Soft-tissue sarcomas account for 1% of all solid tumors. Of these, less than 15% will occur in the retroperitoneum. Late diagnosis and large tumor size make retroperitoneal sarcomas difficult to resect. Resection with wide margins in all directions is rarely possible owing to proximity to vital structures. Radiation therapy is limited in dosage and, as with chemotherapy, has only been successful in a limited number of cases. These problems result in a poor prognosis. A series of patients with retroperitoneal sarcoma was reviewed with a focus on issues of surgical management and prognostic factors. A retrospective analysis of 12 patients with retroperitoneal sarcomas who had undergone operations at the Department of Surgery, Inje University Paik Hospital, Seoul, from 1980 through 1996 was performed. The mean age of the 10 adult patients was 51 years; the male-to-female ratio was 2:1. Eighty-three percent of the patients presented with an abdominal mass. The mean diameter of the tumors was 18.3 cm. Leimyosarcomas(33%) and liposarcomas(25%) comprised the majority of the histologic types. The tumor grades were I, II, and III in 3 cases each. Resection of the tumor was possible in 75%(9/12) of the cases, although 17% of the resections were incomplete. Resection of adjacent organs was required in 66% of the cases. The resectability rose from 60% in 80s to 86% in 90s, with no statistical significance, possibly due to the small number of cases in this series. There was no postoperative morbidity or mortality. Actuarial 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates after resection were 75%, 60%, and 30%, respectively. Four of the 7(57%) patients who underwent complete resections had recurrence 3 to 33 months after surgery; this was notable for grade II or III tumors only. Two patients with grade I tumors are alive 65 and 102 months respectively after complete resection and show no evidence of the disease. One patient who underwent an incomplete resection of the tumor died 50 months after the operation. Only the tumor grade was a significant prognostic factor(p=0.0207). In conclusion, a wide en-bloc resection of a retroperitoneal sarcoma with a clear margin in all directions is a prerequisite for long-term survival. Aggressive follow-up for the first 3 years after a complete resection of a high-grade tumor is justified.
Adult ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mortality ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Sarcoma* ; Seoul ; Survival Rate

No abstract available.
Food Hypersensitivity* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E*

During the last few years, the concept of regulatory T (Treg) cells has received general attention by the scientific community. The activity of Tregs may be critical in the immune outcome to allergen and hence the development of allergic versus nonallergic responses. Two main groups of Treg cell, such as natural Treg cells and inducible Treg cells (Tr1 cells and Th3 cells) have been defined. The search of better Treg cell markers have been continued, and Foxp3, CD25, CD127, folate receptor 4, HLA-DR and CCR 6 could be used. Recent research reveals the cellular and molecular basis of Treg development and function. In allergic diseases, such as asthma, atopic dermatitis and food allergy, many evidences those Treg cells contribute to the control of disease have been showed. This review focuses on current concepts in Treg cell including development, characteristics, cell markers, and cellular and molecular research of Treg cells and Treg cells in allergic diseases. This may be important for advancing our understanding of allergic disease and possible therapeutic applications for the treatment of disease those are associated with a dysfunction in T cell regulation.
Asthma ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Folic Acid ; Food Hypersensitivity ; HLA-DR Antigens ; Hypersensitivity ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory

No abstract available.
Child* ; Endoscopy* ; Gastrointestinal Diseases* ; Humans

Food allergy is common and sometimes life threatening for Korean children. The current standard treatment of allergen avoidance and self-injectable epinephrine does not change the natural course of food allergy. Recently, oral, sublingual, and epicutaneous immunotherapies have been studied for their effectiveness against food allergy. While various rates of desensitization (36% to 100%) and tolerance (28% to 75%) have been induced by immunotherapies for food allergy, no single established protocol has been shown to be both effective and safe. In some studies, immunologic changes after immunotherapy for food allergy have been revealed. Adverse reactions to these immunotherapies have usually been localized, but severe systemic reactions have been observed in some cases. Although immunotherapy cannot be recommended for routine practice yet, results from recent studies demonstrate that immunotherapies are promising for the treatment of food allergy.
Child ; Epinephrine ; Food Hypersensitivity* ; Humans ; Immunotherapy* ; Sublingual Immunotherapy

No abstract available.
Breast Feeding* ; Food Hypersensitivity*