Cancer metastasis to the skin, especially epidermotropic metastasis, is uncommon. Sometimes it is difficult to find the primary lesion; immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of cutaneous metastasis is used to determine the origin, but diagnosis may occasionally prove difficult. A 77-year-old man visited our hospital with a 1-month diagnostic history of multiple nodules in the right axilla. The patient had undergone surgery for gastric adenocarcinoma (T3N3M0) 21 years ago, and was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma 1 year previously; however, no treatment was ongoing. Biopsy of the lesions revealed atypical cells surrounding the papillary projections of the epidermis and tumor nests of the upper dermis. IHC staining was positive for CK7 and CEA and negative for CK5/6, CK20, napsin A, TTF-1, GCDFP 15, and p63. The tissues revealed glandular structures and tested negative for p63 and CK5/6 on IHC staining. The patient was diagnosed with epidermotropic metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma.

The correction of author order.
Adult* ; Humans ; Korea* ; Mortality*

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most frequent liver disease. Evidence supporting a strong relationship between psoriasis and NAFLD exists. NAFLD is significantly higher in psoriatic patients than in matched controls and psoriatic patients with NAFLD have more severe forms of psoriasis than those without NAFLD. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and clinical features of NAFLD among Korean psoriatic patients with abnormal liver function tests. Methods: We evaluated the laboratory results of psoriatic patients who visited the Department of Dermatology, National Medical Center, between September 2012 and June 2017. Those who had abnormal liver function tests were consulted by a hepatologist to confirm the diagnosis of NAFLD using ultrasonography. Results: A total of 307 psoriatic patients underwent liver function tests (LFTs), and 46 patients (15.0%) had abnormal LFT values. A hepatologist consulted psoriatic patients with abnormal LFTs, and hepatic ultrasonography was performed; 34 patients (73.9%) were diagnosed with NAFLD. Among psoriatic patients with abnormal LFTs, those with a Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) ≥10 had a significantly higher rate of NAFLD than psoriatic patients with PASI ＜10 (87.5% vs 59.1%). Conclusion Among psoriatic patients with abnormal LFTs, 34 patients (73.9%) were diagnosed with NAFLD.Psoriatic patients with PASI ≥10 had a significantly higher rate of NAFLD than those with PASI ＜10.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most frequent liver disease. Evidence supporting a strong relationship between psoriasis and NAFLD exists. NAFLD is significantly higher in psoriatic patients than in matched controls and psoriatic patients with NAFLD have more severe forms of psoriasis than those without NAFLD. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and clinical features of NAFLD among Korean psoriatic patients with abnormal liver function tests. Methods: We evaluated the laboratory results of psoriatic patients who visited the Department of Dermatology, National Medical Center, between September 2012 and June 2017. Those who had abnormal liver function tests were consulted by a hepatologist to confirm the diagnosis of NAFLD using ultrasonography. Results: A total of 307 psoriatic patients underwent liver function tests (LFTs), and 46 patients (15.0%) had abnormal LFT values. A hepatologist consulted psoriatic patients with abnormal LFTs, and hepatic ultrasonography was performed; 34 patients (73.9%) were diagnosed with NAFLD. Among psoriatic patients with abnormal LFTs, those with a Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) ≥10 had a significantly higher rate of NAFLD than psoriatic patients with PASI ＜10 (87.5% vs 59.1%). Conclusion Among psoriatic patients with abnormal LFTs, 34 patients (73.9%) were diagnosed with NAFLD.Psoriatic patients with PASI ≥10 had a significantly higher rate of NAFLD than those with PASI ＜10.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The relationship between folate and colorectal neoplasia remains controversial. We examined the association between serum folate concentrations and colorectal adenomas in a case-control study of Korean adults and conducted a meta-analysis. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Our case-control study included 113 pairs of case and control who underwent colonoscopy and provided blood samples. We used multivariable conditional logistic regression models to obtain the odds ratios and 95% confidence interval (CIs). For meta-analysis, we identified the relevant studies by searching the PubMed database up to February 2017, included our case-control study and combined the study-specific relative risks (RRs) using a random-effects model. RESULTS: In this case-control study, we included 58 men and 55 women with colorectal adenomas and sex and fasting status matched the controls. We did not find any significant association between the serum folate levels and colorectal adenomas in either men or women. For meta-analysis, a total of eleven studies were included in our analysis and classified into two groups; polyp clearance group (PC) for the studies that included participants who underwent endoscopies and had their polyps removed at baseline; and no polyp clearance group (NPC) for the studies that included participants whose histories of endoscopies were unknown or who underwent their first endoscopies. Four PC (1,311 cases and 1,672 non-cases) and eight NPC studies (3,501 cases and 11,347 non-cases) were included. The combined RRs (95% CIs) comparing the bottom with the top categories of circulating folate levels were 1.07 (0.97-1.18) for the NPC group but 1.45 (1.16-1.74) for the PC group. CONCLUSIONS: Low circulating folate levels were associated with new adenoma formation.
Adenoma* ; Adult ; Case-Control Studies* ; Colonoscopy ; Fasting ; Female ; Folic Acid* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Odds Ratio ; Polyps

OBJECTIVES: We examined the association between the adherence to dietary guidelines for breast cancer survivors and health-related quality of life in a cross-sectional study of Korean breast cancer survivors. METHODS: A total of 157 women aged 21 to 79 years who had been diagnosed with stage I to III breast cancers according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) and had breast cancer surgery at least 6 months before the baseline were included. We used a Korean version of the Core 30 (C30) and Breast cancer 23 (BR23) module of the European Organization for Research and Treatment Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ), both of which have been validated for Koreans. Participants were asked about their adherence to dietary guidelines for breast cancer survivors, suggested by the Korean breast cancer society, using a 5-point Likert scale. We summed dietary guideline adherence scores for each participant and calculated the least squares means of health-related quality of life according to dietary guideline adherence scores using the generalized linear model. RESULTS: Breast cancer survivors who had higher adherence to dietary guidelines for breast cancer survivors had lower constipation scores than those with lower adherence (p for trend=0.01). When we stratified by the stage at diagnosis, this association was limited to those who had been diagnosed with stage II or III breast cancers. Also, sexual functioning scores increased significantly with increasing adherence scores of dietary guidelines among those with stage II or III breast cancers (p for trend < 0.001). However, among those who had been diagnosed with stage I, higher scores of dietary guidelines were associated with higher scores of pain (p for trend=0.03) and breast symptoms (p for trend=0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggested that the health-related quality of life levels of breast cancer survivors are associated with the adherence to dietary guidelines and may differ by the stage of the breast cancer.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Constipation ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Joints ; Least-Squares Analysis ; Linear Models ; Nutrition Policy* ; Quality of Life* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Survivors*

OBJECTIVES: Most cohort studies used food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) to evaluate coffee consumption as it assesses habitual dietary patterns, whereas some studies have used the 24-hour recalls (24HR) as it elicits in-depth description of foods and the amount eaten. The aim of this study was to compare FFQs and 24HR to assess the consumption of various types of coffee.METHODS: We included 25,904 participants aged 40 years or older from the Health Examinees (HEXA) Study of the Korean Genome and Epidemiologic Study (KoGES). Each participant completed one FFQ and one-day (n=11,280) or two-day 24HR (n=14,624). We classified coffee types into: black coffee, coffee with sugar and cream, and coffee with sugar alone or cream alone. We compared the proportions of nondrinkers, black coffee, and coffee with sugar and cream through FFQ and 24HR.RESULTS: Among those who completed one FFQ and one-day 24HR, 39.4% of “nondrinkers” on one-day 24HR reported that they did not drink coffee on their FFQs. Whereas among those who complete two-day 24HR, 71.2% of “nondrinkers” on two-day 24HR said that they did not drink coffee on their FFQs. Among those who completed one FFQ and oneday 24HR, 58.3% marked “black coffee” on one-day 24HR said that they drank black coffee on their FFQs. Among those who complete two-day 24HR, 58.8% marked “black coffee” on two-day 24HR said that they drank black coffee on their FFQs. The kappa coefficients and percent agreements were 0.4 and 59.6%, respectively, for the comparison of coffee intake between FFQ and one-day 24HR, and 0.6 and 72.8%, respectively, for the comparison of coffee intake between FFQ and two-day 24HR.CONCLUSIONS: We found discrepancies between FFQs and 24HR in the types of coffee consumed. Such limitations should be considered when using the 24HR data to examine the effect of coffee consumption on disease development.
Coffee ; Cohort Studies ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Genome

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the characteristics of patients according to their nutritional status as assessed by five nutritional screening tools: Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), NUTRISCORE, Nutritional Risk Index (NRI), Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), and Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) and to compare the agreement, sensitivity, and specificity of these tools. Methods: A total of 952 gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy and chemotherapy from January 2009 to December 2012 at the Samsung Medical Center were included. We categorized patients into malnourished and normal according to the five nutritional screening tools 1 month after surgery and compared their characteristics. We also calculated the Spearman partial correlation, Cohen’s Kappa coefficient, the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity of each pair of screening tools. Results: We observed 86.24% malnutrition based on the PG-SGA and 85.82% based on the NUTRISCORE among gastric cancer patients in our study. When we applied NRI or CONUT, however, the malnutrition levels were less than 30%. Patients with malnutrition as assessed by the PG-SGA, NUTRISCORE, or NRI had lower intakes of energy and protein compared to normal patients. When NRI, PNI, or CONUT were used to identify malnutrition, lower levels of albumin, hemoglobin, total lymphocyte count, total cholesterol, and longer postoperative hospital stays were observed among patients with malnutrition compared to those without malnutrition. We found relatively high agreement between PG-SGA and NUTRISCORE; sensitivity was 90.86% and AUC was 0.78. When we compared NRI and PNI, sensitivity was 99.64% and AUC was 0.97. AUC ranged from 0.50 to 0.67 for comparisons between CONUT and each of the other nutritional screening tools. Conclusions Our study suggests that PG-SGA and NRI have a relatively high agreement with the NUTRISCORE and PNI, respectively. Further cohort studies are needed to examine whether the nutritional status assessed by PG-SGA, NUTRISCORE, NRI, PNI, and CONUT predicts the gastric cancer prognosis.

Background: Light-based and laser therapy have emerged as alternative therapies for the treatment of acne. Blue and red light-emitting diode (LED) phototherapy and pulsed dye laser (PDL) therapy are recognized as effective modalities in the treatment of acne vulgaris. Objective: To compare the efficacy of LED phototherapy and PDL therapy in the treatment of acne. Methods: We randomly allocated a total of 11 patients to receive LED combination therapy or PDL monotherapy.Outcome assessments included the number of inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions, investigator’s and subject’s assessment, MexameterTM and CorneometerTM measurements. Results: Five men and six women were enrolled in the study. After treatment, a greater improvement in the inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions was recorded in the LED treatment group. Erythema score decreased more in the PDL treatment group than in the LED treatment group. Patient’s self-satisfaction was better in the LED treatment group than in the PDL treatment group. Conclusion This study suggests that both combination LED phototherapy and PDL monotherapy could be effective in the treatment of acne. Additional large-scale studies should be conducted to compare the efficacy of these two treatments.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the characteristics of patients according to their nutritional status as assessed by five nutritional screening tools: Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), NUTRISCORE, Nutritional Risk Index (NRI), Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), and Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) and to compare the agreement, sensitivity, and specificity of these tools. Methods: A total of 952 gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy and chemotherapy from January 2009 to December 2012 at the Samsung Medical Center were included. We categorized patients into malnourished and normal according to the five nutritional screening tools 1 month after surgery and compared their characteristics. We also calculated the Spearman partial correlation, Cohen’s Kappa coefficient, the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity of each pair of screening tools. Results: We observed 86.24% malnutrition based on the PG-SGA and 85.82% based on the NUTRISCORE among gastric cancer patients in our study. When we applied NRI or CONUT, however, the malnutrition levels were less than 30%. Patients with malnutrition as assessed by the PG-SGA, NUTRISCORE, or NRI had lower intakes of energy and protein compared to normal patients. When NRI, PNI, or CONUT were used to identify malnutrition, lower levels of albumin, hemoglobin, total lymphocyte count, total cholesterol, and longer postoperative hospital stays were observed among patients with malnutrition compared to those without malnutrition. We found relatively high agreement between PG-SGA and NUTRISCORE; sensitivity was 90.86% and AUC was 0.78. When we compared NRI and PNI, sensitivity was 99.64% and AUC was 0.97. AUC ranged from 0.50 to 0.67 for comparisons between CONUT and each of the other nutritional screening tools. Conclusions Our study suggests that PG-SGA and NRI have a relatively high agreement with the NUTRISCORE and PNI, respectively. Further cohort studies are needed to examine whether the nutritional status assessed by PG-SGA, NUTRISCORE, NRI, PNI, and CONUT predicts the gastric cancer prognosis.