Lazertinib is an oral, third-generation, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This case report presents a rare instance of small cell carcinoma transformation in pancreatic metastasis in a patient with EGFR-mutated NSCLC undergoing treatment with lazertinib. Small cell carcinoma transformation indicates a mechanism of treatment resistance, and tissue biopsy is essential to confirm this. When isolated progression of a lesion is suspected during TKI therapy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, histological evaluation is necessary to confirm the transformation for the treatment strategy.

Lazertinib is an oral, third-generation, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This case report presents a rare instance of small cell carcinoma transformation in pancreatic metastasis in a patient with EGFR-mutated NSCLC undergoing treatment with lazertinib. Small cell carcinoma transformation indicates a mechanism of treatment resistance, and tissue biopsy is essential to confirm this. When isolated progression of a lesion is suspected during TKI therapy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, histological evaluation is necessary to confirm the transformation for the treatment strategy.

Lazertinib is an oral, third-generation, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This case report presents a rare instance of small cell carcinoma transformation in pancreatic metastasis in a patient with EGFR-mutated NSCLC undergoing treatment with lazertinib. Small cell carcinoma transformation indicates a mechanism of treatment resistance, and tissue biopsy is essential to confirm this. When isolated progression of a lesion is suspected during TKI therapy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, histological evaluation is necessary to confirm the transformation for the treatment strategy.

Lazertinib is an oral, third-generation, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This case report presents a rare instance of small cell carcinoma transformation in pancreatic metastasis in a patient with EGFR-mutated NSCLC undergoing treatment with lazertinib. Small cell carcinoma transformation indicates a mechanism of treatment resistance, and tissue biopsy is essential to confirm this. When isolated progression of a lesion is suspected during TKI therapy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, histological evaluation is necessary to confirm the transformation for the treatment strategy.

Lazertinib is an oral, third-generation, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This case report presents a rare instance of small cell carcinoma transformation in pancreatic metastasis in a patient with EGFR-mutated NSCLC undergoing treatment with lazertinib. Small cell carcinoma transformation indicates a mechanism of treatment resistance, and tissue biopsy is essential to confirm this. When isolated progression of a lesion is suspected during TKI therapy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, histological evaluation is necessary to confirm the transformation for the treatment strategy.

OBJECTIVES: The escalating burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a critical public health issue worldwide. CVD, especially acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke, is the leading contributor to morbidity and mortality in Korea. We aimed to develop algorithms for identifying AMI and stroke events from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database and validate these algorithms through medical record review. METHODS: We first established a concept and definition of “hospitalization episode,” taking into account the unique features of health claims-based NHIS database. We then developed first and recurrent event identification algorithms, separately for AMI and stroke, to determine whether each hospitalization episode represents a true incident case of AMI or stroke. Finally, we assessed our algorithms’ accuracy by calculating their positive predictive values (PPVs) based on medical records of algorithm- identified events. RESULTS: We developed identification algorithms for both AMI and stroke. To validate them, we conducted retrospective review of medical records for 3,140 algorithm-identified events (1,399 AMI and 1,741 stroke events) across 24 hospitals throughout Korea. The overall PPVs for the first and recurrent AMI events were around 92% and 78%, respectively, while those for the first and recurrent stroke events were around 88% and 81%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS We successfully developed algorithms for identifying AMI and stroke events. The algorithms demonstrated high accuracy, with PPVs of approximately 90% for first events and 80% for recurrent events. These findings indicate that our algorithms hold promise as an instrumental tool for the consistent and reliable production of national CVD statistics in Korea.

OBJECTIVES: Stroke remains the second leading cause of death in Korea. This study was designed to estimate the crude, age-adjusted and age-specific incidence rates, as well as the case fatality rate of stroke, in Korea from 2011 to 2020. METHODS: We utilized data from the National Health Insurance Services from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2020, to calculate incidence rates and 30-day and 1-year case fatality rates of stroke. Additionally, we determined sex and age-specific incidence rates and computed age-standardized incidence rates by direct standardization to the 2005 population. RESULTS: The crude incidence rate of stroke hovered around 200 (per 100,000 person-years) from 2011 to 2015, then surged to 218.4 in 2019, before marginally declining to 208.0 in 2020. Conversely, the age-standardized incidence rate consistently decreased by 25% between 2011 and 2020. When stratified by sex, the crude incidence rate increased between 2011 and 2019 for both sexes, followed by a decrease in 2020. Age-standardized incidence rates displayed a downward trend throughout the study period for both sexes. Across all age groups, the 30-day and 1-year case fatality rates of stroke consistently decreased from 2011 to 2019, only to increase in 2020. CONCLUSIONS Despite a decrease in the age-standardized incidence rate, the total number of stroke events in Korea continues to rise due to the rapidly aging population. Moreover, 2020 witnessed a decrease in incidence but an increase in case fatality rates.

OBJECTIVES: Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of mortality worldwide, and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is particularly fatal condition. We evaluated the incidence and case fatality rates of AMI in Korea from 2011 to 2020. METHODS: We utilized data from the National Health Insurance Services to calculate crude, age-standardized, and age-specific incidence rates, along with 30-day and 1-year case fatality rates, of AMI from 2011 to 2020. Age-standardized incidence rates were determined using direct standardization to the 2005 population. RESULTS: The crude incidence rate of AMI per 100,000 person-years consistently increased from 44.7 in 2011 to 68.3 in 2019, before decreasing slightly to 66.2 in 2020. The age-standardized incidence rate of AMI displayed a 19% rise from 2011 to 2019, followed by a slight decline in 2020. The increasing trend for AMI incidence was more pronounced in males than in females. Both 30-day and 1-year case fatality rates remained stable among younger individuals but showed a decrease among older individuals. There was a minor surge in case fatality in 2020, particularly among recurrent AMI cases. CONCLUSIONS Over the past decade, the AMI incidence rate in Korea has consistently increased, with a slight downturn in 2020. The case fatality rate has remained relatively stable except for a minor increase in 2020. This study provides data for continuous surveillance, the implementation of targeted interventions, and the advancement of research aimed at AMI in Korea.

Background/Aims: Palliative chemotherapy (PC) is not standardized for patients with advanced ampulla of Vater adenocarcinoma (AA). This multicenter, retrospective study evaluated first-line PC outcomes in patients with AA. Methods: Patients diagnosed with AA between January 2010 and December 2020 who underwent PC were enrolled from 10 institutions. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) according to the chemotherapy regimen were analyzed. Results: Of 255 patients (mean age, 64.0±10.0 years; male, 57.6%), 14 (5.5%) had locally advanced AA and 241 (94.5%) had metastatic AA. Gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GP) was administered as first-line chemotherapy to 192 patients (75.3%), whereas capecitabine plus oxaliplatin (CAPOX) was administered to 39 patients (15.3%). The median OS of all patients was 19.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 17.3 to 22.3), and that of patients who received GP and CAPOX was 20.4 months (95% CI, 17.2 to 23.6) and 16.0 months (95% CI, 11.2 to 20.7), respectively. The median PFS of GP and CAPOX patients were 8.4 months (95% CI, 7.1 to 9.7) and 5.1 months (95% CI, 2.5 to 7.8), respectively. PC for AA demonstrated improved median outcomes in both OS and PFS compared to conventional bile duct cancers that included AA. Conclusions While previous studies have shown mixed prognostic outcomes when AA was analyzed together with other biliary tract cancers, our study unveils a distinct clinical prognosis specific to AA on a large scale with systemic anticancer therapy. These findings suggest that AA is a distinct type of tumor, different from other biliary tract cancers, and AA itself could be expected to have a favorable response to PC.

Purpose: This study aims to prospectively analyze the effects of anticholinergic therapy using imidafenacin on detrusor overactivity occurring after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Materials and Methods: Patients were followed-up at outpatient visits 2–4 weeks post-surgery (visit 2) to confirm the presence of urinary incontinence. Those confirmed with urinary incontinence were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the anticholinergic medication group (imidafenacin 0.1 mg twice daily) or the control group. Patients were followed-up at 1, 3, and 6 months post-surgery for observational assessments, including the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS). Results: A total of 49 patients (25 in the treatment group and 24 in the control group) were randomized for the study. There were no differences observed between the groups in terms of age, comorbidities, prostate size, or pathological staging. According to the IPSS questionnaire results, there was no statistically significant difference between the medication and control groups (p=0.161).However, when comparing storage and voiding symptoms separately, there was a statistically significant improvement in storage symptom scores (p=0.012). OABSS also revealed statistically significant improvement in symptoms from 3 months post-surgery (p=0.005), which persisted until 6 months post-surgery (IPSS storage: p=0.023, OABSS: p=0.013). Conclusions In the case of urinary incontinence that occurs after RARP, even if the function of the intrinsic sphincter is sufficiently preserved, if urinary incontinence persists due to changes in the bladder, pharmacological therapy using imidafenacin can be beneficial in managing urinary incontinence.