PURPOSE: RUNX3, a novel tumor suppressor, is frequently inactivated in gastric cancer. In the present study, we examined the pattern of RUNX3 expression in gastric cancer cells from gastric cancer specimens and the impact of its alteration on clinical outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 124 samples of both gastric cancer and normal tissue were obtained from 124 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy at the Seoul Medical Center from January 2001 to December 2005. RUNX3 expression was determined by immunohistochemical staining, and the results were analyzed. Statistical analysis wabased on clinicopathological findings and differences in survival rates. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 61 years, and the male:female ratio was 1.9:1. The expression rate of RUNX3 was 59.7% (74/124). The expression rate was higher in differentiated gastric cancers (nucleus: 9.1%, cytoplasm: 57.6%) than in the undifferentiated types (nucleus: 5.2%, cytoplasm: 46.6%) (P=0.133). The 5-year survival rates according to RUNX3 expression determined from cancer tissue were 88.9% for the nucleus +/- cytoplasm(+) group of patients, 76.1% for the cytoplasm only (+) group of patients, and 65.3% for the RUNX3 negative expression group of patients (P=0.626). Only UICC TNM staging showed statistical significance related to the survival rate, as determined by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: The RUNX3 expression rate was higher in differentiated gastric cancer than in the undifferentiated types without significance. Although RUNX3 expression predicted better survival, based on multivariate analysis, the finding was not statistically significant. More cases should be further evaluated.
Cytoplasm ; Gastrectomy ; Humans* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Seoul ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate

Ascaris suum eggs are inactivated by composting conditions; however, it is difficult to find functional changes in heat-treated A. suum eggs. Here, unembryonated A. suum eggs were incubated at 20degrees C, 50degrees C, and 70degrees C in vitro, and the gene expression levels related to viability, such as eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (IF4E), phosphofructokinase 1 (PFK1), and thioredoxin 1 (TRX1), and to apoptosis, such as apoptosis-inducing factor 1 (AIF1) and cell death protein 6 (CDP6), were evaluated by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. No prominent morphological alterations were noted in the eggs at 20degrees C until day 10. In contrast, the eggs developed rapidly, and embryonated eggs and hatched larvae began to die, starting on day 2 at 50degrees C and day 1 at 70degrees C. At 20degrees C, IF4E, PFK1, and TRX1 mRNA expression was significantly increased from days 2-4; however, AIF1 and CDP6 mRNA expression was not changed significantly. IF4E, PFK1, and TRX1 mRNA expression was markedly decreased from day 2 at 50degrees C and 70degrees C, whereas AIF1 and CDP6 mRNA expression was significantly increased. The expressions of HSP70 and HSP90 were detected for 9-10 days at 20degrees C, for 3-5 days at 50degrees C, and for 2 days at 70degrees C. Taken together, incremental heat increases were associated with the rapid development of A. suum eggs, decreased expression of genes related to viability, and earlier expression of apoptosis-related genes, and finally these changes of viability- and apoptosis-related genes of A. suum eggs were associated with survival of the eggs under temperature stress.
Animals ; *Apoptosis ; Ascaris suum/*genetics/*radiation effects ; Cell Survival/radiation effects ; Eggs/radiation effects ; Female ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation/*radiation effects ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Survival Analysis ; Temperature

PURPOSE: There have been many different kinds of operations for obstructing left colon (distal to splenic flexure) cancer and rectal cancer because immediate resection and anastomosis was known to cause many complications. We performed this study to analyse operative cases and evaluate which procedure had the better result. METHODS: Thirty-six cases of left colon cancer and rectal cancer with complete obstruction were analysed from April 1990 to January 2001 and those cases were divided into two groups, the group of staged procedure and the group of primary resection. 28 cases were curative operations and 8 cases were palliative operations. RESULTS: The group of staged procedures had 17 cases of curative operations with 1st. stage-colostomy and 2nd. stage-cancer resection. And the group of primary resection had 11 cases of curative operations, 6 cases of Hartmann's procedures, 2 cases with intraoperative colonic lavage and resection and 3 cases with cancer resection, anastomosis and proximal colostomy. There were no differences in the distribution of age and cancer stage between two groups. In both groups, the sigmoid colon was the most prevalent obstruction site. The staged procedure group had higher operative mortality (25%) than the primary resection group (8%). And 5-year survival rate of the primary resection group was higher than that of the staged procedure group (45%: 33%), but there was no statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: We think that the primary resection is the better surgical procedure because of shorter hospital stay and fewer operations in the treatment of obstructing left colon and rectal cancer.
Colon* ; Colon, Sigmoid ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Colostomy ; Length of Stay ; Mortality ; Rectal Neoplasms ; Rectum* ; Survival Rate ; Therapeutic Irrigation

The rare cause of lower gastrointestinal bleeding is angiodysplasia. Angiolysplasia is most common in the right colon, but it can be found throughout the whole gastrointestinal tract. The main lesion of angiodysplasia is located at the submucosal layer. So, it is sometimes very difficult to search for the focus of bleeding via laparotomy or colonoscopy. We recently experienced a case of rectal arteriovenous malformation that was misdiagnosed as intussusception. A 57-year-old man visited the emergency room because of abrupt anal bleeding and low abdominal pain, and this was the third episode he'd experienced during the past 20 years. Sigmoidoscopy and abdominal CT revealed that his rectum was obstructed with a dark black colotuberant mass, which was suggestive of ischemic intussusception. We performed emergency laparotomy and we found an extremely swollen rectum with surrounding hematoma instead of intussusception. We performed low anterior resection and colo-anal anastomosis with ileostomy. The final pathologic diagnosis showed that the protuberant mass was a hematoma in the submucosal layer, and this developed by bleeding from an arteriovenous malformation in the rectum.
Abdominal Pain ; Angiodysplasia ; Arteriovenous Malformations ; Colon ; Colonoscopy ; Emergencies ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hematoma ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Ileostomy ; Intussusception ; Laparotomy ; Middle Aged ; Rectum ; Sigmoidoscopy

Osteoporosis is a medical condition of global concern, with increasing incidence in both sexes. Bone mineral density (BMD), a highly heritable trait, has been proven a useful diagnostic factor in predicting fracture. Because medical information is lacking about male osteoporotic genetics, we conducted a genome-wide association study of BMD in Korean men. With 1,176 participants, we analyzed 4,414,664 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) after genomic imputation, and identified five SNPs and three loci correlated with bone density and strength. Multivariate linear regression models were applied to adjust for age and body mass index interference. Rs17124500 (p = 6.42 × 10⁻⁷), rs34594869 (p = 6.53 × 10⁻⁷) and rs17124504 (p = 6.53 × 10⁻⁷) in 14q31.3 and rs140155614 (p = 8.64 × 10⁻⁷) in 15q25.1 were significantly associated with lumbar spine BMD (LS-BMD), while rs111822233 (p = 6.35 × 10⁻⁷) was linked with the femur total BMD (FT-BMD). Additionally, we analyzed the relationship between BMD and five genes previously identified in Korean men. Rs61382873 (p = 0.0009) in LRP5, rs9567003 (p = 0.0033) in TNFSF11 and rs9935828 (p = 0.0248) in FOXL1 were observed for LS-BMD. Furthermore, rs33997547 (p = 0.0057) in ZBTB and rs1664496 (p = 0.0012) in MEF2C were found to influence FT-BMD and rs61769193 (p = 0.0114) in ZBTB to influence femur neck BMD. We identified five SNPs and three genomic regions, associated with BMD. The significance of our results lies in the discovery of new loci, while also affirming a previously significant locus, as potential osteoporotic factors in the Korean male population.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Body Mass Index ; Bone Density* ; Femur ; Femur Neck ; Genetics ; Genome-Wide Association Study* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Linear Models ; Male ; Osteoporosis ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Spine