Objective To compare the long-term prognosis differences between surgical radical resection and endoscopic resection for early gastric cancer patients based on the SEER database. Methods A total of 1 437 patients with stage Tis to T_1b gastric adenocarcinoma were selected from the SEER database from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2013. They were divided into a surgery group (n=1 257) and an endoscope group (n=180) according to the treatment method. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and Cox regression model were used to analyze survival outcomes. Results The patients in the surgery group were younger than those in the endoscope group ([67.63±12.97] years old vs [71.29±10.82] years old), with higher rates of T₁ stage (97.45% vs 87.78%) and lymph node metastasis (19.73% vs 5.00%, all P＜0.001). The median follow-up time for all patients was 37 (15, 66) months, and the mortality rate of gastric cancer in the endoscope group was lower than that in the surgery group (23.33% vs 27.13%, P＜0.001). Univariate Cox analysis showed that treatment modality, age, sex, T stage, lymph node metastasis were all associated with early gastric cancer mortality (all P＜0.05), and the risk of death in the endoscope group was 43% of that in the surgery group (HR=0.43, P=0.015). After adjusting for multiple factors, there was no statistically significant difference in mortality risk between the two groups (P=0.067), but after excluding lymph node positive patients, the mortality risk in the endoscope group was 46% of that in the surgery group (HR=0.46, P=0.048). Conclusions For early gastric cancer patients with negative lymph nodes, endoscopic resection may provide better survival benefits than surgical procedures, suggesting that it can be the preferred treatment strategy for patients with low risk of lymph node metastasis.

Background and Objectives: The Fractional Flow Reserve and Intravascular UltrasoundGuided Intervention Strategy for Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Intermediate Stenosis (FLAVOUR) trial demonstrated non-inferiority of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided PCI. We sought to investigate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided PCI compared to IVUS-guided PCI in Korea. Methods: A 2-part cost-effectiveness model, composed of a short-term decision tree model and a long-term Markov model, was developed for patients who underwent PCI to treat intermediate stenosis (40% to 70% stenosis by visual estimation on coronary angiography).The lifetime healthcare costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated from the healthcare system perspective. Transition probabilities were mainly referred from the FLAVOUR trial, and healthcare costs were mainly obtained through analysis of Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Health utilities were mainly obtained from the Seattle Angina Questionnaire responses of FLAVOUR trial participants mapped to EQ-5D. Results: From the Korean healthcare system perspective, the base-case analysis showed that FFR-guided PCI was 2,451 U.S. dollar lower in lifetime healthcare costs and 0.178 higher in QALYs compared to IVUS-guided PCI. FFR-guided PCI remained more likely to be cost-effective over a wide range of willingness-to-pay thresholds in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Conclusions Based on the results from the FLAVOUR trial, FFR-guided PCI is projected to decrease lifetime healthcare costs and increase QALYs compared with IVUS-guided PCI in intermediate coronary lesion, and it is a dominant strategy in Korea.

Background and Objectives: The Fractional Flow Reserve and Intravascular UltrasoundGuided Intervention Strategy for Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Intermediate Stenosis (FLAVOUR) trial demonstrated non-inferiority of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided PCI. We sought to investigate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided PCI compared to IVUS-guided PCI in Korea. Methods: A 2-part cost-effectiveness model, composed of a short-term decision tree model and a long-term Markov model, was developed for patients who underwent PCI to treat intermediate stenosis (40% to 70% stenosis by visual estimation on coronary angiography).The lifetime healthcare costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated from the healthcare system perspective. Transition probabilities were mainly referred from the FLAVOUR trial, and healthcare costs were mainly obtained through analysis of Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Health utilities were mainly obtained from the Seattle Angina Questionnaire responses of FLAVOUR trial participants mapped to EQ-5D. Results: From the Korean healthcare system perspective, the base-case analysis showed that FFR-guided PCI was 2,451 U.S. dollar lower in lifetime healthcare costs and 0.178 higher in QALYs compared to IVUS-guided PCI. FFR-guided PCI remained more likely to be cost-effective over a wide range of willingness-to-pay thresholds in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Conclusions Based on the results from the FLAVOUR trial, FFR-guided PCI is projected to decrease lifetime healthcare costs and increase QALYs compared with IVUS-guided PCI in intermediate coronary lesion, and it is a dominant strategy in Korea.

Background and Objectives: The Fractional Flow Reserve and Intravascular UltrasoundGuided Intervention Strategy for Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Intermediate Stenosis (FLAVOUR) trial demonstrated non-inferiority of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided PCI. We sought to investigate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided PCI compared to IVUS-guided PCI in Korea. Methods: A 2-part cost-effectiveness model, composed of a short-term decision tree model and a long-term Markov model, was developed for patients who underwent PCI to treat intermediate stenosis (40% to 70% stenosis by visual estimation on coronary angiography).The lifetime healthcare costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated from the healthcare system perspective. Transition probabilities were mainly referred from the FLAVOUR trial, and healthcare costs were mainly obtained through analysis of Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Health utilities were mainly obtained from the Seattle Angina Questionnaire responses of FLAVOUR trial participants mapped to EQ-5D. Results: From the Korean healthcare system perspective, the base-case analysis showed that FFR-guided PCI was 2,451 U.S. dollar lower in lifetime healthcare costs and 0.178 higher in QALYs compared to IVUS-guided PCI. FFR-guided PCI remained more likely to be cost-effective over a wide range of willingness-to-pay thresholds in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Conclusions Based on the results from the FLAVOUR trial, FFR-guided PCI is projected to decrease lifetime healthcare costs and increase QALYs compared with IVUS-guided PCI in intermediate coronary lesion, and it is a dominant strategy in Korea.

Background and Objectives: The Fractional Flow Reserve and Intravascular UltrasoundGuided Intervention Strategy for Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Intermediate Stenosis (FLAVOUR) trial demonstrated non-inferiority of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided PCI. We sought to investigate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided PCI compared to IVUS-guided PCI in Korea. Methods: A 2-part cost-effectiveness model, composed of a short-term decision tree model and a long-term Markov model, was developed for patients who underwent PCI to treat intermediate stenosis (40% to 70% stenosis by visual estimation on coronary angiography).The lifetime healthcare costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated from the healthcare system perspective. Transition probabilities were mainly referred from the FLAVOUR trial, and healthcare costs were mainly obtained through analysis of Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Health utilities were mainly obtained from the Seattle Angina Questionnaire responses of FLAVOUR trial participants mapped to EQ-5D. Results: From the Korean healthcare system perspective, the base-case analysis showed that FFR-guided PCI was 2,451 U.S. dollar lower in lifetime healthcare costs and 0.178 higher in QALYs compared to IVUS-guided PCI. FFR-guided PCI remained more likely to be cost-effective over a wide range of willingness-to-pay thresholds in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Conclusions Based on the results from the FLAVOUR trial, FFR-guided PCI is projected to decrease lifetime healthcare costs and increase QALYs compared with IVUS-guided PCI in intermediate coronary lesion, and it is a dominant strategy in Korea.

This study explored the application of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) in the WHO eastern Mediterranean region, revealing the progressive emphasis on T&CM and its uneven development in the region. The study identified herbal and indigenous traditional medicine as the most prevalent T&CM therapies in the area, but there are relatively few relevant policies and scientific studies, and national health insurance coverage for T&CM has been weak. In addition, China provides assistance in TCM services to some countries through medical teams and TCM centers, while India provides assistance to specific countries through academic exchanges and educational cooperation, promoting the construction and development of local T&CM. It is recommended to provide management experience to countries in the region to strengthen supervision, actively carry out scientific research cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, promote their expansion of health insurance coverage to promote the high-quality development of T&CM in the region.

Traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) in WHO Southeast Asian Region has a long history, rich variety, large scale, strong government support and relatively complete institutional construction. Among them, TCM is highly popular in Thailand and Indonesia and the legislation is relatively complete; there is a relative lack of legislation and policy in India, Nepal and Myanmar; development in Sri Lanka, East Timor, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives and Democratic People's Republic of Korea is still in its infancy. India, Japan, Republic of Korea and China have provided T&CM assistance to the WHO Southeast Asia Region through signing memorandums, financial support, teaching and research cooperation, preparation export, personnel training, medical service base construction, and special assistance in TCM, so as to promote the improvement of T&CM services and standardization in the region. At present, some countries lack T&CM development funds, scientific research data and effective information exchange. In the future, it is necessary to strengthen legislative supervision and cooperation in education and scientific research based on the national conditions and cultural backgrounds of various countries, and promote the better integration of T&CM into the global health system. The dissemination and development of TCM in the WHO Southeast Asia Region can learn from the experience of T&CM in India, Japan and the Republic of Korea in terms of organizational guarantee, standard establishment, cultural publicity and brand effect, pay attention to the exchange and integration with local culture, give full play to the advantages of TCM, and enhance the public's sense of trust, so as to enhance the overseas influence of TCM.

An overview of the application of association rule mining(ARM)in real-world study(RWD)on drug safety to inform pharmacovigilance real-world data analysis.The applications of ARM in RWD of drug safety were divided into single drug/vaccine signal detection,combined medication risk mining,multidimensional risk factor analysis and adverse drug event occurrence characterization based on passive monitoring data;medication characterization pattern analysis,auxiliary epidemiological study design and risk mining of the whole dataset based on active monitoring data.In general,foreign scholars pay more attention to method rule setting,performance evaluation and application research,while domestic scholars pay more attention to multidimensional risk factor analysis,adverse drug event occurrence pattern,and clinical drug use characteristics research.With the accumulation of medical data and the continuous development of data mining technology,ARM may provide new ideas for RWD on drug safety.

Purpose To evaluate the long-term efficacy of radiofrequency ablation(RFA)for T1N0M0 papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC)with rich blood supply and poor blood supply.Materials and Methods Clinical data,ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)images,RFA parameters,and postoperative follow-up indicators of 375 T1N0M0 PTC patients who received RFA from June 2014 to December 2018 were retrospectively collected.The propensity score matching method was used to match the baseline data of the two groups in a 1:1 ratio,finally a total of 212 patients were included in the study.The RFA parameters,volume,tumor disappearance,and local tumor progression(LTP)were compared between the groups.Besides,the correlation between rich blood supply and LTP was analyzed using multivariate COX regression.Results According to the peak intensity displayed by preoperative CEUS,all lesions were divided into a group with rich blood supply(n=129)and another with poor blood supply(n=246).After a mean follow-up time of(84.48±14.44)months,the tumor disappearance in the rich blood supply group was 87.74%,while in the poor blood supply group it was 88.68%,and there was no statistically significant difference(Z=0.05,P=0.831).There were 10 cases of LTP in the rich blood supply group(6 cases of residual cancer and 4 cases of new cancer),and 6 cases of LTP in the poor blood supply group(2 cases of residual cancer and 4 cases of new cancer).The LTP rates of the two groups were 9.43%and 5.67%,with no statistically significant difference(x2=1.08,P=0.298).The Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed no statistically significant difference in progression free survival between both groups(P=0.265).The adjusted multivariate COX proportional risk model analysis showed that rich blood supply was no association with LTP(HR=1.54,P=0.409).Conclusion RFA for T1N0M0 PTC with rich blood supply can achieve effective ablation,and its long-term efficacy is similar to that of poor blood supply.RFA can serve as an effective alternative treatment for T1N0M0 PTC patients with different blood supply.

An overview of the application of association rule mining(ARM)in real-world study(RWD)on drug safety to inform pharmacovigilance real-world data analysis.The applications of ARM in RWD of drug safety were divided into single drug/vaccine signal detection,combined medication risk mining,multidimensional risk factor analysis and adverse drug event occurrence characterization based on passive monitoring data;medication characterization pattern analysis,auxiliary epidemiological study design and risk mining of the whole dataset based on active monitoring data.In general,foreign scholars pay more attention to method rule setting,performance evaluation and application research,while domestic scholars pay more attention to multidimensional risk factor analysis,adverse drug event occurrence pattern,and clinical drug use characteristics research.With the accumulation of medical data and the continuous development of data mining technology,ARM may provide new ideas for RWD on drug safety.