BACKGROUND: Primary chest wall tumors originate from soft tissue, bone or cartilage of the chest wall and it comprises 1~2% of all primary tumors. Resection of tumor is often indicated for chronic ulceration or pain, and long-term survival might be achieved after surgery depending on the histology and the surgical procedure. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Retrospective study of 125 primary chest wall tumors (86 benign, 39 malignant) operated between Sep. 1976 to Mar. 2001 were reviewed and their clinical outcomes were analyzed. Follow-up data were collected at the outpatient clinic. RESULT: All patients with benign tumors were treated by excision without recurrence or death, and most malignancies were treated by wide resection. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma and chondrosarcoma constituted 46.2% of the malignant neoplasm. There was no operative death. The overall 3-year survival for patients with primary malignant neoplasm was 76.0%, and the 10-year survival was 60.5%. All deaths were disease-related and the tumor recurred in 11 patients. There was no significant difference in survival between patients with resection margins less than 4 cm and those with resection margins greater than 4 cm. CONCLUSION: Chest wall resection offers excellent results for benign chest wall tumors and substantial long-term survival for malignant diseases. Safe resection margin of 4 cm or more did not correlate with the survival rate although the tumor recurrence correlated with poor survival.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Bone and Bones ; Cartilage ; Chondrosarcoma ; Follow-Up Studies ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous ; Humans ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Thoracic Surgery ; Thoracic Wall* ; Thoracoplasty ; Thorax* ; Ulcer

A 54-year-old homosexual man was diagnosed as human immunodeficiency virus-1-positive in 1992. He was admitted to a tertiary hospital in March, 2000 because of right flank pain, fever and intermittent cough. A chest roentgenogram showed right-sided pleural effusion, and closed thoracostomy was performed for drainage. Salmonella species and Escherichia coli were isolated from the pleural fluid. In spite of 6 weeks of antibiotic treatment, fever did not subside and the general condition gradually deteriorated, and under the diagnosis of lung abscess with empyema thoracis, right pleuropneumonectomy was performed. The general condition improved postoperatively until day 10 when he showed sudden change in mental status to stuporous and developed focal seizure. Brain CT showed multiple abscesses in right frontal and left frontotemporal lobes and he expired on postoperative day 14.
Abscess ; Brain ; Cough ; Diagnosis ; Drainage ; Empyema ; Escherichia coli ; Fever ; Flank Pain ; HIV ; Homosexuality ; Humans ; Lung Abscess ; Middle Aged ; Pleural Effusion ; Pneumonectomy ; Salmonella ; Seizures ; Stupor ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Thoracostomy ; Thorax

Oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) is an assisted reproductive technology in which oocytes are retrieved from the antral follicles of unstimulated or minimally stimulated ovaries. IVM of human oocytes has emerged as a promising procedure. This new technology has advantages over controlled ovarian stimulation such as reduction of costs, simplicity, and elimination of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. By elimination or reduction of gonadotropin stimulation, IVM offers eligible infertile couples a safe and convenient form of treatment, and IVM outcomes are currently comparable in safety and efficacy to those of conventional in vitro fertilization. IVM has been applied mainly in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome or ultrasound-only polycystic ovaries, but with time, the indications for IVM have expanded to other uncommon situations such as fertility preservation, as well as to normal responders. In this review, the current clinical experiences with IVM will be described.
Family Characteristics ; Female ; Fertility Preservation ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Gonadotropins ; Humans ; In Vitro Oocyte Maturation Techniques ; Infertility ; Oocytes ; Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome ; Ovary ; Ovulation Induction ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a common disease that is rarely cured. Surgical resection remains the only treatment modality that has a curative potential, although the majority of patients are unsuitable for resection at the time of diagnosis. Chemoradiation therapy prior to a pancreaticoduodenectomy ensures that a patient who undergoes a complete resection multimodality therapy, avoids a resection in patients who have a rapidly progressive disease, and allows radiation therapy to be given to well oxygenated cells before, surgical devasculation. This permits the chance of resection of an unresectable pancreatic cancer by downstaging. A patient with cytologic proof of localized adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head received an intravenously chemoradiation (Taxol, 50 mg/m2 intravenously for 3 hours week on 5 cycles, of Gemcytabine 1000 mg/m2/day intravenously for 3 days week on 2 cycles, of 4500 cGy) with the intention of proceeding to a resection operation, restaging was performed by computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging from 5 weeks every months due to ongoing decreasing of tumor size after the chemoradiation. At laparotomy, the patient didn't have suspected metastatic disease, the tumor size was 2 x 3 cm on the pancreas head and was infiltrating into the portal vein for about 3 cm length on right side. A pancreaticoduodenectomy along with a portal vein and superior mesenteric vein resection was done and then reconstruction of a vascular anastomosis by using the right side of the internal jugular vein. Perioperative complications didn't occur. In conclusion, preoperative chemoradiation of a localized advanced pancreatic tumor has no added risk to the operative complications and the prospects for resectability are enhanced.
Adenocarcinoma/diagnosis/drug therapy/radiotherapy/*surgery ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Human ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/diagnosis/drug therapy/radiotherapy/*surgery ; *Pancreaticoduodenectomy ; *Preoperative Care

BACKGROUND: Mucin producing cystic neoplasms, such as mucinous cystic tumor (MCT) and intraductal papillary mucinous tumor (IPMT) of the pancreas, are uncommon but become increasing in their incidences. The pathologic classification and biologic potential of these neoplasmsremain the subject of controversy. METHODS: The Gastrointestinal Pathology Study Group of the Korean Society of Pathologists analyzed the clinicopathologic characteristics of 85 casesof MCT and 72 cases of IPMT and examined the expression patterns of p53, CEA and MUC1. RESULTS: IPMT was located largely in the head, and showed connection with the main pancreatic duct (MPD, 68.1%), no ovarian-like stroma (0/72), and presence of intervening intratumoralnormal or atrophic parenchyma. On the other hand, MCT was located largely in thetail (73%), and showed common ovarian-like stroma (66/80), rare connection with the MPD(7/85) and no intervening pancreatic parenchyma. CEA and p53 immunoexpressions weresignificantly increased from adenoma through borderline to carcinoma, but MUC 1 was expressedonly in the invasive carcinoma among cases of MCT and IPMT. CONCLUSIONS: The tumorlocation, ovarian-like stroma, connection with the MPD and intratumoral intervening nonneoplastictissue were helpful in the differential diagnosis between IPMT and MCT. CEA and p53expressions can be indicators of malignancy, while MUC 1 expression can indicate invasion.
Adenoma ; Classification ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Hand ; Head ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Mucins* ; Pancreas* ; Pancreatic Ducts ; Pathology ; Prevalence*

The terms chronic active hepatitis (CAH), chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH), and chronic lobular hepatitis (CLH) should be discontinued in favor of etiologic terminology. The activity of necro-inflammation and the degree of fibrosis should be evaluated for grading the severity and for the stage of disease. Members of the Korean Study Group for the Pathology of Digestive Diseases reviewed 30 cases of chronic hepatitis and reached the following consensus: 1) The pathology report of the biopsy samples with features of chronic hepatitis should include the etiology, grade and stage. 2) Grade and stage should be semiquantitatively evaluated as none, minimal, mild, moderate and severe. 3) For grading, lobular activity and periportal activity should be evaluated, separately. 4) To avoid confusion with other grading systems, simple report using descriptive terms rather than numerical records is recommended in daily practice. Criteria for each grade and stage should be presented and discussed. Histologic grading and staging of chronic hepatitis by new standardized guidelines will give more information about the prognosis as well as the present status of hepatitis. The terms CAH, CPH and CLH may be used in parentheses to facilitate relearning.
Biopsy ; Consensus ; Fibrosis ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Pathology* ; Prognosis

We determined the relationship between the progression of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) and the A1818T polymorphism in intron 2 of Angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) gene, which might play protective roles in the pathogenesis of IgAN. Patients with biopsy-proven IgAN were recruited from the registry of the Progressive REnal disease and Medical Informatics and gEnomics Research (PREMIER) which was sponsored by the Korean Society of Nephrology. A1818T polymorphism of AT2R gene was analyzed with PCR-RFLP method and the association with the progression of IgAN, which was defined as over 50% increase in baseline serum creatinine level, was analyzed with survival analysis. Among the 480 patients followed for more than 10 months, the group without T allele had significantly higher rates of progression of IgAN than the group with T allele (11.4% vs. 3.9%, p=0.024), although there were no significant differences in the baseline variables such as initial serum creatinine level, the degree of proteinuria, and blood pressure. In the Cox's proportional hazard model, the hazard ratio of disease progression in the patients with T allele was 0.221 (95% confidence interval for Exp(B): 0.052-0.940, p=0.041) compared to that of without T allele. In conclusion, A1818T polymorphism of AT2R gene was associated with the progression of IgAN.
Alleles ; Creatinine/blood ; Disease Progression ; Genotype ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA/ethnology/*genetics ; Humans ; Korea ; Models, Genetic ; Models, Statistical ; *Polymorphism, Genetic ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; *Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 2/*genetics ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

The induction of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) ameliorates oxidative stress and inflammatory process, which play important roles in IgA nephropathy. We hypothesized length polymorphism in the promoter region of the HO-1 gene, which is related to the level of gene transcription, is associated with disease severity of IgA nephropathy. The subjects comprised 916 patients with IgA nephropathy and gene data. Renal impairment was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) at diagnosis. The short (S: <23), medium (M: 23-28), and long (L: >28) (GT) repeats in the HO-1 gene was determined. The frequencies of S/S, S/M, M/M, S/L, L/M, and L/L genotypes were 7.2%, 6.9%, 3.1%, 30.8%, 22.7%, and 29.4%, respectively. The baseline characteristics were not different. In the S/S genotypic group, the renal impairment rate was 18.2%, which was lower than 32.2% in the group with M/M, L/M, or L/L genotype. The odds ratio of renal impairment in S/S genotype, compared to that in M/M, L/M, or L/L genotype, was 0.216 (95% confidence interval, 0.060-0.774, p=0.019). The HO-1 gene promoter length polymorphism was related to the renal impairment of IgA nephropathy at diagnosis, which is an important risk factor for mortality in IgA nephropathy patients.
Adult ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA/*genetics/mortality/*pathology ; Heme Oxygenase-1/*genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Damaged mitochondria are removed by autophagy. Therefore, impairment of autophagy induces the accumulation of damaged mitochondria and mitochondrial dysfunction in most mammalian cells. Here, we investigated mitochondrial function and the expression of mitochondrial complexes in autophagy-related 7 (Atg7)-deficient beta-cells. METHODS: To evaluate the effect of autophagy deficiency on mitochondrial function in pancreatic beta-cells, we isolated islets from Atg7(F/F):RIP-Cre+ mice and wild-type littermates. Oxygen consumption rate and intracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) content were measured. The expression of mitochondrial complex genes in Atg7-deficient islets and in beta-TC6 cells transfected with siAtg7 was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Baseline oxygen consumption rate of Atg7-deficient islets was significantly lower than that of control islets (P<0.05). Intracellular ATP content of Atg7-deficient islets during glucose stimulation was also significantly lower than that of control islets (P<0.05). By Oxygraph-2k analysis, mitochondrial respiration in Atg7-deficient islets was significantly decreased overall, although state 3 respiration and responses to antimycin A were unaffected. The mRNA levels of mitochondrial complexes I, II, III, and V in Atg7-deficient islets were significantly lower than in control islets (P<0.05). Down-regulation of Atg7 in beta-TC6 cells also reduced the expression of complexes I and II, with marginal significance (P<0.1). CONCLUSION: Impairment of autophagy in pancreatic beta-cells suppressed the expression of some mitochondrial respiratory complexes, and may contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction. Among the complexes, I and II seem to be most vulnerable to autophagy deficiency.
Adenosine ; Adenosine Triphosphate ; Animals ; Antimycin A ; Autophagy* ; Down-Regulation ; Glucose ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; Mice* ; Mitochondria ; Oxygen Consumption ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Respiration ; RNA, Messenger

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is a rare disorder of unknown origin that is pathologically characterized by marked infiltration of eosinophils in the wall of the gastrointestinal tracts. Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is often classified according to the layer of the bowel wall involved. We experienced two cases of eosinophilic gastroenteritis. One case having whole small bowel wall involvement resulting in small bowel obstruction and eosinophilic ascites underwent bowel resection followed by oral steroid treatment. The other case having mucosal layer involvement with chronic diarrhea and hypoalbuminemia was treated with oral corticosteroid and responded dramatically. In addition, we report one case of hypereosinophilic syndrome involving the gastrointestinal tracts. The patient presented with abdominal pain, ascites, and urticaria. and also showed good response to oral steroid.
Abdominal Pain ; Ascites ; Diarrhea ; Eosinophils* ; Gastroenteritis* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Hypereosinophilic Syndrome* ; Hypoalbuminemia ; Urticaria