OBJECTIVE: We report a retrospective investigation of the prognostic value of bcl-2 and bax expression, and Ki-67 proliferative index in 42 astrocytic tumors. METHODS: We classified the astrocytic tumors and reviewed the clinical information and survival time. The sections were taken from surgically resected paraffin-embedded tissue and performed immunohistochemical stains for bcl-2, bax and Ki-67. RESULTS: The immunohistochemical stain for bcl-2 revealed a positivity in only two(4.76%) among forty-two cases. The immunostain for bax was positive in 35 cases(83.3%). However, the correlation between bcl-2 & bax expression and age, sex, tumor location, size, and histologic grade was not found. By Kaplan-Meier analysis, bcl-2 & bax expression and survival time in astrocytic tumors was no significance in log rank test(p>0.05). There were prognostic values between Ki-67 LI and histologic grade and between Ki-67 LI and survival time, respectively(p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Bcl-2 and bax are not significant, whereas Ki-67 LI is suggested as a significant prognostic factor, associated with histologic grade and survival time of astrocytic tumors.
Coloring Agents ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Prognosis* ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression and gene function of methyltransferase-like protein 27 (METTL27) in colon cancer, its association with immune infiltration and its prognostic significance. METHODS: We analyzed the expression levels of METTL27 in 33 cancers using R language and identified METTL27 as a differential gene in colon cancer. The related signaling pathways of METTL27 were analyzed by gene functional annotation and enrichment. SsGSEA algorithm was used to analyze immune infiltration, and logistic analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between METTL27 expression and clinicopathological features of the patients. Kaplan-meier analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were performed to construct a nomogram for evaluating the correlation between METTL27 expression and clinical prognosis. The expression level of METTL27 was further verified in colorectal cancer cell lines and 16 clinical specimens of colorectal cancer tissues using qPCR and Western blotting. RESULTS: METTL27 was highly expressed in 21 cancers, and its expression was significantly higher in colon cancer than in adjacent tissues (P < 0.001). METTL27-related genes were identified by differential analysis, and functional annotation revealed that METTL27 was significantly enriched in transmembrane transport and lipid metabolism, and 5 related signaling pathways were identified by GSEA. METTL27 expression was negatively correlated with different T helper cells and central memory T cells (P < 0.001). The patients with a high METTL27 mRNA expression had a poor survival outcome. Cox regression analysis showed that METTL27 expression was an independent prognostic factor of the overall survival. The expression level of METTL27 was significantly higher in the colorectal cancer cell line than in normal cells (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION METTL27 is overexpressed in colon cancer and is associated with a poor prognosis of the patients. A high expression of METTL27 showed is associated less T cell immune infiltration, suggesting the potential of METTL27 as a prognostic marker of colon cancer.
Colonic Neoplasms/pathology* ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Prognosis ; RNA, Messenger

PURPOSE: To determine the malignant potential in clinically localised small renal cell carcinoma (RCC) (≤4cm) in patients using postoperative pathologic outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 2,085 patients in 7 urology centres with clinical T1a RCC who underwent nephrectomy. The pathologic upstaging group (PUG) was defined by pathologic T3a after the operation. Multivariate analyses were used to examine predicting factors for the risk of PUG. Next, Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to examine the PUG for worse recurrence-free survival during the follow-up period. RESULTS: The PUG had 73 patients (3.5%); they were older and had a larger tumour size than the other patients (all p<0.001). After adjusting for clinical characteristics, age (odds ratio [OR], 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02–1.06) and tumour size greater than 3 cm (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.21–3.11) were found to be independent predictors for the PUG after nephrectomy. Furthermore, the PUG had worse recurrence-free survival during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: In this multi-institution analysis, RCC 3 cm or greater in older patients had a high malignant potential compared to relatively small tumours in younger patients. These results may be helpful for stratifying patients to manage small renal masses.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nephrectomy ; Retrospective Studies ; Urology

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although circadian variation in the onset of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been reported in a number of studies, not much is known about the impact of circadian variation on 12-month mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of circadian variation on 12-month mortality in patients with AMI. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Eight hundred ninety two patients (mean age 67+/-12; 66.1% men) with AMI who visited Kyungpook National University Hospital from November 2005 to December 2007 were included in this study. Patients were divided into groups based on four 6-hours intervals: overnight (00:00-05:59); morning (06:00-11:59); afternoon (12:00-17:59) and evening (18:00-23:59). RESULTS: Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed 12-month mortality rates of 9.6%, 9.1%, 12.1%, and 16.7% in the overnight, morning, afternoon, evening-onset groups, respectively (p=0.012). Compared with the morning-onset AMI group, the serum creatinine levels (p=0.002), frequency of Killip class > or =3 (p=0.004), and prescription rate of diuretics (p=0.011) were significantly higher in the evening-onset AMI group, while the left ventricular ejection fraction (p=0.012) was significantly lower. The proportion of patients who arrived in the emergency room during routine duty hours was significantly lower in evening-onset groups irrespective of the presence or absence of ST-segment elevation (p<0.001). According to univariate analysis, the 12-month mortality rate in the evening group was significantly higher compared to the morning group (hazard ratio 1.998, 95% confidence interval 1.196 to 3.338, p=0.008). CONCLUSION: Patients with evening-onset AMI had poorer baseline clinical characteristics, and this might affect the circadian impact on 12-month mortality. Further studies are needed to clarify the role of circadian variation on the long-term outcome of AMI.
Circadian Rhythm ; Creatinine ; Diuretics ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Myocardial Infarction ; Prescriptions ; Stroke Volume

PURPOSE: This study was designed to assess the protein levels of transformation/transcription domain-associated protein (TRRAP) in invasive ductal breast carcinomas, and investigated the association between TRRAP and the clinicopathological features of breast cancer. METHODS: We examined TRRAP protein expression in 470 breast cancer tissues and normal breast tissues by tissue microarray to study the correlation between TRRAP expression and clinicopathological features. This was analyzed using the chi-square test. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and log-rank tests were applied to analyze the survival status. Cox regression was applied for multivariate analysis of prognosis. RESULTS: The data demonstrated that expression of TRRAP was significantly lower in breast carcinomas (36.6%) than in corresponding normal breast tissues (50.8%). In addition, TRRAP protein levels negatively correlated with tumor size, and indicated poor differentiation, increased nodal involvement, and low p53-positive rates. Analysis of survival revealed that lower TRRAP expression correlated with shorter survival time. Univariate analyses identified TRRAP and progesterone receptor as independent protective factors for breast cancer prognosis. However, Ki-67, tumor size, and nodal involvement appeared to be independent risk factors. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate a significant correlation between TRRAP protein levels and adverse prognosis in breast cancer. Therefore, TRRAP could be a prognostic biomarker for breast cancer. In addition, TRRAP is also a predictive biomarker of breast cancer treatment.
Biomarkers ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Receptors, Progesterone ; Risk Factors

PURPOSE: We analyzed outcomes of patients with prostate cancer undergoing either radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) +/- salvage radiation or definitive radiation therapy (RT) +/- androgen deprivation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2003-2010 there were 251 patients who underwent RRP and 469 patients who received RT (> or =7,560 cGy) for prostate cancer. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed with the log-rank test to compare biochemical control (bCR), distant metastatic-free survival (DMPFS), and prostate cancer-specific survival (PCSS) between the two groups. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 70 months and 61.3% of the men were African American. For low risk disease the 6-year bCR were 90.3% for RT and 85.6% for RRP (p = 0.23) and the 6-year post-salvage bCR were 90.3% vs. 90.9%, respectively (p = 0.84). For intermediate risk disease the 6-year bCR were 82.6% for RT and 59.7% for RRP (p < 0.001) and 82.6% vs. 74.0%, respectively, after including those salvaged with RT (p = 0.06). For high risk disease, the 6-year bCR were 67.4% for RT and 41.3% for RRP (p < 0.001) and after including those salvaged with RT was 67.4% vs. 43.1%, respectively (p < 0.001). However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in regards to DMPFS or PCSS. CONCLUSION: Treatment approaches utilizing RRP +/- salvage radiation or RT +/- androgen deprivation yielded equivalent DMPFS and PCSS outcomes. Biochemical control rates, using their respective definitions, appeared equivalent or better in those who received treatment with RT.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Prostate ; Prostatectomy* ; Prostatic Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: Tumor volume has been thought to be an important predictive factor for significant prostate cancer. We assessed the impact of the tumor volume(TV) and the tumor percentage(TP) of radical prostatectomy specimens on the pathological variables and the oncological outcome. MARERIALS AND METHODS: The tumor percentage and tumor volume were calculated for 525 cases by a single pathologist who determined the volume based on the surface area of the slides involved by tumor of the prostate. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to characterize the association of TP categories(<5%, 5-10%, 11-20% and >20%) and TV(<1.8cc, 1.8-3.7cc, 3.8-7.5cc, >7.5cc) with the clinicopathological variables. Biochemical recurrence(BCR) was estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox's hazard regression model. RESULTS: The mean prostate cancer volume was 6.5+/-8.5cc(median: 3.8, range: 0.04-73.8) and the mean percent tumor composition was 0.17+/-0.19 (median: 0.1, range: 0.01-0.95). A higher tumor volume and a higher tumor percentage were associated with extra-capsular extension(ECE), a positive surgical margin(PSM), a higher pT stage and a higher prostate-specific antigen(PSA) Gleason score(all p<0.05). In addition, TP was the independent predictor of ECE(adjusted odds ratio(OR): 22.66, 95% confidence interval(CI): 1.801-285.079, p=0.016), but the tumor volume was not associated with ECE on the multivariate logistic analyses. On the Kaplan-Meier analysis, but not on the Cox-hazard analyses, the TP did demonstrate a significant association with biochemical recurrence(p=0.035), yet the TV did not reach statistical significance(p=0.190). CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicates that the tumor percentage had a significant effect on the BCR on the Kaplan-Meier analysis. The tumor percentage rather than the tumor volume might be more useful to predict the prognosis of prostate cancer.
Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Logistic Models ; Prognosis ; Prostate ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Recurrence ; Tumor Burden

Since the introduction of the concept of osseointegration, the success rate of dental implant has increased dramatically. So, the uses of dental implant in the treatment of partially or fully edentulous patients have played an important role in dental rehabilitation. Regardless of high success rate of dental implant, some amounts of fixtures cannot help failing. We can classify dental implant failure according to timing, causative factor, etc. This study is focused on dental implant fixture failure, occurring during preprosthetic stage. There are various reasons that cause implant failure on this periods, such as improper patient selection, poor bone quality, and periimplantitis, etc. We investigate the survival rate of 1058 fixtures, which installed in 306 patients in our clinic from January 1997 to December 1999, according to type, sex, location, fixture length and width, using Kaplan-Meier product-limit method and to compare each other with log-rank test. Overall survival rate was 96.80%, and 33 implants failed over the preprosthetic stage. Our survey data identified posterior location of mandible as being associated with implant failure(P<0.05).
Dental Implants* ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Mandible ; Osseointegration ; Patient Selection ; Peri-Implantitis ; Rehabilitation ; Survival Rate

The prognostic factors for extrahepatic biliary atresia (EHBA) after Kasai portoenterostomy include the patient's age at portoenterostomy (age), size of bile duct in theporta hepatis (size), clearance of jaundice after operation (clearance) and the surgeon's experience. The aim of this study is to examine the most significant prognostic factor of EHBA after Kasai portoenterostomy. This retrospective study was done in 51 cases of EHBA that received Kasai portoenterostomy by one pediatric surgeon. For the statistical analysis, Kaplan-Meier method, Logrank test and Cox regression test were used. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered to be significant. Fifteen patients were regarded as dead in this study, including nine cases of liver transplantation. There was no significant difference of survival to age. The age is also not a significant risk factor for survival in this study (Cox Regression test; p = 0.63). There was no significant difference in survival in relation to the size of bile duct. However, bile duct size was a significant risk factor for survival (Cox Regression test; p = 0.002). There was a significant difference in relation to survival and clearance (Kaplan-Meier method; p = 0.02). The clearing was also a significant risk factor for survival (Cox Regression test; p = 0.001). The clearance of jaundice is the most significant prognostic factor of EHBA after Kasai portoenterostomy.
Bile Ducts ; Biliary Atresia* ; Humans ; Jaundice ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Liver Transplantation ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVETo compare the efficacy of porcine and rabbit antithymocyte globulins (ATG) in the treatment of severe aplastic anemia (SAA).

METHODSWe reviewed the clinical data of 43 SAA patients receiving porcine ALG treatment and 32 patients receiving rabbit ATG treatment between 2004 and 2013 in our hospital. The overall response rates of the patients at 6 month were compared, and the patients' survival in the two groups was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves.

RESULTSThe overall response rates at 6 months was significantly higher in porcine ALG group than in rabbit ATG group (79.07% vs 56.25%, P=0.034). The 5-year overall survival was also higher in porcine ALG group than in rabbit ATG group, but this difference was not statistically significant (86.047% vs 72.878%, P=0.190).

CONCLUSIONSPorcine ALG is superior over rabbit ATG in terms of hematological response but is comparable with rabbit ATG in view of the patients' survival and safety.

Anemia, Aplastic ; therapy ; Animals ; Antilymphocyte Serum ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Rabbits ; Retrospective Studies ; Swine