Most of the breast cancer revealed mass and/or microcalcifications on mammography. We analyzed morphologic characteristics of the masses and microcalcifications on mammography which confirmed as breast cancer pathologically. Of all 54 cases, 4 patients (7%) showed microcalcification only, 27 patients (50%), mass only, and the other 23 patients (43%), both microcalcification and mass on the mammography. The margin of the breast mass were ill-defined in 37 cases, well-defined in 8 cases, and well-defined with surrounding infiltration in 5 cases. The morphologic characteristics of the microcalcification were punctate-linear-V shape in 11 patients, punctate-linear shape in 9 patients, and punctate shape in 7 patients.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Humans ; Mammography

We retrospectively reviewed magnetic resonance image findings of primary CNS lymphomas in six patients. All patients showed parenchymal masses (n=8), a solitary mass in 4 and multiple in the other two. One patients showed leptomeningeal lesion. Parenchymal masses were located in forntal lobe (n=4), cerebellum (n=2), basal ganglia (n=1), and parietal lobe (n=1), These masses showed hypointensity on T1-weighted images (WI). On T2 WI, the signal intensity of mass was isointense to the brain parenchyma in 5 and hyperintese in 3. After Gadlinium-DTPA injection, seven lesions were enhanced homogeneously, and the margin of the mass was smooth in 5 and irregular in 3. Peritumoral edema was moderate in 4, absent in 3, and severi in 1. These characteristics may be useful in the diagnosis of primary CNS lymphoma.
Basal Ganglia ; Brain ; Cerebellum ; Diagnosis ; Edema ; Humans ; Lymphoma* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Parietal Lobe ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: To evaluate the morphological differences between malignant and inflammatory lesions that arise from the cecal or pericecal region on CT by analyzing not only the mass itself but also the changes of surrounding structures. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We reviewed CT scans of 38 cases of cecal lesions confirmed by pathology(16 malignant lesions and 22 inflammatory lesions). The analytical points were :the changes of bowel wall mass, the changes of surrounding structures, strands of retroperitoneal fat, pericecal fluid collection, and regional lymphadenopathy. RESULTS: The malignant bowel wall thickening(18.0mm) was thicker than inflammatory one(ll.4mm)(p < 0.001). Concentric bowel wall thickening was seen in 87.5%(14/16) of malignant lesions and 36%(8/22) of the inflammatory lesions. The pericecal fat stranding was circumferential in 84%(16/22) of inflammation and eccentric in 64%(916) of malignancy(p < 0.01). Pericolic fat infiltration was more extensive in inflammatory lesions(p < 0.005). The strands of retroperitoneal fat were more frequently found in inflammatory lesions(p < 0.05). The pericecal fluid collection was seen in 55%(12/22) of inflammatory lesions and none of malignant lesions. There was no difference in the presence of pericecal lymphadenopathy between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Malignant cecal masses have thicker and concentric bowel wall thickening, and narrower and eccentric pericolic fat infiltration. On the other hand, inflammatory masses have relatively thinner and eccentric bowel wall thickening, and more extensive and circumferential pericolic fat infiltration sometimes accompanied by abnormal fluid collection.
Cecum* ; Hand ; Inflammation ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

This study was carried out to evaluate the relations between sociodemographic work-related factors and health related behaviors in a group of 1,042 workers in Taejeon and Chungnam area. The results were as followings: The older workers took more irregularly meals more cigarette and more alcohol than the younger. Men had more appropriate sleeping time, more regular exercise than women, but more frequent alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking. The married had more regular sleeping habit than the unmarried. The group of married were smoking more and obese. In view of monthly income which represent the socioeconomic state of workers, the group of more than 1 million won had more frequent alcohol ingestion, more heavier body weight than another group of less than 1 million won workers having their work hours exceed 9 hours had inappropriate sleep duration, and shift workers took more irregularly meals. The group having poor self-rated health status showed more regular diet, exercise and overweight. Workers recently experienced chronic illness were more overweight and lesser smokers. Above results showed that the health related behaviors were related to the sociodemographic characteristics and occupation-related characteristics. The study for relationship between variant factors affecting health behavior and disease or mortality is need and it should be emphasized that the publicity and education of health related behavior for industrial workers is necessary.
Alcohol Drinking ; Body Weight ; Chronic Disease ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Daejeon ; Diet ; Eating ; Education ; Female ; Health Behavior* ; Humans ; Male ; Meals ; Mortality ; Overweight ; Single Person ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Tobacco Products

The aim of this paper is to estimate the nationwide incidence rate of lung cancer in Korea. The potential incident cases were identified by hospital visiting and mailing, based on the ICD-9 diagnostic codes on the claims as one of the following: ICD-9 162-165 (malignant neoplasms of the respiratory system), 212 (benign neoplasm), 231 (carcinoma in situ), 511 (pleurisy), or 195-199 (malignant neoplasms with uncoded sites) in beneficiaries data of the Korea Medical Insurance Corporation from January, 1988 to December, 1989. Thereafter, the identified cases were confirmed by an oncologist (Dr. DS Heo). When adjusted with age distribution of the Korean population based on the 1985 Population Census, the incidence rate was 22.3 per 100,000 in males (95% CI: 21.70-23.01) and 8.37 (95% CI: 7.97-8.78) in females in 1989. And the age-adjusted rate for the world population was 39.63 in males and 9.95 in females.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Comparative Study ; Female ; Human ; Incidence ; Korea/epidemiology ; Lung Neoplasms/*epidemiology/pathology ; Male ; Middle Age ; Sex Factors

We retrospectively analyzed the prognostic factors on overall survival (OS) in patients with brain metastasis (BM) and evaluated the role of combined primary tumor and extracranial metastasis (ECM) status as a constituent factor for prognostic index. This study involved 897 patients with BMs who underwent radiotherapy between April 2003 and December 2009. Among the clinical parameters, multivariate analysis showed that age, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), combined primary tumor and ECM status, number of BMs, and treatment group were significant prognostic factors for OS (P < 0.05). To compare the discriminatory ability of 5 prognostic indices, i.e., recursive partitioning analysis (RPA), basic score for BMs (BSBM), score index for radiosurgery (SIR), graded prognostic assessment (GPA), and modified GPA including the combined primary tumor and ECM status (mGPA), the Akaike information criteria (AIC) were calculated. The mGPA showed the lowest AIC value, followed by RPA, GPA, SIR, and BSBM, in that order. It is implicated that modified score of pre-existing factors (i.e., age and KPS) and addition of the combined primary tumor and ECM status to the prognostic index can improve its discriminatory ability and the combined primary tumor and ECM status may be useful as one of constituent factors for prognostic index.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Brain Neoplasms/*mortality/radiotherapy/secondary ; Breast Neoplasms/pathology ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Karnofsky Performance Status ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND: Despite the clinical clues of bronchial asthma, some chronic coughers fail to be diagnosed due to negative test results. This study was aimed at evaluating the diagnostic performance of routine objective tests and identifying a cost-effective approach for asthmatics with a chronic cough. METHODS: Patients with a chronic cough of more than 3 weeks duration, and showing normal chest radiograph and spirometry were enrolled. On the first visit, objective tests, composed of serum total IgE, peripheral blood eosinophil count, spontaneous sputum eosinophil count, methacholine bronchial provocation test (MBPT) and paranasal sinus radiograph, were performed, with the simultaneous administration of oral prednisolone (0.5mg/kg) for one week. The final diagnoses were made on the basis of the test results, and the patients grouped according to their steroid responsiveness. The role of the etiologic diagnosis tests was evaluated, and the medical costs of the final management plan simulated with respect to three assumed models. RESULTS: Sixty chronic coughers were finally analyzed. The final diagnoses were as follows: bronchial asthma 21.7%, eosinophilic bronchitis 6.7%, paranasal sinusitis 18.3%, presumptive allergy 8.3% and non-diagnostic case 45.0%. Ninety percent were steroid responder. With the bronchial asthma cases, the positive rate of MBPT was 38.5%, with sputum eosinophil count in 84.6%, serum total IgE in 38.5%, and a peripheral blood eosinophil count rate of 30.8%. When the test results and steroid responsiveness data were applied to the 3 models, the chest radiograph, spirometry, sputum eosinophil count and paranasal sinus radiograph test results, and simultaneous short term steroid treatment seemed to have acceptable diagnostic performances, which could be used as a further guide to cost-effective planning. Conclusion:Objective tests, composed of chest radiograph, spirometry, paranasal sinus radiograph and sputum eosinophil count, with simultaneous short term steroid treatment, are suggested as cost-effective approaches for asthmatics with a chronic cough.
Asthma ; Bronchial Provocation Tests ; Bronchitis ; Cough* ; Diagnosis ; Eosinophils ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunoglobulin E ; Methacholine Chloride ; Prednisolone ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Sinusitis ; Spirometry ; Sputum

BACKGROUND: Cough may be a consequence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness or inflammation. Empirical treatment is important in this context because it difficult to verify the obvious cause of cough using laboratory tests, Corticosteroid has a nonspecific anti-inflammatory effect, and can be used for cough management. However, its response rate has not yet been fully elucidated. This study investigated the short-term effects of inhaled corticosteroid on chronic cough METHODS: Patients with chronic cough with a normal chest radiograph and a pulmonary function test were enrolled. Cases with a prior respiratory infection within 8 weeks, a history of bronchial asthma, objective wheezing on examination, subjective symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux or taking an ACE inhibitor were excluded. On the first visit, a methacholine bronchial provocation test, spontaneous sputum eosinophil count performed twice and a paranasal sinus radiograph were checked, and the patients were treated with budesonide turbuhaler 800 microgram/day for ten days. The primary outcome measure was a decrease in the cough score after treatment. RESULTS: Sixty nine chronic coughers were finally analyzed. The final diagnoses by the routine tests were as follows: bronchial asthma 13.0%, eosinophilic bronchitis 18.8%, paranasal sinusitis 23.2% and non-diagnostic cases 53.6%. The following responses to the inhaled corticosteroid were observed: definite responders, 76.8%, possible responders, 2.9% and non-responders, 20.3%. The response rate was not affected by the final diagnosis even in the non-diagnostic cases. There were minimal adverse drug related effects during the empirical treatment. CONCLUSION: Routine objective tests such as methacholine provocation, sputum eosinophil count and simple radiographs were notare not suitable for diagnosing chronic cough Therefore, empirical treatment is important. Short term inhaled corticosteroid is effective and can guide a further treatment plan for chronic cough.
Asthma ; Bronchial Provocation Tests ; Bronchitis ; Budesonide ; Cough* ; Diagnosis ; Eosinophils ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Methacholine Chloride ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Respiratory Sounds ; Sinusitis ; Sputum

PURPOSE: Since the revised Cancer Act of October 2006, cancer registration was reactivated, based on the Statistics Law. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The incidence of cancer during 2002 was calculated on the basis of the information available from the National Cancer Incidence Database. Crude and age-standardized rates were calculated by gender for 18 age groups (0~4, 5~9, 10~14, every five years, 85 years and over). RESULTS: The overall crude incidence rates (CRs) were 269.2 and 212.8 per 100,000 for males and females, and the overall age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) were 287.8 and 172.9 per 100,000, respectively. Among males, the five leading primary cancer sites were stomach (CR 62.4, ASR 65.7), lung (CR 45.4, ASR 51.0), liver (CR 43.2, ASR 43.7), colon and rectum (CR 30.7, ASR 32.7), and prostate (CR 8.0, ASR 9.6). Among females, the most common cancer sites were breast (CR 33.1, ASR 26.9), followed by stomach (CR 32.8, ASR 26.0), colon and rectum (CR 23.1, ASR 18.5), thyroid (CR 19.1, ASR 15.7), and uterine cervix (CR 18.2, ASR 14.7). In the 0~14 age group, leukemia was the most common cancer for both genders. For males, stomach cancer was the most common cancer in the 15~64 age-group, but lung cancer was more frequent in men 65 or older. For females, thyroid cancer among the 15~34 age-group, breast cancer among 35~64 age-group and stomach cancer in women 65 years or older were the most common forms of cancer for each age group. The quality indices for the percentage of deaths, by death certificate only, were 4.7% for males and 4.5% for females. CONCLUSIONS: Since the National Cancer Incidence Database was started, the annual percent change of cancer cases increased by 4.8% (4.1% for males, 5.7% for females) during 1999~2002. This value reflects the increase in prostate cancer for males and breast and thyroid cancer in females during 2002. The timely reporting of improved quality of cancer registration is needed for evidence-based decisions regarding cancer control in Korea.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Cervix Uteri ; Colon ; Death Certificates ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Jurisprudence ; Korea* ; Leukemia ; Liver ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Male ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Rectum ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms

PURPOSE: To estimate the current cancer burden in Korea, newly diagnosed cancer cases and cancer incidence rates were calculated for the years 2003~2005. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cancer incidence cases and rates were calculated from the Korea National Cancer Incidence Database. Crude and age-standardized incidence rates were calculated by gender for specified cancer sites in 5-year age groups. RESULTS: From 2003 to 2005, 398,824 cases of cancer were newly diagnosed in Korea (218,856 in men and 179,968 in women). For all sites combined, the crude incidence rate (CR) was 300.0 and 248.2 for men and women and the age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) was 297.0 and 191.2 per 100,000, respectively. Among men, five leading cancers were stomach (CR 66.0, ASR 64.2), lung (CR 48.5, ASR 50.3), liver (CR 44.9, ASR 42.1), colon and rectum (CR 37.9, ASR 37.2), and prostate cancer (CR 12.7, ASR 13.8). Among women, five leading cancers were breast (CR 37.3, ASR 29.0), thyroid (CR 36.2, ASR 28.8), stomach (CR 34.1, ASR 25.4), colon and rectum (CR 28.0, ASR 21.1), and lung cancer (CR 17.9, ASR 12.8). In the 0~14-year-old group, leukemia was the most common in both sexes; in the 15~34 group, the most common cancer was stomach cancer for men and thyroid cancer for women; in the 35~64 group, stomach cancer for men and breast cancer for women; among those 65 and over, lung cancer for men and stomach cancer, for women, respectively. CONCLUSION: The cancer incidence rates have increased in recent years, and more cancers are expected to develop as Korea is quickly becoming an aged society. The cancer incidence statistics in this report can be used as an important source to effectively plan and evaluate the cancer control program in Korea.
Aged ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Colon ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Leukemia ; Liver ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Rectum ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms