OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to investigate the aluminum concentrations in blood, urine and drinking water, the factors which affect the concentrations and the role of silicon in patients who were taking antacid containing aluminum. METHODS: We selected 122 peptic ulcer patients as cases and 144 healthy examinees as controls. Blood, urine, and drinking water were collected from the each study subject and we measured aluminum concentrations as well as silicon concentrations in the specimens. The factors including silicon affect on the aluminum concentrations were also analyzed. RESULTS: 1. The mean duration of antacid administration was 12 months, and the mean daily and total amount of aluminum administration were 0.9 g and 304 g per each patient, respectively. 2. The blood and urine aluminum concentrations were significantly higher in the case. 3. The blood silicon concentration was significantly lower in the control group, and the urine silicon concentration was significantly higher in the case. 4. Urine aluminum concentration was significantly correlated with blood aluminum concentration (r=0.18), and urine silicon concentration was correlated with blood aluminum (r=0.19) and urine aluminum concentrations (r=0.13). 5. The longer the duration of antacid administration and the larger the total and daily amount of aluminum in the antacid were, the higher urine aluminum and silicon concentrations were, but not to a statistically significant degree. CONCLUSIONS: Blood and urine aluminum concentrations were higher in the ulcer patients. The authors suggest that follow-up studies of the patients who administered antacid with high aluminum content for long duration should be done.
Aluminum* ; Drinking Water ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Peptic Ulcer* ; Silicon* ; Ulcer

PURPOSE: This study analyzed the tumor response, overall survival, progression free survival and related prognostic factors in patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer subjected to bladder preserving treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between August 1995 and June 2004, 37 patients with muscle invasive (transitional cell carcinoma, clinically stage T2-4) bladder cancer were enrolled for the treatment protocol of bladder preservation. There were 33 males and 4 females, and the median age was 67 years (range 38~86 years). Transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB) was performed in 17 patients who underwent complete resection. The median radiation dose administered was 64.8 Gy (range 55.8~67 Gy). The survival rate was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: An evaluation of the response rate was determined by abdomen-pelvic CT and cystoscopy at three months after radiotherapy. A complete response was seen in 17 patients (46%). The survival rate at three years was 54.7%, with 54 months of median survival (range 3~91 months). During the study, 17 patients died and 13 patients had died from bladder cancer. The progression free survival rate at three years was 37.2%. There were 24 patients (64.9%) who had disease recurrence: 16 patients (43.2%) had local recurrence, 6 patients (16.2%) had a distant recurrence, and 2 patients (5.4%) had both a local and distant recurrence. The survival rate (p=0.0009) and progression free survival rates (p=0.001) were statistically significant when compared to the response rate after radiotherapy. CONCLUSION: The availability of complete TURB and appropriate chemoradiotherapy were important predictors for bladder preservation and survival.
Chemoradiotherapy ; Clinical Protocols ; Cystoscopy ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Radiotherapy ; Recurrence ; Survival Rate ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms* ; Urinary Bladder*