Objective: The aim of this study was to ascertain information on supplements and health foods desired by consumers, as well as consumer demands in pharmacies and drugstores.
Method: We conducted a questionnaire survey of 740 patrons of two drugstores.  And data from this questionnaire survey was analyzed by simple and cross tables.
Results: We received responses from 206 patrons (response rate: 27.8%).  The level of recognition that some supplements should not be taken by consumers with past illnesses was low among those who are older than 50 years.  Furthermore, the percentage of the population that does not recognize the possibility of interactions between supplements was higher.  In addition, it was suggested that, regardless of the low recognition level, consumers did not try to improve their knowledge by obtaining more information.  People who take supplements to improve dietary imbalances were found to have a strong desire for a short course in pharmacies and drugstores, and they also desire supplement advisers to be available at each drugstore in comparison with people who don’t select the choice “to improve dietary imbalances”.
Conclusion: Thus, the present findings suggest that the level of consumers’ knowledge and their desired information differ depending on age.  Furthermore, consumers’ demands in pharmacies and drugstores differ depending on consumers’ intent to take supplements.  Therefore, it is important for pharmacists to provide information that is useful for individual consumers in consideration of consumers’ age and intent, and pharmacists must be able to independently identify consumers’ needs.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical results of treatment with a high dose of 3-dimensional conformal boost (3DCB) using a real-time tracking radiation therapy (RTRT) system in cervical cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2001 and December 2004, 10 patients with cervical cancer were treated with a high dose 3DCB using RTRT system. Nine patients received whole pelvis radiation therapy (RT) with a median dose of 50 Gy (range, 40-50 Gy) before the 3DCB. The median dose of the 3DCB was 30 Gy (range, 25-30 Gy). Eight patients received the 3DCB twice a week with a daily fraction of 5 Gy. The determined endpoints were tumor response, overall survival, local failure free survival, and distant metastasis free survival. The duration of survival was calculated from the time of the start of radiotherapy. RESULTS: All patients were alive at the time of analysis and the median follow-up was 17.6 months (range, 4.9-27.3 months). Complete response was achieved in nine patients and one patient had a partial response. The 1- and 2-year local failure free survival was 78.8% and 54%, respectively. The 1- and 2-year distant metastasis free survival was 90% and 72%, respectively. Late toxicity of a grade 2 rectal hemorrhage was seen in one patient. A subcutaneous abscess was encountered in one patient. CONCLUSION: The use of the high dose 3DCB in the treatment of cervical cancer is safe and feasible where intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) is unable to be performed. The escalation of the 3DCB dose is currently under evaluation.
Adult ; Aged ; *Brachytherapy ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted/adverse effects/*methods ; Treatment Outcome ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/mortality/pathology/*radiotherapy

Purpose: To investigate the clinical significance of adaptive radiotherapy (ART) in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Materials and Methods: Eligible patients were treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy using IMRT. Planning computed tomography in ART was performed during radiotherapy, and replanning was performed. Since ART was started in May 2011 (ART group), patients who were treated without ART up to April 2011 (non-ART group) were used as the historical control. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate overall survival (OS), locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). LRFS for the primary tumor (LRFS_P) and regional lymph node (LRFS_LN) were also studied for more detailed analysis. Statistical significance was evaluated using the log-rank test for survival. Results: The ART group tended to have higher radiation doses. The median follow-up period was 127 months (range, 10 to 211 months) in the non-ART group and 61.5 months (range, 5 to 129 months) in the ART group. Compared to the non-ART group, the ART group showed significantly higher 5-year PFS (53.8% vs. 81.3%, p = 0.015) and LRFS (61.2% vs. 85.3%, p = 0.024), but not OS (80.7% vs. 80.8%, p = 0.941) and DMFS (84.6% vs. 92.7%, p = 0.255). Five-year LRFS_P was higher in the ART group (61.3% vs. 90.6%, p = 0.005), but LRFS_LN did not show a significant difference (91.9% vs. 96.2%, p = 0.541). Conclusion Although there were differences in the patient backgrounds between the two groups, this study suggests the potential effectiveness of ART in improving locoregional control, especially in the primary tumor.