Purpose: Improvements in surgical quality and patient safety are critical components of the healthcare system. Despite excellent cancer survival rates in Korea, there is a lack of standardized postoperative complication management systems.To address this gap, the Korean Surgical Society initiated the development of the Korean Quality Improvement Platform in Surgery (K-QIPS) program. Methods: K-QIPS was successfully launched in 87 general hospitals. This nationwide surgical quality improvement program covers 5 major surgical fields: gastric surgery, colorectal surgery, hepatectomy and liver transplantation, pancreatectomy, and kidney transplantation. Results: Common and surgery-specific complication platforms will be developed, and the program will work toward the implementation of an artificial intelligence-based complication prediction system and the provision of evidence-based feedback to participating institutions. K-QIPS represents a significant step toward improving surgical quality and patient safety in Korea. Conclusion This program aims to reduce postoperative complications, mortality, and medical costs by providing a standardized platform for complication management and prediction. The successful implementation of this nationwide project may provide a good model for other countries that are required to improve surgical outcomes and patient care.

Purpose: Improvements in surgical quality and patient safety are critical components of the healthcare system. Despite excellent cancer survival rates in Korea, there is a lack of standardized postoperative complication management systems.To address this gap, the Korean Surgical Society initiated the development of the Korean Quality Improvement Platform in Surgery (K-QIPS) program. Methods: K-QIPS was successfully launched in 87 general hospitals. This nationwide surgical quality improvement program covers 5 major surgical fields: gastric surgery, colorectal surgery, hepatectomy and liver transplantation, pancreatectomy, and kidney transplantation. Results: Common and surgery-specific complication platforms will be developed, and the program will work toward the implementation of an artificial intelligence-based complication prediction system and the provision of evidence-based feedback to participating institutions. K-QIPS represents a significant step toward improving surgical quality and patient safety in Korea. Conclusion This program aims to reduce postoperative complications, mortality, and medical costs by providing a standardized platform for complication management and prediction. The successful implementation of this nationwide project may provide a good model for other countries that are required to improve surgical outcomes and patient care.

Purpose: Improvements in surgical quality and patient safety are critical components of the healthcare system. Despite excellent cancer survival rates in Korea, there is a lack of standardized postoperative complication management systems.To address this gap, the Korean Surgical Society initiated the development of the Korean Quality Improvement Platform in Surgery (K-QIPS) program. Methods: K-QIPS was successfully launched in 87 general hospitals. This nationwide surgical quality improvement program covers 5 major surgical fields: gastric surgery, colorectal surgery, hepatectomy and liver transplantation, pancreatectomy, and kidney transplantation. Results: Common and surgery-specific complication platforms will be developed, and the program will work toward the implementation of an artificial intelligence-based complication prediction system and the provision of evidence-based feedback to participating institutions. K-QIPS represents a significant step toward improving surgical quality and patient safety in Korea. Conclusion This program aims to reduce postoperative complications, mortality, and medical costs by providing a standardized platform for complication management and prediction. The successful implementation of this nationwide project may provide a good model for other countries that are required to improve surgical outcomes and patient care.

Purpose: High-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is the standard management for relapsed or high-risk non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). We reported the busulfan, melphalan, and etoposide (BuME) conditioning regimen was effective in patients with relapsed or high-risk NHL. Moreover, the busulfan, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide (BuCE) conditioning regimen has been used widely in ASCT for NHL. Therefore, based on these encouraging results, this randomized phase II multicenter trial compared the outcomes of BuME and BuCE as conditioning therapies for ASCT in patients with NHL. Materials and Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to receive either BuME (n=36) or BuCE (n=39). The BuME regimen was comprised of busulfan (3.2 mg/kg/day, intravenously) administered on days –7, –6, and –5, etoposide (400 mg/m2 intravenously) on days –5 and –4, and melphalan (50 mg/m2/day intravenously) on days –3 and –2. The BuCE regimen was comprised of busulfan (3.2 mg/kg/day intravenously) on days –7, –6, and –5, etoposide (400 mg/m2/day intravenously) on days –5 and –4, and cyclophosphamide (50 mg/kg/day intravenously) on days –3 and –2. The primary endpoint was 2-year progression-free survival (PFS). Results: Seventy-five patients were enrolled. Eleven patients (30.5%) in the BuME group and 13 patients (33.3%) in the BuCE group had disease progression or died. The 2-year PFS rate was 65.4% in the BuME group and 60.6% in the BuCE group (p=0.746). There were no non-relapse mortalities within 100 days after transplantation. Conclusion There were no significant differences in PFS between the two groups. Therefore, busulfan-based conditioning regimens, BuME and BuCE, may be important treatment substitutes for the BCNU-containing regimens.

Background: Nilotinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for frontline and 2nd line treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML). This study aimed to confirm the safety and efficacy of nilotinib in routine clinical practice within South Korea. Methods: An open-label, multicenter, single-arm, 12-week observational post-marketing surveillance (PMS) study was conducted on 669 Korean adult patients with Ph + CML from December 24, 2010, to December 23, 2016. The patients received nilotinib treatment in routine clinical practice settings. Safety was evaluated by all types of adverse events (AEs) during the study period, and efficacy was evaluated by the complete hematological response (CHR) and cytogenetic response. Results: During the study period, AEs occurred in 61.3% (410 patients, 973 events), adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in 40.5% (271/669 patients, 559 events), serious AEs in 4.5% (30 patients, 37 events), and serious ADRs in 0.7% (5 patients, 8 events). Furthermore, unexpected AEs occurred at a rate of 6.9% (46 patients, 55 events) and unexpected ADRs at 1.2% (8 patients, 8 events). As for the efficacy results, CHR was achieved in 89.5% (442/494 patients), and minor cytogenetic response or major cytogenetic response was achieved in 85.8% (139/162 patients). Conclusion This PMS study shows consistent results in terms of safety and efficacy compared with previous studies. Nilotinib was well tolerated and efficacious in adult Korean patients with Ph + CML in routine clinical practice settings.

PURPOSE: Data on the efficacy of olanzapine in patients receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC) are limited. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the efficacy of olanzapine versus placebo in controlling nausea and vomiting in patients receiving MEC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to determine whether olanzapine can reduce the frequency of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and improve the quality of life (QOL) in patients receiving palonosetron and dexamethasone as prophylaxis for MEC-induced nausea and vomiting. The primary end point was complete response for the acute phase (0-24 hours after chemotherapy). The secondary end points were complete response for the delayed (24-120 hours) and overall phase (0-120 hours), proportion of significant nausea (visual analogue scale ≥ 25 mm), use ofrescue medications, and effect on QOL. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients were randomized to the olanzapine (n=29) and placebo (n=27) groups. Complete response rates were not significantly different between the olanzapine and placebo groups in the acute (96.5% vs. 88.0%, p=0.326), delayed (69.0% vs. 48.0%, p=0.118), and overall phases (69.0% vs. 48.0%, p=0.118). However, the percentage of patients with significant nausea (17.2% vs. 44.0%, p=0.032) and the use of rescue medications (0.03±0.19 vs. 1.88±2.88, p=0.002) were lower in the olanzapine group than in the placebo. Furthermore, the olanzapine group demonstrated better QOL (p=0.015). CONCLUSION: Olanzapine combined with palonosetron and dexamethasone significantly improved QOL and vomiting control among previously untreated patients receiving MEC, although the efficacy was limited to the reduction of the frequency of CINV.
Antiemetics ; Dexamethasone ; Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Nausea* ; Quality of Life ; Vomiting*

Klinefelter syndrome is usually characterized by eunuchoidism, gynecomastia, small testes, infertility, elevated gonadotropins, mental retardation, and a constitutional extra X chromosome. Several reports have suggested an association between leukemia and Klinefelter syndrome, although two cohort studies failed to show a clear association between the two. We report the first Korean case of acute myeloid leukemia with the 11q23 rearrangement in a 27-year-old man with Klinefelter syndrome.
Adult ; Cohort Studies ; Eunuchism ; Gonadotropins ; Gynecomastia ; Humans ; Infertility ; Intellectual Disability ; Klinefelter Syndrome* ; Leukemia ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute* ; Male ; Testis ; X Chromosome

A 59-year-old male who had suffered from multiple myeloma for nine years and had been administered bisphosphonates for seven years visited a dental hospital for pain relief due to extensive caries in his left maxillary molars. The molars were extracted, leaving an exposed wound for three months. The radiograph showed sequestra formation and irregular bone destruction in the left maxilla. Sudden pain and gingival swelling in the right mandibular molar area occurred six months later. The interseptum of the right lower second molar was observed to be necrotic during surgery. These findings coincided with the features of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ). In this case, the long intravenous administration of bisphosphonates and tooth extraction were likely the etiologic factors of BRONJ in a patient with multiple myeloma; moreover, the bilateral occurrence of BRONJ is a characteristic feature.
Administration, Intravenous ; Bisphosphonate-Associated Osteonecrosis of the Jaw* ; Diphosphonates ; Humans ; Male ; Maxilla ; Middle Aged ; Molar ; Multiple Myeloma* ; Tooth Extraction ; Wounds and Injuries

BACKGROUND: We investigated the clinical features and treatment outcomes of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in Korea. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics and prognosis of 131 patients diagnosed with MCL between January 2004 and December 2009 at 15 medical centers in Korea; all patients received at least 1 chemotherapeutic regimen for MCL. RESULTS: The median age for the patients was 63 years (range, 26-78 years), and 77.9% were men. A total of 105 patients (80.1%) had stage III or IV MCL at diagnosis. Fifty-two patients (39.7%) were categorized with high- or high-intermediate risk MCL according to the International Prognostic Index (IPI). Eighteen patients (13.7%) were in the high-risk group according to the simplified MCL-IPI (MIPI). The overall incidence of extranodal involvement was 69.5%. The overall incidence of bone marrow and gastrointestinal involvements at diagnosis was 41.2% and 35.1%, respectively. Cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone, and rituximab were used frequently as the first-line treatment (41.2%). With a median follow-up duration of 20.0 months (range, 0.2-77.0 months), the overall survival (OS) at 2 years was 64.7%, while the event-free survival (EFS) was 39.7%. Multivariate analysis showed that the simplified MIPI was significantly associated with OS. However, the use of a rituximab-containing regimen was not associated with OS and EFS. CONCLUSION: Similar to results from Western countries, the current study found that simplified MIPI was an important prognostic factor in Korean patients with MCL.
Bone Marrow ; Cyclophosphamide ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Therapy ; Epidemiology ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Lymphoma* ; Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell* ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prednisolone ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Vincristine ; Rituximab

We present a patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus and metastatic renal cell carcinoma who developed severe hypoglycemia and metabolic encephalopathy after sunitinib treatment. Sunitinib, a multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is used to treat metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Sunitinib-induced hypoglycemia has been reported and there are rare case reports of severe hypoglycemia due to sunitinib. Therefore, glycemic control should be monitored closely in diabetic patients treated with sunitinib.
Brain Diseases, Metabolic ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Coma* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Humans ; Hypoglycemia ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases