The first case of testicular teratocarcinoma in Korea, found in 24 year old service man was reported. Complication of the metastases to various organs, gynecomastia and hydrocele was seen at the first examination and simple orchiectomy and delayed x-ray deep therapy were not effective to survive this case. The patient died 3 months after the affliction. Autopsy revealed matastases were to lung, spleen, lower poles of both Kidneys, mediastinal and lumbar paraaortic lymph nodes and histopathological examination showed the teratocarcinoma composed of seminoma, embryonic carcinoma and chorioepitheliomatous elements. Additionally, 13 cases of testis tumors reported in literatures of recent years in-country have peen reviewed.
Autopsy ; Gynecomastia ; Humans ; Kidney ; Korea ; Lung ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Orchiectomy ; Seminoma ; Spleen ; Teratocarcinoma* ; Testis* ; Young Adult

No abstract available.
Diagnosis ; Myotonia ; Polyneuropathies ; Relaxation

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of apoptosis related proteins and apoptotic cells on the human ovarian follicles. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty five Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded human ovarian tissue blocks were selected from the surgical pathology files of the department of pathology, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, for the period from 1996 to 1998. All specimen were from premenopausal women aged from 32~45. Ovarian tissues were collected from the patients performing hysterectomy for benign uterine diseases. Immunohistochemical staining was performed for the detection of DNA fragmented cell, Bcl-2, Bax, Fas and Fas-ligand. RESULTS: Bcl-2 and bax were not expressed on the surrounding cells and oocyte of the primary, primordial and preantral follicles. Fas and Fas-ligand (Fas-L) were not expressed on the surrounding cells on the primordial and primary follicles. But expressed on the surrounding granulosa cells and oocyte in the primordial and primary follicles. In the healthy follicles, Bcl-2 was expressed on the granulosa cells, however, Bax was not expressed. DNA fragmented cells were expressed on the inner granulosa cell layer of atretic follicles. CONCLUSION: Fas, Fas-ligand, and Bax may be responsible for the follicular atresia and Bcl-2 may be involved in the follicular survival in the human ovary.
Apoptosis* ; DNA ; Female ; Follicular Atresia ; Granulosa Cells ; Humans* ; Hysterectomy ; Oocytes ; Ovarian Follicle* ; Ovary ; Pathology ; Pathology, Surgical ; Uterine Diseases

Acute eosinophilic pneumonia is reported as a specific disease entity. But, it is different from chronic eosinophilic pneumonia in its onset, clinical course and recurrence. Badesh et al reported the following diagnostic criteria os acute eosinophilic pneumonia a less than one-month history of symptoms prior to diagnosis, no evidence of asthma, the absence of other organic disease, no obvious etiology and an evidence of recurrent disease. We experienced a case of acute eosinophilic pneumonia in 37 old male. Pathologically eosinophilic pneumonia is confirmed and other features meet Badesh's criteria.
Asthma ; Diagnosis ; Eosinophils* ; Humans ; Male ; Pulmonary Eosinophilia* ; Recurrence

Hansen's disease(HD) is a chronic infectious disorder acquired by inoculation of Mycobacterium leprae. With the establishment of complex multidrug therapy, the incidence rate of leprosy patients has continually shown to decline by 90% compared to the incidence rate in the 1990s. However, the prevalence of the disease still remains high in southeast asian countries. Due to the rarity and diverse nature of cutaneous presentation, HD is often misdiagnosed with other dermatoses or infectious conditions. Especially, when a patient presents with unusual presentation with leprosy reaction with no classical feature such as sensory disorders and skin lesion, the diagnosis is further delayed with misguided treatments. Herein we present a 27-year-old Indonesian immigrant who displayed clinical features mimicking that of orbital cellulitis who was later diagnosed with borderline lepromatous leprosy through histologic and PCR confirmation, in light of alerting the probability of leprosy in immigrants with intractable skin presentations.
Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Diagnosis ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Humans ; Incidence ; Leprosy ; Leprosy, Borderline ; Leprosy, Multibacillary ; Mycobacterium leprae ; Orbit ; Orbital Cellulitis ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence ; Sensation Disorders ; Skin ; Skin Diseases

BACKGROUND: There are a few studies on the effects of job strain on the prevalence of sleep problems in the foreign countries. In Korea, it has not been studied till now. In this article, the combined effects of job strain, shift work and some life style on the prevalence of sleep proplems were studied among workers in middle aged men. METHODS: 998 cases were chosen from 1109 men who visited health screening center from October to November, 1999. Sleep problems were categorized to insomnia, sleep deprivation, daytime sleepiness and snoring on the base of result of factor analysis of 11 questions. Job strain was measured by 11 questions which developed by Karasek and Theorell. All data set were analyzed using Chi square test and multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The 4 sleep proplems were analyzed by multiple logistic regression analysis in relation to job strain, shift work, occupation, obesity, sedentary life style, smoking, drinking. Insomnia was increased significantly from highest job strain group(Odds ratio (OR:2.02)) and non exercise group(OR:2.05). In these groups, daytime sleepiness was increased significantly(OR=1.92 in the highest job strain group, OR=1.72 in non exercise group). Sleep deprivation was increased in the highest job strain group(OR=2.18), managers & clerks(OR:1.67) and non exercise group(OR:1.78). Snoring was increased from BMI(Body mass index)> OR =25(OR=1.77), BMI> OR =27(OR=2.80) and non exercise group(OR:1.87). CONCLUSION: In the highest job strain group, insomnia, sleep deprivation and daytime sleepiness was increased significantly. And sedentary life style increased all sleep problems.
Dataset ; Drinking ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style* ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Middle Aged* ; Obesity ; Occupations ; Prevalence* ; Sleep Deprivation ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Snoring

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of combination therapy of external radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the management of advanced esophageal cancer as a primary treatment compared with radiation therapy alone. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A retrospective review of evaluable 55 esophageal cancer patients referredto the Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Paik Hospital for the external radiotherapy between Jul. 1983 and Dec.1994 was undertaken. Combined therapy patients (A group) were 30 and radiation alone patients (B group) were 25. Median age was 60 years old in A group(ranges : 42-81) and 65 years old in B group (ranges : 50-81). The male patients were 53. The fiffy patients had squamous cell carcinomas. Radiation doses of 2520-6480cGy were delivered over a period of 4-7weeks. using 4MV LIVAC. Chemotherapy was administered in bolus injection before, after, or during the course of external radiotherapy. The local control rate and patterns of failure according to both treatment modalities and 1,2 year survival rates according to prognostic factors (stage, tumor length, radiation dose etc.) were analysed. RESULTS: Median follow up period was 7 months (range : 2-73 months). Median survival was 7.5 months (20 days-29 months) in A group and 5 months(20 days-73 months) in B group. The 1,2 YSRs were 26.7%, 8.9% in A group. 12.7%, 4.3% in B group (p>0.05), respectively. The 1,2 YSRs according to stage(II/III), tumor length (5cm more or less). radiation dose(5000cGy more or less) of A and B group were analyzed and the differences of survival rates of both treatments were not statistically significant. But among group B, patients who received 5000cGy or more showed significant survival benefits (p<0.05). The treatment response rates of A and B group were 43.8%, 25.0%, respectively. Complete response rate of 25.0% in A and 8.3% in B were achieved. The local failure and distant metastsis were 52.4%, 23.8% in A group. 64.3%, 14.3% in B group, respectively. The combination therapy revealed more freguent leukopenia and nausea/vomiting than radiation alone group, but degree of side effects was only mild to modereate. CONCLUSION: The combined external radiotherapy and chemotherapy for advanced esophageal cancer appears to improve the response rate, local control rate and survival rate, but the improvement was not statistically significant. The side effects of combined modalities were mild to moderate without significant morbidity. Therefore it may be worthwhile to continue the present combined external radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the management of advanced esophageal cancer to confirm our result.
Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Drug Therapy ; Esophageal Neoplasms* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leukopenia ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radiation Oncology ; Radiotherapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUND: Excess energy supply induces chronic low-grade inflammation in association with oxidative stress in various tissues including intestinal epithelium. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of high-fat diet (HFD) on intestinal cell membrane integrity and intestinal tumorigenesis in ApcMin/+ mice. METHODS: Mice were fed with either normal diet (ND) or HFD for 12 weeks. The number of intestinal tumors were counted and biomarkers of endotoxemia, oxidative stress, and inflammation were determined. Changes in intestinal integrity was measured by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran penetration and membrane gap junction protein expression. RESULTS: HFD group had significantly higher number of tumors compared to ND group (P < 0.05). Blood total antioxidant capacity was lower in HFD group, while colonic 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine level, a marker of oxidative damage, was higher in HFD group compared to that of ND group (P < 0.05). The penetration of FITC-dextran was substantially increased in HFD group (P < 0.05) while the expressions of membrane gap junction proteins including zonula occludens-1, claudin-1, and occludin were lower in HFD group (P < 0.05) compared to those in ND group. Serum concentration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) receptor (CD14) and colonic toll-like receptor 4 (a LPS receptor) mRNA expression were significantly higher in HFD group than in ND group (P < 0.05), suggesting that significant endotoxemia may occur in HFD group due to the increased membrane permeability. Serum interleukin-6 concentration and myeloperoxidase activity were also higher in HFD group compared to those of ND group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: HFD increases oxidative stress disrupting intestinal gap junction proteins, thereby accelerating membrane permeability endotoxemia, inflammation, and intestinal tumorigenesis.
Animals ; Biomarkers ; Carcinogenesis* ; Cell Membrane* ; Claudin-1 ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Connexins ; Diet ; Diet, High-Fat* ; Endotoxemia ; Fluorescein ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6 ; Intestinal Mucosa ; Membranes ; Mice ; Occludin ; Oxidative Stress ; Permeability ; Peroxidase ; RNA, Messenger ; Toll-Like Receptor 4

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma is a rare vascular neoplasm characterized by epithelioid tumor cells and borderline biologic behavior. We present a case of grade III malignant epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the skull and brain parenchyme in a 58-year-old female. The tumor consisted of loose aggregates of epithelioid cells with a focal small nest pattern and tumor cells displayed frequent intracytoplasmic vacuoles and contained areas with significant atypia and mitotic activity(more than 2/10 HPF). Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells showed positive staining for facor VIII-RGA and vimentin. Radiological and histopathologic characteristics of this tumor with a review of pertinent literature is presented.
Brain ; Epithelioid Cells ; Female ; Hemangioendothelioma, Epithelioid* ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Skull ; Vacuoles ; Vascular Neoplasms ; Vimentin

BACKGROUND: As a tumor marker, lactate dehydrogenase is widely used as a prognostic factor in malignant lymphomas and a therapeutic monitor in ovarian dysgerminoma. But in other tumors, the clinical role of lactate dehydrogenase is not clear yet. To investigate the role of LD as a tumor marker, we analyzed patients with various cancers and high LD level. METHODS: The serum LD level was assayed in the cancer patients who visited our hospital. For the patients with high LD level, isoenzyme was also assayed. The response of chemotherapy was classified according to the WHO criteria into remission, which covers complete and partial remission, stable disease and progressive disease. The relationship between the tumor response and the LD response was examined in terms of sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value. RESULTS: A total of 100 cancer patients were found to have high LD level; among them, 76 patients underwent chemotherapy. There were 38 patients with LD increased and 38 patients with LD decreased after chemotherapy. No patient was in remission, 6 patients in stable disease, and 32 patients in progressive disease among 38 patients with increased LD level; 18 patients in remission, 10 patients in stable disease, and 10 patients in progressive disease among 38 patients with decreased LD level. The sensitivity of LD increase in the patients with tumor progression is 76.2%, the specificity 73.7%, and the positive predictive value 84.2%(71.4%, 25.0% and 76.9% respectively in stomach cancer patients). The sensitivity of LD decrease in the responsive patients is 100%, the specificity 65.5% and the positive predictive value 47.4%.(100%, 64.7% and 14.3% in stomach cancer patients respectively). The LD isoenzyme pattern was not specific in this study. CONCLUSION: Serum LD measurement may be helpful in monitoring tumor response, especially for stomach cancer, after chemotherapy.
Drug Therapy ; Dysgerminoma ; Humans ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; Lactic Acid* ; Lymphoma ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stomach Neoplasms