8 years 7 months after combined TACE and radiotherapy for the recurrent huge HCC), no definite viable tumors were observed in any of the treated liver, bone, and lung lesions.

With recent remarkable technological advances in radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is regarded as an alternative treatment option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that is not suitable for curative treatment. Several prospective and retrospective studies on the use of SBRT in patients with HCC showed promising results. Furthermore, on-going prospective studies are examining the role of SBRT as a single ablative modality or a combination treatment in patients with HCC. Here, we summarize previous studies and recent updates and discuss the future perspectives of SBRT for HCC.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Humans ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: To evaluate the treatment results in early stage non-small cell lung cancer patients who have undergone fiducial-less CyberKnife radiosurgery (CKRS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From June 2011 to November 2013, 58 patients underwent CKRS at Asan Medical Center for stage I lung cancer. After excluding 14 patients, we retrospectively reviewed the records of the remaining 44 patients. All analyses were performed using SPSS ver. 21. RESULTS: The median age at diagnosis was 75 years. Most patients had inoperable primary lung cancer with a poor pulmonary function test with comorbidity or old age. The clinical stage was IA in 30 patients (68.2%), IB in 14 (31.8%). The mean tumor size was 2.6 cm (range, 1.2 to 4.8 cm), and the tumor was smaller than 2 cm in 12 patients (27.3%). The radiation dose given was 48-60 Gy in 3-4 fractions. In a median follow-up of 23.1 months, local recurrence occurred in three patients (2-year local recurrence-free survival rate, 90.4%) and distant metastasis occurred in 13 patients. All patients tolerated the radiosurgery well, only two patients developing grade 3 dyspnea. The most common complications were radiation-induced fibrosis and pneumonitis. Eight patients died due to cancer progression. CONCLUSION: The results showed that fiducial-less CKRS shows comparable local tumor control and survival rates to those of LINAC-based SABR or CKRS with a fiducial marker. Thus, fiducial-less CKRS using Xsight lung tracking system can be effectively and safely performed for patients with medically inoperable stage I non-small cell lung cancer without any risk of procedure-related complication.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Comorbidity ; Diagnosis ; Dyspnea ; Fibrosis ; Fiducial Markers ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pneumonia ; Radiosurgery* ; Recurrence ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: To evaluate the treatment results in early stage non-small cell lung cancer patients who have undergone fiducial-less CyberKnife radiosurgery (CKRS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From June 2011 to November 2013, 58 patients underwent CKRS at Asan Medical Center for stage I lung cancer. After excluding 14 patients, we retrospectively reviewed the records of the remaining 44 patients. All analyses were performed using SPSS ver. 21. RESULTS: The median age at diagnosis was 75 years. Most patients had inoperable primary lung cancer with a poor pulmonary function test with comorbidity or old age. The clinical stage was IA in 30 patients (68.2%), IB in 14 (31.8%). The mean tumor size was 2.6 cm (range, 1.2 to 4.8 cm), and the tumor was smaller than 2 cm in 12 patients (27.3%). The radiation dose given was 48-60 Gy in 3-4 fractions. In a median follow-up of 23.1 months, local recurrence occurred in three patients (2-year local recurrence-free survival rate, 90.4%) and distant metastasis occurred in 13 patients. All patients tolerated the radiosurgery well, only two patients developing grade 3 dyspnea. The most common complications were radiation-induced fibrosis and pneumonitis. Eight patients died due to cancer progression. CONCLUSION: The results showed that fiducial-less CKRS shows comparable local tumor control and survival rates to those of LINAC-based SABR or CKRS with a fiducial marker. Thus, fiducial-less CKRS using Xsight lung tracking system can be effectively and safely performed for patients with medically inoperable stage I non-small cell lung cancer without any risk of procedure-related complication.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Comorbidity ; Diagnosis ; Dyspnea ; Fibrosis ; Fiducial Markers ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pneumonia ; Radiosurgery* ; Recurrence ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the trend of domestic medical travel from non-Seoul areas to Seoul for initial breast cancer treatment, and identify factors associated with medical travel in breast cancer patients. Methods: A nationwide retrospective cohort study was performed using the Health Insurance Review and Assessment data of South Korea. Patients were classified according to the regions in which they underwent breast biopsy (Seoul vs.metropolitan cities vs. other regions). Frequencies of biopsy, diagnosis, treatment, and domestic medical travel were analyzed according to regions, and factors associated with medical travel were investigated. Results: A total of 150,709 breast cancer survivors who were diagnosed between January 2010 and December 2017 were included. The total rate of medical travel from non-Seoul regions to Seoul had increased from 14.2% (1,161 of 8,150) in 2010 to 19.8% (2,762 of 13,964) in 2017. Approximately a quarter of patients from other regions traveled to Seoul, and over 40% of patients from Chungbuk, Gyeongbuk, and Jeju regions traveled to Seoul for initial treatment in 2017. The difference in the annual frequencies of upfront surgery between Seoul and non-Seoul regions increased over time. Younger age and regions other than metropolitan cities were significantly related to medical travel. Patients covered by medical aid or past medical histories were significantly less likely to travel to Seoul for initial breast cancer treatment. Conclusion Medical travel to Seoul for upfront breast cancer surgery is increasing. Policies for appropriate healthcare delivery need to be established in the near future.

Bilateral axillary Paget's disease in men is a rare occurrence with limited reports on its diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Here, we report the case of a 55-year-old Korean male, who presented with a palpable mass and eczematous skin lesion on the left axilla. An incisional biopsy and histopathologic examination indicated invasive ductal carcinoma with Paget's disease arising in the accessory breast. Magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography revealed no malignancy in the normal breast and other organs. The patient was subjected to a wide excision, wherein the left axillary lymph node was dissected, followed by the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. After 17 months of disease-free survival, the patient was diagnosed with Paget's disease of the contralateral accessory breast. He underwent wide excision surgery along with radiation therapy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of bilateral extramammary Paget's disease in a male.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognosis, patterns of failure, and prognostic factors for breast cancer patients with pathologically proven synchronous ipsilateral supraclavicular lymph node (ISCLN) metastases. METHODS: We reviewed the records of breast cancer patients with pathologically proven ISCLN metastases. Local aggressive treatment was defined as treatment including surgery, axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), ISCLN excision, radiotherapy (RT), and chemotherapy. RESULTS: A total of 111 patients were included. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 64.2% and 56.2%, respectively. On univariate analysis, RT, ALND, trastuzumab treatment, hormone receptor (HR) status, and local aggressive treatment were identified as significant factors for OS. The 5-year OS for 73 patients who received local aggressive treatment was superior to that of 38 patients who received nonaggressive treatment (70.9% vs. 49.3%, p=0.036). Multivariate analysis showed that RT, HR status, and trastuzumab were significant variables for the 5-year OS and DFS. CONCLUSION: Multimodality treatment with surgery, taxane-based chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and RT is strongly recommended for breast cancer patients with synchronous ISCLN metastases.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Prognosis ; Radiotherapy ; Treatment Outcome* ; Trastuzumab

Objective: The diagnostic accuracy of novice residents in evaluating the scrotal pathology by point-of-care (POC) ultrasonography(US) was compared with that by the conventional US to determine the level of experience required toachieve competency. Methods: Three novice residents underwent a one-day training course on identifying scrotal pathologies using POC US.They performed POC US on patients with an acute scrotum to identify five pathological findings. The diagnosis was confirmedby conventional scrotal US. The sensitivity and specificity of POC US by novice residents were calculated, and thechanges in sensitivity and specificity over time were observed. Results: Sixty-two patients were included; the overall sensitivity and specificity were 76.7% (95% confidence interval [CI],61.3%-88.2%) and 78.9% (95% CI, 54.4%-93.9%), respectively. Decreased blood flow in the testicle showed very goodspecificity (100%; 95% CI, 93.8%-100.0%). The sensitivity and accuracy were variable at first 18 scans of each resident,but increased after 18 scans and were maintained over time. Conclusion Although the diagnostic accuracy of novice residents in evaluating the scrotal pathology using POC US wasvariable at first, the accuracy improved over time, especially after 18 scans of each resident. Nevertheless, larger, longtermresearch is needed to confirm the results of this study.

Background: /Aim: The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) guidelines recommend systemic therapy as the only first-line treatment for patients with BCLC stage C hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) despite its heterogeneity of disease extent. We aimed to identify patients who might benefit from combined transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and radiation therapy (RT) by subclassifying BCLC stage C. Methods: A total of 1,419 treatment-naïve BCLC stage C patients with macrovascular invasion (MVI) who were treated with combined TACE and RT (n=1,115) or systemic treatment (n=304) were analyzed. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS). Factors associated with OS were identified and assigned points by the Cox model. The patients were subclassified into three groups based on these points. Results: The mean age was 55.4 years, and 87.8% were male. The median OS was 8.3 months. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant association of Child-Pugh B, infiltrative-type tumor or tumor size ≥10 cm, main or bilateral portal vein invasion, and extrahepatic metastasis with poor OS. The sub-classification was categorized into low (point ≤1), intermediate (point=2), and high (point ≥3) risks based on the sum of points (range, 0–4). The OS in the low, intermediate, and high-risk groups was 22.6, 8.2, and 3.8 months, respectively. In the low and intermediate-risk groups, patients treated with combined TACE and RT exhibited significantly longer OS (24.2 and 9.5 months, respectively) than those who received systemic treatment (6.4 and 5.1 months, respectively; P<0.0001). Conclusions Combined TACE and RT may be considered as a first-line treatment option for HCC patients with MVI when classified into low- and intermediate-risk groups.

Background: /Aim: We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in elderly patients with small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). Methods: Eighty-three patients (89 lesions) with HCC who underwent SBRT between January 2012 and December 2018 were reviewed in this retrospective observational study. The key inclusion criteria were as follows: 1) age ≥75 years, 2) contraindications for hepatic resection or percutaneous ablative therapies, 3) no macroscopic vascular invasion, and 4) no extrahepatic metastasis. Results: The patients were 75-90 years of age, and 49 (59.0%) of them were male. Most patients (94.0%) had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1. Seventy-four patients (89.2%) had Child-Pugh class A hepatic function before SBRT. The median tumor size was 1.6 cm (range, 0.7-3.5). The overall median follow-up period was 34.8 months (range, 7.3-99.3). The 5-year local tumor control rate was 90.1%. The 3-year and 5-year overall survival rate was 57.1% and 40.7%, respectively. Acute toxicity grade ≥3 was observed in three patients (3.6%) with elevated serum hepatic enzymes; however, no patient experienced a worsening of the Child-Pugh score to ≥2 after SBRT. None of the patients developed late toxicity (grade ≥3). Conclusions SBRT is a safe treatment option with a high local control rate in elderly patients with small HCC who are not eligible for other curative treatments.