No abstract available.

Malignant mixed Mullerian tumor(MMMT) of the ovary is very uncommon neoplasm consisting of both a sarcomatous and carcinomatous component. These tumors usually present in an advanced stage and are characterized by rapid growth and poor survival and appropriate treatment remained controversial. The patients with advanced stage ovarian cancer could only benefit from an optimal surgical debulking. However, the optimal cytoreductive surgery may often be difficult to achieve due to the initial extent of the disease. Thus primary surgery for this subset of patients may be questionable. So, we tried neoadjuvant Taxol and/or cis-platinum combined chemotherapy as primary treatment. At the end of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the patient showed markedly decrease of serum CA 125 level(from 210 U/ml to 59 U/ml) and optimal cytoreductive surgery was performed. After surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy was administered and the serum CA 125 level decreased to the normal range. This case shows our experience of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by cytoreductive surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy in patient with primarily unresectable ovarian malignant mixed Mullerian tumor(MMMT).
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Cisplatin ; Drug Therapy* ; Female ; Humans ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Ovary ; Paclitaxel ; Reference Values

Malignant mixed Mullerian tumor(MMMT) of the ovary is very uncommon neoplasm consisting of both a sarcomatous and carcinomatous component. These tumors usually present in an advanced stage and are characterized by rapid growth and poor survival and appropriate treatment remained controversial. The patients with advanced stage ovarian cancer could only benefit from an optimal surgical debulking. However, the optimal cytoreductive surgery may often be difficult to achieve due to the initial extent of the disease. Thus primary surgery for this subset of patients may be questionable. So, we tried neoadjuvant Taxol and/or cis-platinum combined chemotherapy as primary treatment. At the end of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the patient showed markedly decrease of serum CA 125 level(from 210 U/ml to 59 U/ml) and optimal cytoreductive surgery was performed. After surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy was administered and the serum CA 125 level decreased to the normal range. This case shows our experience of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by cytoreductive surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy in patient with primarily unresectable ovarian malignant mixed Mullerian tumor(MMMT).
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Cisplatin ; Drug Therapy* ; Female ; Humans ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Ovary ; Paclitaxel ; Reference Values

Complement C7 deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder well known to be associated with increased susceptibility to meningococcal infection and has mostly been reported in Caucasians. In the Korean population, no case of C7 deficiency has been reported to date. Recently we experienced an 11-yr-old girl with meningococcal meningitis who was diagnosed as having C7 deficiency based upon the undetectable serum C7 protein on radial immunodiffusion and the undetectable serum total and C7 hemolytic activities. To identify the genetic basis of the C7 deficiency of the patient, we performed a mutation analysis for the C7 gene and found two novel mutations; a point mutation at the 3'splice acceptor site of intron 4 (c.281-1G>T) and a large deletion mutation encompassing almost the whole C7 gene from exon 1 to exon 17 (c.1-?_2350+?del). A haplotype analysis showed that the large deletion mutation was inherited from the patient's father. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first confirmed case of C7 deficiency in Korea.
Child ; Complement 7/deficiency/*genetics ; Female ; Humans ; *Mutation ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Tandem Repeat Sequences

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence of the +769 G/A mutation of inhibin-alpha gene in Korean patients with idiopathic premature ovarian failure. DESIGN: DNA analysis of the mutation. METHODS: One hundred patients with idiopathic premature ovarian failure (POF) were recruited. Patient with known causes of premature ovarian failure were excluded: cytogenetic abnormalities, prior chemotherapy, prior bilateral oophorectomy and autoimmune disease, etc. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood and the +769 G/A variant of Inhibin-alpha gene (INH-alpha) was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism using restriction enzyme BbvI. RESULTS: We didn't find any case of +769 G/A variant in Inhibin-alpha gene in 100 Korean patients with idiopathic POF. CONCLUSION: This result suggests that in contrary to the recent data reported on the Asian population, the +769 G/A variant in inhibin-alpha gene may not exist in Korean patients with idiopathic POF.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Chromosome Aberrations ; DNA ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Ovariectomy ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Primary Ovarian Insufficiency*

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) contributes to tumor angiogenesis. The role of VEGF single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in lung cancer susceptibility and its prognosis remains inconclusive and controversial. This study was performed to investigate whether VEGF polymorphisms affect survival outcomes of patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after surgery. Three potentially functional VEGF SNPs (rs833061T>C, rs2010963G>C, and rs3025039C>T) were genotyped. A total of 782 NSCLC patients who were treated with surgical resection were enrolled. The association of the SNPs with overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) was analyzed. In overall population, none of the three polymorphisms were significantly associated with OS or DFS. However, when the patients were stratified by tumor histology, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC) had significantly different OS (Adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.56–1.03 in SCC; aHR = 1.33, 95% CI = 0.98–1.82 in AC; P for heterogeneity = 0.01) and DFS (aHR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.58–0.97 in SCC; aHR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.00–1.60 in AC; P for heterogeneity = 0.004) according to the rs833061T>C genotypes. Our results suggest that the prognostic role of VEGF rs833061T>C may differ depending on tumor histology.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Disease-Free Survival ; Genotype ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Population Characteristics ; Prognosis* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*

Inflammatory fibroid polyp is a polypoid lesion of the gastrointestinal tract, composed of fibrous tissue, blood vessels, and inflammatory infiltration often dominated by eosinophilic leukocytes. It is infrequent, localized, and non-neoplastic condition. It is most often formed in the gastric antrum and ileum, and rarely in the esophagus, small bowel or colon. The polyp in the stomach is mainly located in the submucosa of the antrum, and may cause intermittent epigastric pain, vomiting, antral obstructive symptoms or rarely bleeding. When present in small bowel, it is usually localized in the ileum and presents with obstructive symptoms but clincal manifestations are different according to the location. Intussusception resulting from the mass is not common. We report a case of inflammatory fibroid polyp of the cecum causing intussusception. A 42-year-old male patient was referred to the hospital for the evaluation of right lower quadrant abdominal pain and palpable mass. A contrast-enhanced CT scan of the whole abdomen and colonoscopic examination revealed intussusception with a cecal mass. Inflammatory fibroid polyp causing intussusception was histologically confirmed by surgical wedge resection.
Abdomen ; Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Blood Vessels ; Cecum* ; Colon ; Eosinophils ; Esophagus ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Ileum ; Intussusception* ; Leiomyoma* ; Leukocytes ; Male ; Polyps* ; Pyloric Antrum ; Stomach ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Vomiting

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association of the CYP 1A1 gene polymorphism with the risk of endometriosis in a Korean population. DESIGN: Case-control study METHODS: Two-hundred fifty two Korean women with surgically or histologically diagnosed endometriosis of stage I-IV (ASRM, 1997) were recruited, and 203 women with no evidence of endometriosis served as controls. CYP1A1 gene MspI polymorphism was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the genotype or allele distribution of CYP1A1 gene polymorphism between patients with endometriosis and controls. And when classified by stage, there was also no significant difference in the genotype and allele distribution of CYP1A1 gene MspI polymorphism between patients with stage I-II or stage III-IV endometriosis and controls. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that CYP1A1 gene MspI polymorphism is not associated with the risk of endometriosis in the Korean women.
Alleles ; Case-Control Studies ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1* ; Endometriosis* ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length

There are 60 species of blood-feeding land leeches, 50 species belonging to the family Haemadipsidae and 10 species belonging to the family Xerobdellidae. Despite recent papers on the land leeches, their taxonomic identification is not fully understood, especially at a species level. In Korea, there have been no historical records of the terrestrial leeches, but recently an unrecorded blood-feeding land leech was discovered at Gageo-do (Island), Korea. Molecular analysis was used to identify the species of 29 leeches collected from Mt. Dock-Sil in Gageo-do. Conventional PCR was conducted using nuclear 18S rRNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) genetic marker. The 18S rRNA sequences revealed that the leeches share 99.9% identity with Haemadipsa rjukjuana (inhabiting Taiwan), and the CO1 sequences revealed that the leeches are very close to H. rjukjuana (inhabiting Taiwan). The CO1 sequences were separated into 2 categories, 1 with 94.6% and the other with 94.3% similarity to the H. rjukjuana L00115A (inhabiting Taiwan). This new finding of the land leech is the first record in Korea. In addition, the north range of the distribution of the blood-feeding leech (Hirudiniformes: Haemadipisidae) should be reconsidered including Korea.
Animals ; Base Sequence ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Electron Transport Complex IV/*genetics ; Genetic Markers/genetics ; Leeches/*classification/*genetics ; Mitochondria/enzymology/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/*genetics ; Republic of Korea ; Sequence Alignment ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

BACKGROUND: The present study evaluated the efficacy of a combination of ibandronate and cholecalciferol on the restoration of the levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) and various bone markers in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. METHODS: This was a randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, prospective 16-week clinical trial conducted in 20 different hospitals. A total of 201 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis were assigned randomly to one of two groups: the IBN group, which received a once-monthly pill containing 150 mg ibandronate (n=99), or the IBN+ group, which received a once-monthly pill containing 150 mg ibandronate and 24,000 IU cholecalciferol (n=102). Serum levels of 25(OH)D, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and various bone markers were assessed at baseline and at the end of a 16-week treatment period. RESULTS: After 16 weeks of treatment, the mean serum levels of 25(OH)D significantly increased from 21.0 to 25.3 ng/mL in the IBN+ group but significantly decreased from 20.6 to 17.4 ng/mL in the IBN group. Additionally, both groups exhibited significant increases in mean serum levels of PTH but significant decreases in serum levels of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase and C-telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTX) at 16 weeks; no significant differences were observed between the groups. However, in subjects with a vitamin D deficiency, IBN+ treatment resulted in a significant decrease in serum CTX levels compared with IBN treatment. CONCLUSION: The present findings demonstrate that a once-monthly pill containing ibandronate and cholecalciferol may be useful for the amelioration of vitamin D deficiency in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Moreover, this treatment combination effectively decreased serum levels of resorption markers, especially in subjects with a vitamin D deficiency, over the 16-week treatment period.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Cholecalciferol* ; Collagen Type I ; Female ; Humans ; Osteoporosis* ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal ; Parathyroid Hormone ; Prospective Studies ; Vitamin D Deficiency