Background: The positive relationship between triiodothyronine (T3) and steatotic liver disease (SLD) demonstrated only in crosssectional study. We aimed to evaluated whether total T3 (TT3) is associated with the development/resolution of SLD in longitudinal design. Methods: This retrospective, longitudinal, population-based cohort study included 1,665 South Korean euthyroid adults with ≥4 thyroid function test. We explored the impact of mean TT3 during follow-up on development/resolution of either SLD (diagnosed by ultrasound) or modified metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results: During about median 5 years follow-up, 807/1,216 (66.3%) participants among participants without SLD at baseline developed SLD, and 253/318 (79.5%) participants among participants with SLD at baseline SLD resolved fatty liver. Mean TT3 rather than thyroid stimulating hormone or mean free thyroxine was significantly related with development (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00 to 1.02; P=0.002) and resolution (adjusted HR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96 to 0.99; P=0.005) of SLD. Compared with low mean TT3 group, high mean TT3 group was positively associated with development of SLD (adjusted HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.38; P=0.008) and inversely associated with resolution of SLD (adjusted HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.85; P=0.001). The statistical significance remained for development (adjusted HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.10 to 1.51; P=0.001) and resolution (adjusted HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.94; P=0.018) of modified MASLD. Conclusion In Korean euthyroid adults, TT3 level was associated with development and resolution of either SLD or modified MASLD.

Background/Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) 3.0 for predicting mortality and liver-related complications compared with the Child-Pugh classification, albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, the MELD, and the MELD sodium (MELDNa) score. Methods: We evaluated a multicenter retrospective cohort of incorporated patients with cirrhosis between 2013 and 2019. We conducted comparisons of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of the MELD3.0 and other models for predicting 3-month mortality. Additionally, we assessed the risk of cirrhosis-related complications according to the MELD3.0 score. Results: A total of 3,314 patients were included. The mean age was 55.9±11.3 years, and 70.2% of the patients were male. Within the initial 3 months, 220 patients (6.6%) died, and the MELD3.0had the best predictive performance among the tested models, with an AUROC of 0.851, outperforming the Child-Pugh classification, ALBI grade, MELD, and MELDNa. A high MELD3.0score was associated with an increased risk of mortality. Compared with that of the group with a MELD3.0 score <10 points, the adjusted hazard ratio of the group with a score of 10–20 pointswas 2.176, and that for the group with a score of ≥20 points was 4.892. Each 1-point increase inthe MELD3.0 score increased the risk of cirrhosis-related complications by 1.033-fold. The risk of hepatorenal syndrome showed the highest increase, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.149, followed by hepatic encephalopathy and ascites. Conclusions The MELD3.0 demonstrated robust prognostic performance in predicting mortality in patients with cirrhosis. Moreover, the MELD3.0 score was linked to cirrhosis-related complications, particularly those involving kidney function, such as hepatorenal syndrome and ascites.

In recent years, the development and use of various devices for the screening of atrial fibrillation (AF) have significantly increased. Such devices include 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), photoplethysmography systems, and single-lead ECG and ECG patches. This review outlines several studies that have focused on the feasibility and efficacy of such devices for AF screening, and summarizes the risks and benefits involved in the initiation of anticoagulant therapy after early detection of AF. We also describe several ongoing trials on unresolved issues associated with AF screening. Overall, this review provides a comprehensive summary of the current state of AF screening and its implications for patient care.

Background/Aims: Multiple myeloma (MM) predominantly affects elderly individuals, but studies on older patients with MM are limited. The clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of patients with MM aged 80 years or over were retrospectively analyzed. Methods: This retrospective multicenter study was conducted to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and survival outcomes of patients aged 80 years or over who were newly diagnosed with MM at five academic hospitals in Daegu, Korea, between 2010 and 2019. Results: A total of 127 patients with a median age of 83 years (range, 80–93 yr) were enrolled: 52 (40.9%) with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) > 2, 84 (66.1%) with International Staging System (ISS) stage III disease, and 93 (73.2%) with a Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) > 4. Chemotherapy was administered to 86 patients (67.7%). The median overall survival was 9.3 months. Overall survival was significantly associated with ECOG PS > 2 (HR 2.26, 95% CI 1.43–3.59), ISS stage III (HR 1.99, 95% CI 1.18–3.34), and chemotherapy (HR 0.34, 95% CI 0.21–0.55). There was no statistically significant difference in event-free survival according to the type of anti-myeloma chemotherapy administered. The early mortality (EM) rate was 28.3%. Conclusions Even in patients with MM aged 80 years or over, chemotherapy can result in better survival outcomes than supportive care. Patients aged ≥ 80 years should not be excluded from chemotherapy based on age alone. However, reducing EM in elderly patients with newly diagnosed MM remains challenging.

Purpose: Androgen signaling is associated with various secondary cancer, which could be promising for potential treatment using androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). This study investigated whether ADT use was associated with secondary cancers other than prostate cancer in a nationwide population-based cohort. Materials and Methods: A total, 278,434 men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2017 were identified. After applying the exclusion criteria, 170,416 men were enrolled. The study cohort was divided into ADT and non-ADT groups by individual matching followed by propensity score matching (PSM). Study outcomes were incidence of all male cancers. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of events. Results: During a median follow-up of 4.5 years, a total of 11,059 deaths (6,329 in the ADT group and 4,730 in the non-ADT group) after PSM were found. After PSM, the overall all-cause of secondary cancer incidence risk of the ADT group was higher than that of the non-ADT group (HR: 1.312, 95% CI: 1.23–1.36; adjusted HR: 1.344, 95% CI: 1.29–1.40). The ADT group showed higher risk of overall brain and other central nervous system (CNS) cancer-specific incidence than the non-ADT group (adjusted HR: 1.648, 95% CI: 1.21–2.24). The ADT group showed lower risks of overall cancer-specific incidence for stomach, colon/rectum, liver/inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), gall bladder/extrahepatic bile duct, lung, bladder, and kidney cancers than the non-ADT group. When the duration of ADT was more than 2 years of ADT, the ADT group showed higher risk of cancer-specific incidence for brain and other CNS cancers but lower risk of cancer-specific incidence for liver/IBD and lung cancers than the non-ADT group. Conclusions This study demonstrates that ADT could affect cancer-specific incidence for various cancers.

In recent years, the development and use of various devices for the screening of atrial fibrillation (AF) have significantly increased. Such devices include 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), photoplethysmography systems, and single-lead ECG and ECG patches. This review outlines several studies that have focused on the feasibility and efficacy of such devices for AF screening, and summarizes the risks and benefits involved in the initiation of anticoagulant therapy after early detection of AF. We also describe several ongoing trials on unresolved issues associated with AF screening. Overall, this review provides a comprehensive summary of the current state of AF screening and its implications for patient care.

Background/Aims: Multiple myeloma (MM) predominantly affects elderly individuals, but studies on older patients with MM are limited. The clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of patients with MM aged 80 years or over were retrospectively analyzed. Methods: This retrospective multicenter study was conducted to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and survival outcomes of patients aged 80 years or over who were newly diagnosed with MM at five academic hospitals in Daegu, Korea, between 2010 and 2019. Results: A total of 127 patients with a median age of 83 years (range, 80–93 yr) were enrolled: 52 (40.9%) with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) > 2, 84 (66.1%) with International Staging System (ISS) stage III disease, and 93 (73.2%) with a Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) > 4. Chemotherapy was administered to 86 patients (67.7%). The median overall survival was 9.3 months. Overall survival was significantly associated with ECOG PS > 2 (HR 2.26, 95% CI 1.43–3.59), ISS stage III (HR 1.99, 95% CI 1.18–3.34), and chemotherapy (HR 0.34, 95% CI 0.21–0.55). There was no statistically significant difference in event-free survival according to the type of anti-myeloma chemotherapy administered. The early mortality (EM) rate was 28.3%. Conclusions Even in patients with MM aged 80 years or over, chemotherapy can result in better survival outcomes than supportive care. Patients aged ≥ 80 years should not be excluded from chemotherapy based on age alone. However, reducing EM in elderly patients with newly diagnosed MM remains challenging.

Purpose: Androgen signaling is associated with various secondary cancer, which could be promising for potential treatment using androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). This study investigated whether ADT use was associated with secondary cancers other than prostate cancer in a nationwide population-based cohort. Materials and Methods: A total, 278,434 men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2017 were identified. After applying the exclusion criteria, 170,416 men were enrolled. The study cohort was divided into ADT and non-ADT groups by individual matching followed by propensity score matching (PSM). Study outcomes were incidence of all male cancers. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of events. Results: During a median follow-up of 4.5 years, a total of 11,059 deaths (6,329 in the ADT group and 4,730 in the non-ADT group) after PSM were found. After PSM, the overall all-cause of secondary cancer incidence risk of the ADT group was higher than that of the non-ADT group (HR: 1.312, 95% CI: 1.23–1.36; adjusted HR: 1.344, 95% CI: 1.29–1.40). The ADT group showed higher risk of overall brain and other central nervous system (CNS) cancer-specific incidence than the non-ADT group (adjusted HR: 1.648, 95% CI: 1.21–2.24). The ADT group showed lower risks of overall cancer-specific incidence for stomach, colon/rectum, liver/inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), gall bladder/extrahepatic bile duct, lung, bladder, and kidney cancers than the non-ADT group. When the duration of ADT was more than 2 years of ADT, the ADT group showed higher risk of cancer-specific incidence for brain and other CNS cancers but lower risk of cancer-specific incidence for liver/IBD and lung cancers than the non-ADT group. Conclusions This study demonstrates that ADT could affect cancer-specific incidence for various cancers.