Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers in both Korea and worldwide. Since 2004, the Korean Practice Guidelines for Gastric Cancer have been regularly updated, with the 4th edition published in 2022. The 4th edition was the result of a collaborative work by an interdisciplinary team, including experts in gastric surgery, gastroenterology, endoscopy, medical oncology, abdominal radiology, pathology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, and guideline development methodology. The current guideline is the 5th version, an updated version of the 4th edition. In this guideline, 6 key questions (KQs) were updated or proposed after a collaborative review by the working group, and 7 statements were developed, or revised, or discussed based on a systematic review using the MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and KoreaMed database. Over the past 2 years, there have been significant changes in systemic treatment, leading to major updates and revisions focused on this area.Additionally, minor modifications have been made in other sections, incorporating recent research findings. The level of evidence and grading of recommendations were categorized according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. Key factors for recommendation included the level of evidence, benefit, harm, and clinical applicability. The working group reviewed and discussed the recommendations to reach a consensus. The structure of this guideline remains similar to the 2022 version.Earlier sections cover general considerations, such as screening, diagnosis, and staging of endoscopy, pathology, radiology, and nuclear medicine. In the latter sections, statements are provided for each KQ based on clinical evidence, with flowcharts supporting these statements through meta-analysis and references. This multidisciplinary, evidence-based gastric cancer guideline aims to support clinicians in providing optimal care for gastric cancer patients.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers in both Korea and worldwide. Since 2004, the Korean Practice Guidelines for Gastric Cancer have been regularly updated, with the 4th edition published in 2022. The 4th edition was the result of a collaborative work by an interdisciplinary team, including experts in gastric surgery, gastroenterology, endoscopy, medical oncology, abdominal radiology, pathology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, and guideline development methodology. The current guideline is the 5th version, an updated version of the 4th edition. In this guideline, 6 key questions (KQs) were updated or proposed after a collaborative review by the working group, and 7 statements were developed, or revised, or discussed based on a systematic review using the MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and KoreaMed database. Over the past 2 years, there have been significant changes in systemic treatment, leading to major updates and revisions focused on this area.Additionally, minor modifications have been made in other sections, incorporating recent research findings. The level of evidence and grading of recommendations were categorized according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. Key factors for recommendation included the level of evidence, benefit, harm, and clinical applicability. The working group reviewed and discussed the recommendations to reach a consensus. The structure of this guideline remains similar to the 2022 version.Earlier sections cover general considerations, such as screening, diagnosis, and staging of endoscopy, pathology, radiology, and nuclear medicine. In the latter sections, statements are provided for each KQ based on clinical evidence, with flowcharts supporting these statements through meta-analysis and references. This multidisciplinary, evidence-based gastric cancer guideline aims to support clinicians in providing optimal care for gastric cancer patients.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers in both Korea and worldwide. Since 2004, the Korean Practice Guidelines for Gastric Cancer have been regularly updated, with the 4th edition published in 2022. The 4th edition was the result of a collaborative work by an interdisciplinary team, including experts in gastric surgery, gastroenterology, endoscopy, medical oncology, abdominal radiology, pathology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, and guideline development methodology. The current guideline is the 5th version, an updated version of the 4th edition. In this guideline, 6 key questions (KQs) were updated or proposed after a collaborative review by the working group, and 7 statements were developed, or revised, or discussed based on a systematic review using the MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and KoreaMed database. Over the past 2 years, there have been significant changes in systemic treatment, leading to major updates and revisions focused on this area.Additionally, minor modifications have been made in other sections, incorporating recent research findings. The level of evidence and grading of recommendations were categorized according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. Key factors for recommendation included the level of evidence, benefit, harm, and clinical applicability. The working group reviewed and discussed the recommendations to reach a consensus. The structure of this guideline remains similar to the 2022 version.Earlier sections cover general considerations, such as screening, diagnosis, and staging of endoscopy, pathology, radiology, and nuclear medicine. In the latter sections, statements are provided for each KQ based on clinical evidence, with flowcharts supporting these statements through meta-analysis and references. This multidisciplinary, evidence-based gastric cancer guideline aims to support clinicians in providing optimal care for gastric cancer patients.

In recent years, next-generation sequencing (NGS)–based genetic testing has become crucial in cancer care. While its primary objective is to identify actionable genetic alterations to guide treatment decisions, its scope has broadened to encompass aiding in pathological diagnosis and exploring resistance mechanisms. With the ongoing expansion in NGS application and reliance, a compelling necessity arises for expert consensus on its application in solid cancers. To address this demand, the forthcoming recommendations not only provide pragmatic guidance for the clinical use of NGS but also systematically classify actionable genes based on specific cancer types. Additionally, these recommendations will incorporate expert perspectives on crucial biomarkers, ensuring informed decisions regarding circulating tumor DNA panel testing.

In recent years, next-generation sequencing (NGS)–based genetic testing has become crucial in cancer care. While its primary objective is to identify actionable genetic alterations to guide treatment decisions, its scope has broadened to encompass aiding in pathological diagnosis and exploring resistance mechanisms. With the ongoing expansion in NGS application and reliance, a compelling necessity arises for expert consensus on its application in solid cancers. To address this demand, the forthcoming recommendations not only provide pragmatic guidance for the clinical use of NGS but also systematically classify actionable genes based on specific cancer types. Additionally, these recommendations will incorporate expert perspectives on crucial biomarkers, ensuring informed decisions regarding circulating tumor DNA panel testing.

Purpose: Pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC) is recognized for its aggressiveness and poor prognosis. The role of radical radiotherapy in PSC remains uncertain due to its scarcity and limited data. In the absence of an effective systemic agent, this study aims to explore the possibility of cure and to investigate potential prognostic factors and treatment outcomes. Materials and Methods: From January 2005 to December 2021, 149 PSC patients were identified. Among 62 patients who received radiotherapy for lung lesions, 25 who underwent palliative radiotherapy and 16 who underwent surgery were excluded. Results: The median patient age was 71 years. The majority were male, and 17 patients (81.0%) were diagnosed at an advanced stage. After radical radiotherapy, distant metastasis (47.6%) was the most common site of failure, while the local recurrence rate was quite low (9.5%). Eventually, five patients (26.3%) demonstrated either a partial response or complete remission, including three complete remissions with durable responses. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were 4.6 months and 7.9 months, respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that a tumor size >5 cm was associated with a worse prognosis (p = 0.045), while a radiation dose >58 GyEQD2 was significantly associated with better PFS (p = 0.038). Conclusion This study demonstrates clinical outcomes after radical radiotherapy in managing PSC, suggesting tumor size and radiation dose could be a predictor of a systemic response. Given the known bad prognosis but complete remission could be achieved in certain subgroups, future research should explore the potential strategies using radical radiotherapy for this challenging patient population.

Objectives: The prognostic significance of CDC42 effector protein 2 (CDC42EP2) and its association with tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) have not been explored in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). This study aims to assess the potential prognostic value of CDC42EP2 by conducting a comprehensive analysis of online databases pertaining to LIHC. Methods: We evaluated the potential of CDC42EP2 as a prognostic biomarker by utilizing online databases such as TIMER, GEPIA2, KM, OSlihc, HPA, and LinkedOmics. Results: In LIHC, we observed that the mRNA and protein expression of CDC42EP2 were upregulated compared to normal tissues. Upregulated CDC42EP2 expression was associated with a worse prognosis based on the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with LIHC. Furthermore, CDC42EP2 was positively associated with TIICs. In the co-expression and functional enrichment analyses of CDC42EP2, 11,416 genes showed positive associations with CDC42EP2 while 8,008 genes showed negative associations. CDC42EP2-related co-expression genes were involved in protein localization to the endoplasmic reticulum, translational initiation, and RNA catabolic processes in gene set enrichment analysis-Gene Ontology (GSEA-GO), and regulated the ribosome, spliceosome, and primary immune deficiency in the GSEA-Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway. In a survival map, 23 and 17 genes that exhibited positive associations with CDC42EP2 showed a significant hazard ratio (HR) for overall survival and disease-free survival, respectively. Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that CDC42EP2 is a novel prognostic biomarker and a potential tumor immune therapeutic target in patients with LIHC.

Stiripentol is an anti-epileptic drug for the treating of refractory status epilepticus. It has been reported that stiripentol can attenuate seizure severity and reduce seizure-induced neuronal damage in animal models of epilepsy. The objective of the present study was to investigate effects of post-treatment with stiripentol on cognitive deficit and neuronal damage in the cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) region of the hippocampus proper following transient ischemia in the forebrain of gerbils. To evaluate ischemia-induced cognitive impairments, passive avoidance test and 8-arm radial maze test were performed. It was found that post-treatment with stiripentol at 20 mg/kg, but not 10 or 15 mg/kg, reduced ischemia-induced memory impairment. Transient ischemia-induced neuronal death in the CA1 region was also significantly attenuated only by 20 mg/kg stiripentol treatment after transient ischemia. In addition, 20 mg/kg stiripentol treatment significantly decreased ischemia-induced astrocyte damage and immunoglobulin G leakage. In brief, stiripentol treatment after transient ischemia ameliorated transient ischemia-induced cognitive impairment in gerbils, showing that pyramidal neurons were protected and astrocyte damage and blood brain barrier leakage were significantly attenuated in the hippocampus. Results of this study suggest stiripentol can be developed as a candidate of therapeutic drug for ischemic stroke.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the bristle tip morphology of toothbrushes sold in the Korean market. Methods: Tufts were taken from each of the 69 different toothbrushes that were selected. The bristle specimens thus prepared were observed under a phase-contrast microscope. The images taken by the microscope were then classified as round, tapered, or mixed. The proportion of acceptable rounded-end bristles and tapered bristles was then determined. Results: Of the randomly selected 69 toothbrushes, 42 were domestic and 27 were imported. Of the domestic toothbrushes, the proportion of acceptable toothbrushes was 52.4%, whereas the corresponding proportion was 77.8% for imported products. In terms of classification based on tooth brushing techniques, 55.0% of all manual toothbrushes had round-ended bristles. Moreover, based on classification by age, 67.2% of the toothbrushes for adults were acceptable and 75.0% of tooth brushes for children were termed non-acceptable. Conclusions The majority of toothbrushes sold in the Korean markets have acceptable bristles.However, not one toothbrush had 100% acceptable bristles. The manufactures should improve their manufacturing processes to produce bristles of the intended quality.

Background and Objectives: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) with lateral neck lymph node metastasis is known as a major risk factor for tumor recurrence after surgical treatment. The aim of this study is to identify risk factors for loco-regional recurrence in patients with PTC with lateral neck lymph node metastasis, which has a high risk of recurrence.Subjects and Method This study involved 319 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy, central lymph node (LN) and lateral LN dissection due to PTC. The patients’ demographics and pathological factors, including lymph node metastasis were retrospectively reviewed. Univariate, multivariate and C-index with variable selection analyses were performed to identify factors associated with recurrence-free survival (RFS). Results: A mean follow-up of 101 months, 35 (10.9%) patients had a loco-regional recurrence. In multivariate analysis according to loco-regional recurrence, patients with a primary tumor of more than 4 cm, multifocality, vascular invasion, and bilateral lateral cervical metastasis were associated with worse RFS. In the variable selection analysis, lateral lymph node metastasis ratio was also statistically significant. Conclusion PTC with lateral neck lymph node metastasis included tumors larger than 4 cm. Multifocality, vascular invasion, high lateral lymph node metastasis ratio and bilateral neck lymph node metastasis are predictive factors of loco-regional recurrence, and these risk factors should be carefully followed-up after surgery.