Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in Korea and the third leading cause of death from cancer. Treatment outcomes for colon cancer are steadily improving due to national health screening programs with advances in diagnostic methods, surgical techniques, and therapeutic agents.. The Korea Colon Cancer Multidisciplinary (KCCM) Committee intends to provide professionals who treat colon cancer with the most up-to-date, evidence-based practice guidelines to improve outcomes and help them make decisions that reflect their patients’ values and preferences. These guidelines have been established by consensus reached by the KCCM Guideline Committee based on a systematic literature review and evidence synthesis and by considering the national health insurance system in real clinical practice settings. Each recommendation is presented with a recommendation strength and level of evidence based on the consensus of the committee.

Purpose: This study examined the effect of the 3 months use of weekly teriparatide on fracture healing, complications, quality of life improvement, and change in bone turnover markers on postmenopausal osteoporotic vertebral fracture patients who received percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty. Materials and Methods: Using a retrospective study design, 64 patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures with T-scores≤-2.5, and anterior vertebral compression rates ≥30% were included in this study. 19 patients received weekly teriparatide for three months after kyphoplasty (TPTD group) and 45 patients received calcium and vitamin D supplements (control group). The changes in the anterior vertebral compression rate, rate of adjacent vertebral fracture, visual analogue scale/Oswestry Disability Index (VAS/ODI) score, and bone turnover markers were analyzed statistically. Results: The changes in anterior vertebral compression rate showed significant differences at the 1-month (p=0.002) and 6-month followup (p<0.05, t-test, and two-way mixed ANOVA). The VAS scores showed a significant difference at the 3-month and 6-month followup (p<0.05). The ODI score showed a significant difference at the 3-month and 6-month period (p<0.05). An adjacent vertebral fracture occurred 18.8% (3 cases) in the TPTD group, and 21.6% (8 cases) in the control group, respectively (odds ratio=0.87). Osteocalcin showed a significant difference at 6 month (p=0.04). Conclusion Weekly teriparatide after percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty has beneficial effects on vertebral body height loss, pain, quality of life improvement, and bone formation.

Purpose: The clinical implications of tumor-infiltrating T cell subsets and their spatial distribution in biliary tract cancer (BTC) patients treated with gemcitabine plus cisplatin were investigated. Materials and Methods: A total of 52 BTC patients treated with palliative gemcitabine plus cisplatin were included. Multiplexed immunohistochemistry was performed on tumor tissues, and immune infiltrates were separately analyzed for the stroma, tumor margin, and tumor core. Results: The density of CD8+ T cells, FoxP3- CD4+ helper T cells, and FoxP3+ CD4+ regulatory T cells was significantly higher in the tumor margin than in the stroma and tumor core. The density of LAG3- or TIM3-expressing CD8+ T cell and FoxP3- CD4+ helper T cell infiltrates was also higher in the tumor margin. In extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, there was a higher density of T cell subsets in the tumor core and regulatory T cells in all regions. A high density of FoxP3- CD4+ helper T cells in the tumor margin showed a trend toward better progression-free survival (PFS) (p=0.092) and significantly better overall survival (OS) (p=0.012). In multivariate analyses, a high density of FoxP3- CD4+ helper T cells in the tumor margin was independently associated with favorable PFS and OS. Conclusion The tumor margin is the major site for the active infiltration of T cell subsets with higher levels of LAG3 and TIM3 expression in BTC. The density of tumor margin-infiltrating FoxP3- CD4+ helper T cells may be associated with clinical outcomes in BTC patients treated with gemcitabine plus cisplatin.

A diagnosis of gout is often straightforward because gout has well known clinical presentations, laboratory analyses, and radiologic features. On the other hand, gout can mimic other diseases by showing a range of atypical clinical manifestations. This paper reports a 35-year-old male with no prior history of gout who developed tophaceous gout at his previously repaired Achilles tendon 11 years after surgery. He was initially misdiagnosed with cellulitis because of his atypical clinical features. This case is presented with a review of the relevant literature.

Methods: We enrolled 40 patients who underwent either MISS (M group, 20 patients) or open posterior instrumentation surgery (O group, 20 patients) for the treatment of traumatic unstable burst fractures. Clinical outcomes were evaluated based on postoperative back pain, operation time, blood loss, hospital stay duration, and perioperative complications. For radiologic evaluation, preoperative magnetic resonance imaging and plain radiography were performed before and after the surgery to evaluate the changes in the kyphotic angle and fracture union. Results: The change in the kyphotic angle was −8.2°±5.8° in the M group and −8.0°±7.8° in the O group. No significant difference was noted in terms of the change in the kyphotic angle (p=0.94, t-test) after 12 months of surgery. The Visual Analog Scale score was 1.5±0.7 points in the M group, while it was 5.2±1.4 points in the O group. In the M group, back pain has significantly decreased (p<0.01, t-test). The estimated blood loss was 195.5 mL in the M group and 1,077.5 mL in the O group; the operation time was significantly decreased in the O group from 290.7 to 120.7 minutes in the M group (p<0.05, t-test) (p=0.36, t-test). The average duration of hospital stay was 36.0 days in the M group and 41.9 days in the O group (p=0.36, t-test). Conclusions For the treatment of unstable burst fractures, MISS showed significant differences in terms of postoperative back pain, operation time, and blood loss as compared to open posterior instrumentation surgery.

BACKGROUND: Lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and cadmium (Cd) are well-known environmental pollutants. They are unnecessary in the biological processes of humans. This study was performed to estimate the representative background exposure levels to the metals by measuring concentrations in whole blood of the Korean general population. METHODS: This population-based cross-sectional study included 4,000 subjects (1,886 males and 2,114 females) 0–83 years of age in 2010 and 2011. Adult subjects (≥ 19 years of age) were collected by sex- and age-stratified probability method, and preschool- and school-aged subjects were recruited by a cluster sampling method. Written consent was provided prior to blood sampling. Pb and Cd blood concentrations were determined by a flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and blood Hg was analyzed by a direct Hg analyzer. RESULTS: The geometric mean, median and 95th percentile of blood Pb was 1.82 µg/dL, 1.83 µg/dL, and 3.78 µg/dL, respectively. The respective values were 2.92 µg/L, 2.87 µg/L, 9.12 µg/L for Hg, and 0.56 µg/L, 0.59 µg/L, 2.20 µg/L for Cd. Blood Pb and Hg were higher in males than in females, but no sex difference was observed, respectively, in subjects 0–4 years of age for Pb and in subjects less than 20 years for Hg. However, blood Cd was higher in females than in males and no sex difference was observed in subjects < 30 years of age. CONCLUSION: This study provides representative data of human exposure to Pb, Hg, and Cd covering whole age groups of the general population in Korea.
Adult ; Biological Processes ; Cadmium ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Environmental Pollutants ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Metals ; Methods ; Sex Characteristics ; Spectrophotometry, Atomic

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to examine the factors affecting suicide decision and to understand in detail their psychological and behavioral changes with high lethality suicide attempters who were supposed to be similar to suicide completers. METHODS: Twenty patients who visited Kangwon National University Hospital or Chuncheon National Hospital participated in this study. After applying suicide lethality with Risk-Rescue Rating Scale, high lethality attempters were screened. Each subject participated in an in-depth interview with a semi-structured interview schedule. RESULTS: The participants had high mean Risk-Rescue Rating Score (45.0+/-8.7), indicating that the study was conducted with the most lethal suicide attempters. Most attempters had chosen their methods of suicide impulsively without consideration for lethality, and most attempters reported that they chose suicide methods from recall of reports by mass media ; 70% of attempters had more than one previous suicide attempt and their suicide methods have been changed to increase the suicide success rate. Most common accompanying emotions before suicide attempts were hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness, and loneliness. Most important precipitating factors of suicide were economic difficulties. CONCLUSION: These characteristics regarding suicide attempts led us to a detailed understanding. These results are expected to provide valuable information for development of evidence based suicide prevention policies and strategies.
Appointments and Schedules ; Gangwon-do ; Humans ; Loneliness ; Mass Media ; Precipitating Factors ; Retrospective Studies* ; Suicide*

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of the DSM-IV psychiatric disorders in Korean population using the Korean version of Composite International Diagnostic Interview (K-CIDI). METHODS: Subjects were selected by taking multi-stage, cluster samples of 7,867 adult household residents, 18 to 64 years of age, in ten catchment areas. Total 78 trained interviewers administered the K-CIDI to the selected respondents, from June 1 to November 30, 2001. RESULTS: Total 6,275 respondents completed the interview. Some 33.5% of respondents reported at least one lifetime disorder, 20.6% reported at least one-year disorder, and 16.7% reported at least one-month disorder. The most common lifetime disorders were alcohol abuse/dependence (17.24%), nicotine dependence/withdrawal (11.19%), specific phobia (5.16%), and major depressive disorder (4.25%). The lifetime prevalence of substance abuse/dependence (0.25%) and schizophrenia (0.16%) was very low. Nicotine and alcohol use disorder showed very high male/female ratio. Mood disorder and anxiety disorder were more prevalent among female than male. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was high. In comparison with other studies, remarkable differences in distributions of psychiatric disorders across the areas and times were observed.
Adult ; Anxiety Disorders ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Epidemiology ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mood Disorders ; Nicotine ; Phobic Disorders ; Prevalence* ; Schizophrenia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Remnant adenoid tissue after adenoidectomy or immoderate procedure result in various complications such as bleeding, damage to the mucosa of posterior nasopharyngeal wall or orifice of Eustachian tube. The purpose of this paper is to compare conventional adenoidectomy with microdebrider-assisted adenoidectomy based on postoperative outcome and intraoperative effectiveness. MATERIALS AND METHOD: We performed a prospective study comparing thirty cases of adenoidectomy using conventional approach with fifteen cases of transoral microdebrider adenoidectomy using an indirect laryngeal mirror. Skull lateral radiographs and a symptom scale were used to evaluate preoperative and postoperative states. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the improvement of symptoms and postoperative outcome between the conventional group and the microdebrider adenoidectomy group. However, it was found that more adenoid tissue could be removed in the microdebrider group. Postoperative nasopharyngeal endoscopic views revealed that microdebrider removed adenoid tissue precisely and preserved the posterior nasopharyngeal wall better when compared to the conventional group. CONCLUSION: Compared with the conventional procedure, adenoidectomy using the transoral microdebrider with an indirect laryngeal mirror was similar in achieving symptom improvement and postoperative outcomes, but removed more adenoid tissue with higher precision. From this study, we suggest that using microdebrider with indirect laryngeal mirror is another valuable method of adenoidectomy in the aspect of precision.
Adenoidectomy* ; Adenoids ; Eustachian Tube ; Hemorrhage ; Mucous Membrane ; Prospective Studies ; Skull

BACKGROUND: Though the surgical treatment of stage IIIB lung cancer is not generalized due to low complete remission rate high morbidity and mortality there are several reports on the improvement of long term survival after preoperative and postoperative adjuvant therapy. In this study we analyzed the prognostic factors affecting long term survival after surgical treatment of stage IIIB lung cancer MATERIAL AND METHOD: We analyzed the long term survival for age pathology invaded mediastinal organ n stage type of operation complete or incomplete resection and adjuvant therapy through a retrospective review of patients underwent surgical treatment. RESULT: From 1990 to 1998 56 patients(51/male 5/female0 with stage IIIB lung cancer were trated surgically. Forty two patients underwent radical resection and morbidity and mortality were 17% 12% respectively. The survival rate for overall patients and the radical resection group were 9% 12% respectively. In the radical resection group excluding explothoracotomy only(n=14) and the surgical mortality patients(n=5) the age the type of operation celly type resectability and N stage had no influence on the long term survival. The survival rate of radical resection group was significantly better than that of the explothoracotomy only group(p=0.04) The long term survival rate of postoperative combination therapy group was significantly better than chemotherapy or radiotherapy alone(p=0.04) CONCLUSION: Age type after surgical treatment of stage IIIB lung cancer. We conclude that combined modality of adjuvant treatment after radical resection of stage IIIB lung cancer seems to offer better long term survival in selective patients. The numbers of patients involved was small. Nevertheless these preliminary findings indicate questions that will need to be experienced further in larger studies.
Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Mortality ; Neoplasm Staging ; Pathology ; Radiotherapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate