In the 2023 series, we summarized the major clinical research advances in gynecologic oncology based on communications at the conference of Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology Review Course. The review consisted of 1) Endometrial cancer: immune checkpoint inhibitor, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), selective inhibitor of nuclear export, CDK4/6 inhibitors WEE1 inhibitor, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. 2) Cervical cancer: surgery in low-risk early-stage cervical cancer, therapy for locally advanced stage and advanced, metastatic, or recurrent setting; and 3) Ovarian cancer: immunotherapy, triplet therapies using immune checkpoint inhibitors along with antiangiogenic agents and PARP inhibitors, and ADCs. In 2023, the field of endometrial cancer treatment witnessed a landmark year, marked by several practice-changing outcomes with immune checkpoint inhibitors and the reliable efficacy of PARP inhibitors and ADCs.

In the 2023 series, we summarized the major clinical research advances in gynecologic oncology based on communications at the conference of Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology Review Course. The review consisted of 1) Endometrial cancer: immune checkpoint inhibitor, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), selective inhibitor of nuclear export, CDK4/6 inhibitors WEE1 inhibitor, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. 2) Cervical cancer: surgery in low-risk early-stage cervical cancer, therapy for locally advanced stage and advanced, metastatic, or recurrent setting; and 3) Ovarian cancer: immunotherapy, triplet therapies using immune checkpoint inhibitors along with antiangiogenic agents and PARP inhibitors, and ADCs. In 2023, the field of endometrial cancer treatment witnessed a landmark year, marked by several practice-changing outcomes with immune checkpoint inhibitors and the reliable efficacy of PARP inhibitors and ADCs.

In the 2023 series, we summarized the major clinical research advances in gynecologic oncology based on communications at the conference of Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology Review Course. The review consisted of 1) Endometrial cancer: immune checkpoint inhibitor, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), selective inhibitor of nuclear export, CDK4/6 inhibitors WEE1 inhibitor, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. 2) Cervical cancer: surgery in low-risk early-stage cervical cancer, therapy for locally advanced stage and advanced, metastatic, or recurrent setting; and 3) Ovarian cancer: immunotherapy, triplet therapies using immune checkpoint inhibitors along with antiangiogenic agents and PARP inhibitors, and ADCs. In 2023, the field of endometrial cancer treatment witnessed a landmark year, marked by several practice-changing outcomes with immune checkpoint inhibitors and the reliable efficacy of PARP inhibitors and ADCs.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the changes in stress, occupational stress, and subjective health problems of novice female nurses within the first 18 months of work. Methods: This was a longitudinal study conducted with a secondary data analysis based on the Shift Work Nurse’s Health and Turnover (SWNHT) study. The participants were 178 female novice nurses who participated in all 3 data collection activities (on the first day of orientation before ward placement [T0], 6 months after work [T1], and 18 months after work [T2]). The stress, occupational stress, 8 subjective health problems (upper musculoskeletal pain, leg/foot discomfort, depression, anxiety or emotional disorder, sleep disturbance, headache, gastrointestinal disorder, menstrual disorder, and others), and the greatest health problem during the study period were measured, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 to obtain descriptive statistics. Results: The subjective health of novice female nurses were found to be poor at T1 compared to T0 on both physical (upper musculoskeletal pain, leg/foot discomfort, and sleep disturbance) and psychological health problems (depression and stress). However, the psychological health problems of the participants were alleviated at T2 whereas; physical health problems persisted until T2. Conclusion Novice nurses had poor health problems 6 months after work. Sleep disturbance and musculoskeletal pain persisted although other health problems such as depression and stress were alleviated over the period. Strategies to prevent and manage different health problems of novice female nurses at different work duration are urgently needed.

Objective: Early detection and proper management of mental illness can help to prevent severe deterioration. However, with limited financial and human resources of community mental health services, it is not practical to carry out all conventional screening tools simultaneously. In this study, we aimed to develop and validate a brief but comprehensive screening questionnaire for four common mental illnesses of the elderly. Methods: The brief screening for four mental illnesses of elderly (BS4MI-elderly) is a 14-item binary response questionnaire that covers dementia, depressive disorder, sleep disorder, and hwa-byung. To test validity, we compared conventional scale scores for three groups of participants classified using the BS4MI-elderly. The sensitivity, specificity, predictive value of positive test, likelihood ratio of positive test and internal consistency of the BS4MI-elderly were assessed. Finally, a correlation analysis between the BS4MI-elderly and general mental health scales was conducted. Results: A total of 254 participants aged over 65 years were recruited. The BS4MI-elderly showed moderate to high sensitivity for the test that distinguishes the normal group from the risk and disorder groups (dementia: 0.61, depressive disorder: 0.88, sleep disorder: 0.85, hwa-byung: 0.94) and high specificity for the test that distinguishes the disorder group from the normal and risk groups (dementia: 0.91, depressive disorder: 0.93, hwa-byung: 0.84, sleep disorder: 0.84). The BS4MI-elderly also exhibited good internal consistency and significant correlations with general mental health scales. Conclusion The BS4MI-elderly, a brief but comprehensive screening tool, could be a useful instrument for screening the elderly in community mental health services.

Aged ; Depression ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Longitudinal Studies ; Odds Ratio ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Weights and Measures

PURPOSE: A limited number of studies have examined the link between F-wave abnormalities and clinical presentation in pediatric Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Therefore, this study examined the importance of F-wave abnormalities as a prognostic factor in pediatric GBS patients. METHODS: The records and electrodiagnostic studies (EDS) of 70 GBS patients were retrospectively evaluated, and divided into 2 groups according to the results of EDS. Group A (n=33) presented with F-wave abnormalities, and group B (n=26) exhibited normal findings. We compared laboratory reports, clinical features, response to treatment, and prognosis between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Motor weakness was the most frequently observed symptom for either group. Clinically, the incidence of fever and upper respiratory symptoms differed between the 2 groups, while the prevalence of abnormal deep tendon reflex (DTR) was significantly higher in group A than B (P<0.05). Patients diagnosed with GBS had received intravenous immunoglobulin treatment: 94% in group A and 58% in group B. Furthermore, significantly greater numbers of patients in group A showed H-reflex abnormalities and poor prognosis compared with group B (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that F-waves are a clinically important prognostic factor in GBS. F-wave abnormalities were associated with abnormal DTR and poor prognosis in patients. Limited studies have examined the link between F-wave abnormalities and clinical results; therefore, further randomized controlled studies are needed to confirm the clinical characteristics and efficacy of treatments.
Child* ; Fever ; Guillain-Barre Syndrome* ; H-Reflex ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Incidence ; Prevalence ; Prognosis ; Reflex, Abnormal ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVES: The present study evaluated the effects of job stress, including organisational system to self-rated depression through a panel study of male municipal firefighters in the Republic of Korea. METHODS: A panel of 186 municipal firefighters reported self-rated depressive symptoms according to the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The effects of job stress were evaluated using the Korea Occupational Stress Scale, taken one year earlier and classified by the median value. Panel members were classified into Depression or Control groups according to BDI scores, with a cut-off level of \'over mild depression' in a follow-up survey. RESULTS: The Depression group included 17 (9.1%) workers. Firefighters who scored high on occupational system had an 8.3 times greater risk of being assigned to the Depression group than those who had not (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 8.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [1.73-37.22]). In contrast, job stress from a \'difficult physical environment' revealed negative risks related to being classified in the Depression group (AOR = 0.20, 95% CI = [0.04-0.92]). CONCLUSIONS: Although the healthy worker effect may be involved, job stress based on perceptions of organisational system was a strong risk factor for depression. A comprehensive approach should be considered that encompasses social issues when assessing or mental health in high-risk groups, as well as the practical issue of physiochemical hazards.
Depression* ; Firefighters* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Healthy Worker Effect ; Humans ; Korea ; Male* ; Mental Health ; Odds Ratio ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded small non-coding RNAs (EBERs) are abundantly expressed in various EBV-associated malignancies, and play critical roles in cell proliferation, tumorigenesis, and apoptosis resistance. However, the mechanism how EBERs regulate cell function awaits further clarification. In this study, we investigated the effect of EBERs on the expression of cellular microRNA (miRNA) and mRNA expression. To test the effect of EBERs while unaffected by other EBV genes, we used EBERs-deleted recombinant EBV infected Burkitt's lymphoma cell line (Akata(+)EBERs(-)) as well as EBV-infected (Akata(+)) and EBV uninfected (Akata(-)) cell lines. They all have the same genetic backgrounds. First, 15 different cellular miRNAs which have reverse complementary sequences to EBERs and have reported targets were selected by bioinformatics analysis. When RT-PCR was carried out for the 16 miRNAs using RNAs from Akata(+), Akata(-), and Akata(+)EBERs(-) cells, hsa-miR-7-5p was the only one showing down-regulated expression in Akata(+) than in Akata(-) and Akata(+)EBERs(-) cells. Bioinformatics and mRNA microarray analyses for Akata(+), Akata(-), and Akata(+)EBERs(-) cell lines were then carried out to predict putative targets of hsa-miR-7-5p. Among the 6 predicted targets of hsa-miR-7-5p, only low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6) was up-regulated in EBERs-expressing cells when tested by RT-PCR and Western blot. However, luciferase reporter assay showed that the 3'-UTR of LRP6 was not directly targeted by hsa-miR-7-5p. Our data suggest that both hsa-miR-7-5p and LRP6 are regulated by EBERs in Akata cells, and these genes may partly mediate the tumorigenic function of EBERs in Burkitt's lymphoma.
Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Burkitt Lymphoma* ; Carcinogenesis ; Cell Line* ; Cell Proliferation ; Computational Biology ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein-6 ; Luciferases ; MicroRNAs ; RNA* ; RNA, Messenger ; RNA, Small Untranslated

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine clinical characteristics of Korean rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with clinically indications for TNF-alpha blocker, and to compare their clinical parameters with the Korean National Health Insurance reimbursement criteria. METHODS: Data were obtained from a registry of RA patients who visited rheumatology clinics of Hallym University affiliated hospitals. Among patients who were previously prescribed DMARDs for more than three months, rheumatologists selected patients clinically indicated for TNF-alpha blocker. The clinical characteristics at the time TNF-alpha blocker use was deemed indicated were examined. Radiographic damage was quantified by Modified Sharp van der Heijde score in hand and foot simple AP radiograph. RESULTS: From August 2010 to January 2013, five rheumatologists in four hospitals selected 109 patients clinically indicated for TNF-alpha blocker. When TNF-alpha blocker was considered, mean DAS28 was 5.2 (range 2.1~8.05), mean swollen joint count was 6 (range 0~22), mean tender joint count was 10.6 (range 0~28), mean ESR was 43.2 mm/hr (range 1~140) and mean CRP was 2.5 mg/dL (range 0.1~18.3). The mean total modified Sharp van der Heijde score was 32.72 (range 0~240). Eighty one percent of subjects did not have enough active joints to satisfy the Korean National Health Insurance reimbursement standard. CONCLUSION: Our results show that patients with clinically indications for TNF-alpha blocker had a broad range of disease activity and clinical parameters, and the majority did not meet the Korean National Health Insurance reimbursement criteria.
Antirheumatic Agents ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Foot ; Hand ; Humans ; Joints ; National Health Programs ; Rheumatology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha*