The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and the common type of malignancies in Korean patients with polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) and to evaluate the differences of clinical and laboratory findings between patients with malignancy and those without malignancy. Forty-one Korean patients, who were diagnosed as PM or DM, were enrolled in this study. They fulfilled the Bohan and Peter's criteria for a definite diagnosis of PM and DM. Patients with PM were 25 and those with DM were 16. Eleven out of 41 patients (26.8%) had malignancies. The malignancy was diagnosed simultaneously or later in 81.8% of patients with inflammatory myopathy (IM). The breast cancer was the most common malignancy. In this study, forty three years old as a screening age for malignancy had 88.9% sensitivity and 50.2% specificity. The serum levels of creatine kinase (CK) were significantly lower in patients with malignancy than those without malignancy.
Sensitivity and Specificity ; Polymyositis/*complications/epidemiology ; Neoplasms/*complications/epidemiology ; Myositis/*complications/epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Korea ; Inflammation ; Humans ; Female ; Dermatomyositis/*complications/epidemiology ; Creatine Kinase/blood ; Aged ; Adult

With the development of population aging in our country, the incidence of gastrointestinal cancer is increasing. The risk of developing gastrointestinal cancer in elderly over 75 years was 5-6 times and the risk of death of gastrointestinal cancer was 7-8 times of the general population. As compared to non-elderly, the incidence of gastric cancer was not decreased obviously but the total incidence of colorectal cancer was increased more quickly. Therefore, screening of gastrointestinal cancer should be performed in the elderly for early discovery, diagnosis and treatment. Because of the insidious onset of the illness in elderly patients, gastrointestinal cancers are mostly diagnosed at advanced or late stage (stage III or IV). Well differentiated cancer is more common, such as papillary or tubular adenocarcinoma. Lauren type, Borrmann II or III are more common in gastric cancer, which are relatively favorable. Compared with non-elderly patients, many elderly patients also suffer from comorbid diseases with higher operation risk and postoperative complication rates. Therefore, we must pay great attention to the perioperative management and the surgical operation for the elderly patients. In this paper, several key issues involved the development trend of incidence and mortality of gastrointestinal cancer, the clinicopathological characteristics, the comorbidity and surgical treatment in the elderly patients with gastrointestinal cancer will be elaborated, aiming at promoting further attention to the clinical therapeutic strategies, management measures and prognostic factors for the elderly patients with gastrointestinal cancer.
Adenocarcinoma ; epidemiology ; surgery ; Aged ; China ; epidemiology ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; surgery ; Comorbidity ; Humans ; Postoperative Complications ; Stomach Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; surgery

Breast Neoplasms ; complications ; epidemiology ; Eye Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; secondary ; Female ; Humans

Humans ; Postoperative Complications/epidemiology* ; Postoperative Period ; Thyroid Neoplasms/surgery*

The correlation between chronic constipation and colorectal neoplasms has been arousing wide interest. There have been a number of domestic and international epidemiological and clinical researches focusing on this issue. Based on these researches, the correlation between constipation and colorectal neoplasms was studied from three aspects: constipation and colorectal polyps; constipation and colorectal cancer; melanosis coli (MC), laxatives and colorectal neoplasms. We find that constipation can significantly increase the incidence of colorectal polyps and constipation does not significantly increase the incidence of colorectal cancer but is one of the risk factors for colorectal cancer. In addition, MC, laxatives and the incidence of colorectal polyps are also closely correlated. Given the fact that colorectal polyps are precancerous lesions, patients with long-term constipation should take less anthraquinone laxatives, and those with colorectal polyps should be followed up periodically.
Anthraquinones ; adverse effects ; Colonic Diseases ; complications ; Colonic Polyps ; epidemiology ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; Constipation ; complications ; Humans ; Incidence ; Laxatives ; adverse effects ; Melanosis ; complications ; epidemiology ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Post-operative pneumonia (POP) is a common complication of lung cancer surgery, and muscular tissue oxygenation is a root cause of post-operative complications. However, the association between muscular tissue desaturation and POP in patients receiving lung cancer surgery has not been specifically studied. This study aimed to investigate the potential use of intra-operative muscular tissue desaturation as a predictor of POP in patients undergoing lung cancer surgery. METHODS: This cohort study enrolled patients (≥55 years) who had undergone lobectomy with one-lung ventilation. Muscular tissue oxygen saturation (SmtO 2 ) was monitored in the forearm (over the brachioradialis muscle) and upper thigh (over the quadriceps) using a tissue oximeter. The minimum SmtO 2 was the lowest intra-operative measurement at any time point. Muscular tissue desaturation was defined as a minimum baseline SmtO 2 of <80% for >15 s. The area under or above the threshold was the product of the magnitude and time of desaturation. The primary outcome was the association between intra-operative muscular tissue desaturation and POP within seven post-operative days using multivariable logistic regression. The secondary outcome was the correlation between SmtO 2 in the forearm and that in the thigh. RESULTS: We enrolled 174 patients. The overall incidence of muscular desaturation (defined as SmtO 2 < 80% in the forearm at baseline) was approximately 47.1% (82/174). The patients with muscular desaturation had a higher incidence of pneumonia than those without desaturation (28.0% [23/82] vs. 12.0% [11/92]; P  = 0.008). The multivariable analysis revealed that muscular desaturation was associated with an increased risk of pneumonia (odds ratio: 2.995, 95% confidence interval: 1.080-8.310, P  = 0.035) after adjusting for age, American Society of Anesthesiologists status, Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia score, smoking, use of peripheral nerve block, propofol, and study center. CONCLUSION: Muscular tissue desaturation, defined as a baseline SmtO 2 < 80% in the forearm, may be associated with an increased risk of POP. TRIAL REGISTRATION No. ChiCTR-ROC-17012627.
Humans ; Cohort Studies ; Pneumonia/epidemiology* ; Postoperative Complications/epidemiology* ; Oxygen ; Muscles ; Lung Neoplasms/surgery*

The study of the epidemiology of toxic liver injury has been limited in Korea. The number of hospitalizations for toxic liver injury has been estimated to be 2,400 persons per year. About 30~40% of fulminant hepatitis was attributed to toxic hepatitis. The frequent causative agents of toxic hepatitis in Korea are herbal medicines (34~40%), folk remedies (23~34%), and prescribed medicines (24~55%). However, the most common agents causing severe liver injury including fulminant hepatitis are herbal medicine and folk remedies. Antituberculosis drugs and acetaminophen are two common causes of fulminant hepatitis among prescribed drugs. Alcohol is one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease in Korea. No nationwide study on the epidemiology of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) has been carried out, but 7~31% of cirrhosis has been reported to be alcoholic in a few single-center studies. Alcohol could be a risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic viral hepatitis. Several studies have shown that alcohol increased the risk of HCC in liver cirrhosis with HBsAg or anti-HCV. Furthermore, alcoholic cirrhosis with occult hepatitis B virus infection increased the risk of HCC.
Drug-Induced Liver Injury/diagnosis/*epidemiology/etiology ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic/complications/epidemiology ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic/complications/*epidemiology ; Liver Neoplasms/etiology ; Risk Factors

High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers consist of cervical cancer, anal cancer, penile cancer, vulvar cancer, vaginal cancer, and head and neck cancer (HNC). Of these, the disease burden of HNC is second only to cervical cancer. HNC mostly originates from malignant lesions of squamous epithelial cells and mainly includes oral cavity cancer, pharyngeal cancer (including nasopharyngeal cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, and hypopharyngeal cancer), and laryngeal cancer. Tobacco use, alcohol abuse, and HPV infection are three primary risk factors. Recently, there is an upward trend of HNC incidence globally, especially in high-income countries. In China, the disease burden and trends of HPV-related HNC are still not clear. A few small sample size and single-center studies suggest a high HPV prevalence and increasing trend in HNC. Methodological differences in HPV testing and regional variabilities still exist among these studies. Among the anatomic sites, oropharyngeal cancer has been shown to be caused by HPV infection, but the association of HPV with other sites is still under debate. In addition, there is a paucity of relevant studies. Here, this review narrates the association between HPV infection and HNC, compares the differences between global and Chinese studies, and then explores the importance of HPV infection in various anatomical sites. The main objective is to highlight the research on HPV-related HNC and promote relevant prevention and treatment programs.
Female ; Humans ; Human Papillomavirus Viruses ; Papillomavirus Infections/prevention & control* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/complications* ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/complications* ; Head and Neck Neoplasms/epidemiology* ; Oropharyngeal Neoplasms/epidemiology* ; Papillomaviridae

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the incidence and severity of perioperative complications in elderly patients with radical prostatectomy (RP).

METHODSA total of 242 patents underwent RP for prostate cancer were retrospectively assessed, whose clinicopathologic factors and perioperative complications were retrieved from the medical records. The mean age in the elderly group (n = 163) and control group (n = 79) were (73.2 ± 2.4) and (63.2 ± 4.8) years, respectively. The clinicopathologic factors including Charlson comorbidity index and preoperative prostate specific antigen were statistically significant different. The difference of clinicopathologic factors and perioperative complications between the elderly group (≥ 70 years old) and control group were statistically analyzed using the SPSS 17.0.

RESULTSThe incidence of perioperative complications was 23.5% in the elderly group and 22.7% in the control group. Except for gross hematuria (there were 12 cases in elderly group and 1 case in control group, respectively, χ(2) = 3.89, P < 0.05) and perioperative transfusion (there were 36 cases in elderly group and 7 cases in control group, respectively, χ(2) = 6.37, P < 0.05), there was no significant difference in each kind or total of perioperative complications.

CONCLUSIONThe elderly patients underwent RP in experienced center are not associated with higher or more serious perioperative complications.

Aged ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intraoperative Complications ; epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; epidemiology ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUNDSinonasal malignancy with orbital invasion is rare. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the clinical and pathological features, treatment outcomes and survival rates for these malignancies.

METHODSNinety-three patients who were treated between 1997 and 2007 were retrospectively reviewed. Age, life style, symptoms, location of lesions, previous occurrences, histological subtypes, and treatment modalities were analyzed.

RESULTSNinety-three patients were evaluated, including 51 men and 42 women: the gender ratio was 1.2 men to 1.0 women. The median age was 40.5 years old. The nasal cavity (34.4%), the maxillary sinus (29.0%) and the ethmoid sinus (19.4%) were the most common primary malignant tumor sites. Almost half of the patients, 44.1% had squamous cell carcinoma, 13.9% had neuroectodermal carcinoma, 11.7% had rhabdomyosarcoma, 9% had adenocarcinoma and salivary gland-type carcinoma, and 11% had other malignancy. The majority of patients presented with T3/T4 (99%), N0 (93.1%), M0 (98%) disease. The distant metastasis rate was 20.9%. The overall survival and disease-free survival rates were 68.1% and 40.9% at three years, respectively. When the overall survival rate was computed according to the epicenter of the original malignant tumor, patients with nasal cavity malignancy and maxillary sinus had the best survival, and patients with ethmoid sinus malignancy had the worse survival (P = 0.03). According to their pathology classification, patients with rhabdomyosarcoma had worse overall survival than those with squamous cell carcinoma, or neuroendocrine carcinoma (P < 0.001). Squamous cell carcinoma and rhabdomyosarcoma invaded the orbit more often and malignancy of the nasal cavity invaded the orbit more than malignancy of the nasal sinus.

CONCLUSIONSFor nasal orbital tumors early diagnosis is crucial. Orbital exenteration and postoperative rehabilitation should be carefully considered. The current data suggest that surgical resection with postoperative radiation therapy may offer durable local control.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; complications ; epidemiology ; pathology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nose Neoplasms ; complications ; epidemiology ; pathology ; Orbital Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; secondary ; Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms ; complications ; epidemiology ; pathology ; Young Adult