Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in Korean women, and its incidence continues to increase. The Korean Breast Cancer Society (KBCS) established a nationwide breast cancer database through its online enrollment program in 1996. This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of breast cancer in Korea, and to assess the pattern of changes in breast cancer management in 2018. We analyzed the KBCS and Korea Central Cancer Registry (KCCR) databases in 2018. In 2018, 28,157 patients were newly diagnosed with breast cancer, of whom 4,510 had noninvasive breast cancer and 23,647 had invasive breast cancer. The age-standardized rate of breast cancer in 2018 was 79.0 per 100,000 women (65.6 invasive, 13.4 noninvasive). The median age of female patients diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 was 52 years, and the incidence of breast cancer was the highest in the 40–49-years age group (9,432 patients, 33.6%). The proportion of patients with stage 0 and stage I breast cancer continued to increase, accounting for 63.8% of cases, and breast-conserving surgery was performed more often than mastectomy (66.2% vs. 33.0%). The most common subtypes of breast cancer were hormone receptor [HR]-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)-negative types (65.9% of cases), while the HR-negative and HER2-positive types accounted for 9.2% of cases. According to the KCCR data, from 2014 to 2018, the 5-year relative survival rate of patients with breast cancer was 93.3%, which was 14.0% higher than that from 1993 to 1995 (79.3%). The clinical characteristics of breast cancer in Korea have been changing, and national databases can improve our understanding of the disease characteristics of Korean women. Therefore, updating the KBCS registry is important for the effective management of breast cancer in Korea.

Background: Data regarding the association between preexisting cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and the outcomes of patients requiring hospitalization for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of preexisting CVRFs or CVDs on the outcomes of patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in a Korean healthcare system. Methods: Patients with COVID-19 admitted to 10 hospitals in Daegu Metropolitan City, Korea, were examined. All sequentially hospitalized patients between February 15, 2020, and April 24, 2020, were enrolled in this study. All patients were confirmed to have COVID-19 based on the positive results on the polymerase chain reaction testing of nasopharyngeal samples. Clinical outcomes during hospitalization, such as requiring intensive care and invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) and death, were evaluated. Moreover, data on baseline comorbidities such as a history of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, current smoking, heart failure, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular accidents, and other chronic cardiac diseases were obtained. Results: Of all the patients enrolled, 954 (42.0%) had preexisting CVRFs or CVDs. Among the CVRFs, the most common were hypertension (28.8%) and diabetes mellitus (17.0%). The prevalence rates of preexisting CVRFs or CVDs increased with age (P < 0.001). The number of patients requiring intensive care (P < 0.001) and invasive MV (P < 0.001) increased with age.The in-hospital death rate increased with age (P < 0.001). Patients requiring intensive care (5.3% vs. 1.6%; P < 0.001) and invasive MV (4.3% vs. 1.7%; P < 0.001) were significantly greater in patients with preexisting CVRFs or CVDs. In-hospital mortality (12.9% vs. 3.1%; P < 0.001) was significantly higher in patients with preexisting CVRFs or CVDs. Among the CVRFs, diabetes mellitus and hypertension were associated with increased requirement of intensive care and invasive MV and in-hospital death. Among the known CVDs, coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure were associated with invasive MV and in-hospital death. In multivariate analysis, preexisting CVRFs or CVDs (odds ratio [OR], 1.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07–3.01; P = 0.027) were independent predictors of in-hospital death adjusting for confounding variables. Among individual preexisting CVRF or CVD components, diabetes mellitus (OR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.51–3.90; P < 0.001) and congestive heart failure (OR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.06–5.87; P = 0.049) were independent predictors of in-hospital death. Conclusion Based on the findings of this study, the patients with confirmed COVID-19 with preexisting CVRFs or CVDs had worse clinical outcomes. Caution is required in dealing with these patients at triage.after

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in Korean women, and its incidence continues to increase. The Korean Breast Cancer Society (KBCS) established a nationwide breast cancer database through its online enrollment program in 1996. This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of breast cancer in Korea, and to assess the pattern of changes in breast cancer management in 2018. We analyzed the KBCS and Korea Central Cancer Registry (KCCR) databases in 2018. In 2018, 28,157 patients were newly diagnosed with breast cancer, of whom 4,510 had noninvasive breast cancer and 23,647 had invasive breast cancer. The age-standardized rate of breast cancer in 2018 was 79.0 per 100,000 women (65.6 invasive, 13.4 noninvasive). The median age of female patients diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 was 52 years, and the incidence of breast cancer was the highest in the 40–49-years age group (9,432 patients, 33.6%). The proportion of patients with stage 0 and stage I breast cancer continued to increase, accounting for 63.8% of cases, and breast-conserving surgery was performed more often than mastectomy (66.2% vs. 33.0%). The most common subtypes of breast cancer were hormone receptor [HR]-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)-negative types (65.9% of cases), while the HR-negative and HER2-positive types accounted for 9.2% of cases. According to the KCCR data, from 2014 to 2018, the 5-year relative survival rate of patients with breast cancer was 93.3%, which was 14.0% higher than that from 1993 to 1995 (79.3%). The clinical characteristics of breast cancer in Korea have been changing, and national databases can improve our understanding of the disease characteristics of Korean women. Therefore, updating the KBCS registry is important for the effective management of breast cancer in Korea.

Growth hormone (GH) deficiency is caused by congenital or acquired causes and occurs in childhood or adulthood. GH replacement therapy brings benefits to body composition, exercise capacity, skeletal health, cardiovascular outcomes, and quality of life. Before initiating GH replacement, GH deficiency should be confirmed through proper stimulation tests, and in cases with proven genetic causes or structural lesions, repeated GH stimulation testing is not necessary. The dosing regimen of GH replacement therapy should be individualized, with the goal of minimizing side effects and maximizing clinical improvements. The Korean Endocrine Society and the Korean Society of Pediatric Endocrinology have developed a position statement on the diagnosis and treatment of GH deficiency. This position statement is based on a systematic review of evidence and expert opinions.

Purpose: To understand the effects of datasets with various parameters on pretrained network performance, the generalization capacity of the artificial neural network for myelin water imaging (ANN-MWI) is explored by testing datasets with various scan protocols (i.e., resolution and refocusing RF pulse shape) and types of disorders (i.e., neuromyelitis optica and edema). Materials and Methods: ANN-MWI was trained to generate a T2 distribution, from which the myelin water fraction value was measured. The training and test datasets were acquired from healthy controls and multiple sclerosis patients using a multiecho gradient and spin-echo sequence with the same scan protocols. To test the generalization capacity of ANN-MWI, datasets with different settings were utilized.The datasets were acquired or generated with different resolutions, refocusing pulse shape, and types of disorders. For all datasets, the evaluation was performed in a white matter mask by calculating the normalized root-mean-squared error (NRMSE) between the results from the conventional method and ANN-MWI. Additionally, for the patient datasets, the NRMSE was calculated in each lesion mask. Results: The results of ANN-MWI showed high reliability in generating myelin water fraction maps from the datasets with different resolutions. However, the increased errors were reported for the datasets with different refocusing pulse shapes and disorder types. Specifically, the region of lesions in edema patients reported high NRMSEs. These increased errors indicate the dependency of ANN-MWI on refocusing pulse flip angles and T 2 characteristics. Conclusion This study proposes information about the generalization accuracy of a trained network when applying deep learning to processing myelin water imaging.

This article describes the breast cancer statistics in Korea, including the incidence, type of surgical procedure, stage, and molecular subtype, using the Korean Breast Cancer Society (KBCS) and Korea Central Cancer Registry data. There were a total of 26,534 new breast cancer diagnoses in 2017 in Korea, of which 4,139 were carcinoma in situ cases and 22,395 were invasive cancer cases. The age standardized rate of breast cancer was 75.3 per 100,000 women in 2017 (63.0 of invasive carcinoma and 12.3 of carcinoma in situ), and it has been steadily increasing across all age groups. Breast cancer occurred most commonly in the 40–49 age group. Compared to 2016, breast conserving surgery (BCS) has increased, and 67.4% of patients were treated with BCS in 2017. The proportions of stage 0 and stage I have continued to increase, accounting for 60.7%. The most common subtype of breast cancer was hormone receptor (HR) positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) negative type comprising 65.9% of the cases, whereas HR negative and HER2 positive type was the rarest comprising 10.2% of the cases. The 5-year relative survival rate of breast cancer patients had increased by 14.0% from 79.2% in 1993–1995 to 93.2% in 2013–2017. It is essential to actively enter breast cancer data into the KBCS registry to improve our understanding.

In cryptogenic stroke patients, early detection of new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) and recurrent stroke is required to prevent poor clinical outcomes. Therefore, we investigated the predictors of new-onset AF and recurrent stroke in cryptogenic stroke patients without previously diagnosed AF. In total, 390 patients who were diagnosed with stroke and non-sustained atrial tachycardia (NSAT) on 24-hour Holter monitoring were followed up to assess new-onset AF and recurrent stroke. The 5-year event-free survival as well as the predictors of recurrent stroke or new-onset AF were investigated. Based on receiver operating characteristic analysis, frequent premature atrial contractions (PACs) were defined as PACs >44 beats/day. The median follow-up period was 35 months. The composite event rate was 11.5%. In Kaplan-Meier analysis, the 5-year cumulative incidence of composite events was higher in cryptogenic stroke patients with frequent PACs than in those without frequent PACs. Multivariate analysis revealed that current smoking, increased left atrial volume index, and frequent PACs were poor prognostic predictors of composite event, and frequent PACs were an independent poor prognostic factor of new-onset AF in cryptogenic stroke patients. Therefore, frequent PACs might be associated with poor clinical outcomes (new-onset AF and recurrent stroke) in cryptogenic stroke patients with concomitant NSAT.

This article was initially published on the Journal of Breast Cancer with a misspelled legend display in Figure 3. The postmenopause and premenopause should be changed with each other.

The Korean Breast Cancer Society (KBCS) has established a nationwide breast cancer database using an online registration program in 1996. The present study aimed to analyze the basic findings and trends of breast cancer in Korea in 2015 using the data provided by the Korea Central Cancer Registry and the KBCS. In 2015, a total of 22,550 patients were newly diagnosed with breast cancer, of which 3,331 were carcinoma in situ cases and 19,219 were invasive cancer cases. The incidence rate of breast cancer in Korea has steadily increased since the nationwide database was established, and the crude rate and age-standardized rate including that of carcinoma in situ, were 88.1 and 66.0 cases per 100,000 women, respectively. In terms of age, the incidence of breast cancer was the highest in the 40–49-year-old age group (7,889 patients, 35.0%). With regard to surgical procedure, breast-conserving surgery was frequently performed (62.3%). However, the rate of mastectomy has been gradually increasing since 2012, that is, from 32.3% in 2014 to 36.1% in 2015. The rate of early breast cancer has continued to increase, and that of stages III and IV breast cancer was only 9.1% at the time of diagnosis. However, the 5-year survival rate of patients with carcinoma in situ from 2011 to 2015 was 92.3%, which was 14.4% higher than that from 1993 to 1995 (77.9%). Analysis of data from the nationwide registry of breast cancer will not only help to understand the characteristics of breast cancer in individuals in Korea, but will also significantly contribute to the treatment and research of breast cancer. Therefore, a high quality database for breast cancer in Korea must be established by further initiating registration project and establishing an objective legal basis.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Carcinoma in Situ ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Mastectomy ; Mastectomy, Segmental ; Registries ; Survival Rate

Various functional activities have been reported for the fermented soybean products doenjang (DJ) and cheonggukjang (CGJ), although no systemic investigations of their immune functions have been conducted to date. We examined the effects of an experimental diet of DJ, CGJ, or a mixture of unfermented raw material for 4 weeks on overall immunity and immune safety in mice. No significant alterations were observed in peripheral or splenic immune cells among groups. Enhanced splenic natural killer cell activity was observed in the DJ and CGJ groups compared with the plain diet group. T helper type-1 (Th1)-mediated immune responses were enhanced in the DJ and CGJ groups with an upregulated production ratio of IFN-γ vs. IL-4 and IgG2a vs. IgG1 in stimulated splenic T and B cells, respectively. Resistance to Listeria monocytogenes infection was observed in the DJ and CGJ groups. Overall, the results of this study suggest that DJ and CGJ intake consolidates humoral and cellular immunity to Th1 responses.
Animals ; B-Lymphocytes ; Diet ; Immunity, Cellular ; Immunoglobulin G ; Interleukin-4 ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Listeria monocytogenes ; Mice* ; Soybeans*