Background/Aims: A comprehensive analysis of trends in the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is important for planning public health initiatives. We aimed to analyze the trends in HCC incidence in South Korea over 10 years and to predict the incidence for the year 2028. Methods: Data from patients with newly diagnosed HCC between 2008 and 2018 were obtained from Korean National Health Insurance Service database. Age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) were calculated to compare HCC incidence. A poisson regression model was used to predict the future incidence of HCC. Results: The average crude incidence rate (CR) was 22.4 per 100,000 person-years, and the average ASR was 17.6 per 100,000 person-years between 2008 and 2018. The CR (from 23.9 to 21.2 per 100,000 person-years) and ASR (from 21.9 to 14.3 per 100,000 person-years) of HCC incidence decreased during the past ten years in all age groups, except in the elderly. The ASR of patients aged ≥80 years increased significantly (from 70.0 to 160.2/100,000 person-years; average annual percent change, +9.00%; P<0.001). The estimated CR (17.9 per 100,000 person-years) and ASR (9.7 per 100,000 person-years) of HCC incidence in 2028 was declined, but the number of HCC patients aged ≥80 years in 2028 will be quadruple greater than the number of HCC patients in 2008 (from 521 to 2,055), comprising 21.3% of all HCC patients in 2028. Conclusions The ASRs of HCC in Korea have gradually declined over the past 10 years, but the number, CR, and ASR are increasing in patients aged ≥80 years.

Abalone is popular seafood in Asia; however, allergy to abalone was rarely reported. We report a case of anaphylaxis after consumption of abalone. A 24-year-old female visited an Emergency Department, complaining of cough, dyspnea, rhinorrhea, generalized urticaria, facial edema, and wheezing that had developed 1 hour after consumption of abalone. She was discharged when her symptoms subsided after antihistamine and dexamethasone were given. One month later, she was referred to our outpatient clinic. We performed skin prick tests, measurement of serum specific IgE antibody level, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) with IgE immunoblotting. Both skin prick and specific IgE antibody tests were positive for abalone crude extract. In SDS-PAGE with IgE immunoblotting, we identified possible antigens sized 55, 100, and 25 kDa, respectively. This is the first case of abalone-induced anaphylaxis in Korea.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Anaphylaxis* ; Asia ; Cough ; Dexamethasone ; Dyspnea ; Edema ; Electrophoresis ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunoblotting ; Immunoglobulin E ; Korea ; Respiratory Sounds ; Seafood ; Shellfish ; Skin ; Sodium ; Urticaria ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although it is generally known that the risk for all types of cancer increases with adult height, combined and for several common site-specific cancers (including colon and rectal), evidence is limited for adenomas, which are precursors to colorectal cancer. We evaluated the association between height and risk of colorectal adenoma at various stages of the adenoma-carcinoma pathway. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study using data from patients who had undergone a complete colonoscopy as part of a health examination at the Health Promotion Center of Samsung Medical Center between October 13, 2009 and December 31, 2011. A total of 1,347 male subjects were included in our study. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between height and colorectal adenoma. RESULTS: Each 5-cm increase in height was associated with 1.6% and 5.3% higher risks of advanced colorectal adenoma and high-risk colorectal adenoma, respectively, but associations were not significant after adjusting for age, body mass index, metabolic syndrome, alcohol intake, smoking, family history of colorectal cancer, and regular aspirin use (p = 0.840 and p = 0.472, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: No clear association was found between colorectal adenoma risk and height. Unlike other site-specific tumors reported to have a consistent relationship with height, the association between colorectal tumor and height remains controversial.
Adenoma* ; Adult ; Aspirin ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Colon ; Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke ; Smoking

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of mental disorders in Korean adults. METHODS: Door to door household surveys were conducted with community residents aged 18-74 years from July 19, 2011, to November 16, 2011 (n=6,022, response rate 78.7%). The sample was drawn from 12 catchment areas using a multistage cluster method. Each subject was assessed using the Korean version of the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). RESULTS: Lifetime and 12-month prevalence estimates were as follows: alcohol use disorders, 13.4% and 4.4%, respectively; nicotine use disorders, 7.2% and 4.0%, respectively; anxiety disorders, 8.7% and 6.8%, respectively; and mood disorders, 7.5% and 3.6%, respectively. The prevalence rates of all types of DSM-IV mental disorders were 27.6% and 16.0%, respectively. Being female; young; divorced, separated, or widowed; and in a low-income group were associated with mood and anxiety disorders after adjustment for various demographic variables, whereas being male and young were associated with alcohol use disorders. Higher income was not correlated with alcohol use disorder as it had been in the 2001 survey. CONCLUSION: The rate of depressive disorders has increased since 2001 (the first national survey), whereas that of anxiety disorders has been relatively stable. The prevalence of nicotine and alcohol use disorders has decreased, and the male-to-female ratio of those with this diagnosis has also decreased.
Adult* ; Anxiety Disorders ; Depressive Disorder ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders* ; Divorce ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mental Disorders* ; Mood Disorders ; Nicotine ; Prevalence* ; Tobacco Use Disorder ; Widowhood ; World Health Organization

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is an uncommon systemic disease that is characterized by episodic and progressive inflammation of the cartilaginous structures, which can be very debilitating and in some instances life-threatening. The pathogenic pathways of RP are largely unknown. However, several hypothesis have been suggested. We had an interesting case of aggravation of RP due to the infection. Graft cartilage on the nasal tip was affected by RP also. This case can give a clue of revealing the pathogenesis of RP. We introduce a case with a review of the literature.
Cartilage ; Foreign-Body Reaction ; Inflammation ; Nose ; Polychondritis, Relapsing* ; Transplants*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prevalence of occult HBV infection depends on the prevalence of HBV infection in the general population. Hemodialysis patients are at increased risk for HBV infection. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of occult HBV infection in hemodialysis patients. METHODS: Total of 98 patients undergoing hemodialysis in CHA Bundang Medical Center (Seongnam, Korea) were included. Liver function tests and analysis of HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc and anti-HCV were performed. HBV DNA testing was conducted by using two specific quantitative methods. RESULTS: HBsAg was detected in 4 of 98 patients (4.1%), and they were excluded. Among 94 patients with HBsAg negative and anti-HCV negative, one (1.1%) patient with the TaqMan PCR test and 3 (3.2%) patients with the COBAS Amplicor HBV test were positive for HBV DNA. One patient was positive in both methods. Two patients were positive for both anti-HBs and anti-HBc and one patient was negative for both anti-HBs and anti-HBc. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed the prevalence of occult HBV infection in HBsAg negative and anti-HCV negative patients on hemodialysis at our center was 3.2%. Because there is possibility of HBV transmission in HBsAg negative patients on hemodialysis, more attention should be given to prevent HBV transmission.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antibodies/blood ; DNA, Viral/analysis ; Feces/*virology ; Female ; Hepatitis B/complications/*epidemiology/transmission ; Hepatitis B Core Antigens/immunology ; Hepatitis B virus/genetics/immunology ; Hepatitis C Antibodies/blood ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/*complications/diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence ; Renal Dialysis ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic approaches using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against complement regulatory proteins (CRPs:i.e.,CD46,CD55 and CD59) have been reported for adjuvant cancer therapy. In this study, we generated a recombinant 1E8 single-chain anti-CD59 antibody (scFv-Fc) and tested anti-cancer effect.by using complement dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). METHODS: We isolated mRNA from 1E8 hybridoma cells and amplified the variable regions of the heavy chain (VH) and light chain (VL) genes using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Using a linker, the amplified sequences for the heavy and light chains were each connected to the sequence for a single polypeptide chain that was designed to be expressed. The VL and VH fragments were cloned into the pOptiVEC-TOPO vector that contained the human CH2-CH3 fragment. Then, 293T cells were transfected with the 1E8 single-chain Fv-Fc (scFv-Fc) constructs. CD59 expression was evaluated in the prostate cancer cell lines using flow cytometry. The enhancement of CDC effect by mouse 1E8 and 1E8 scFv-Fc were evaluated using a cytotoxicity assay. RESULTS: The scFv-Fc constructs were expressed by the transfected 293T cells and secreted into the culture medium. The immunoreactivity of the secreted scFv-Fc construct was similar to that of the mouse 1E8 for CCRF-CEM cells. The molecular masses of 1E8 scFv-Fc were about 120 kDa and 55 kDa under reducing and non-reducing conditions, respectively. The DNA sequence of 1E8 scFv-Fc was obtained and presented. CD59 was highly expressed by the prostate cancer cell line. The recombinant 1E8 scFv-Fc mAb revealed significantly enhanced CDC effect similar with mouse 1E8 for prostate cancer cells. CONCLUSION: A 1E8 scFv-Fc construct for adjuvant cancer therapy was developed.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Base Sequence ; Cell Line ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Clone Cells ; Complement System Proteins ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Hybridomas ; Light ; Mice ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Proteins ; RNA, Messenger

Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a rare congenital anomaly associated with very high mortality during infancy. We report a 35-year-old female patient with ALCAPA initially visualized by echocardiography. She visited outpatient department presenting with intermittent chest discomfort for 3 weeks. Transthoracic echocardiography showed left coronary artery arising from main pulmonary artery and abundant septal color flow Doppler signals. Transesophageal echocardiography clearly revealed markedly dilated and tortuous right coronary artery showing windsock appearance. Multidetector computed tomography and coronary angiography enabled visualization of anomalous left coronary artery originating from left side of main pulmonary trunk. After treadmill exercise test which showed ST-segment depression presenting inducible myocardial ischemia, patient underwent direct re-implantation of the anomalous coronary artery into the aorta without any complication.
Aorta ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessel Anomalies ; Coronary Vessels ; Depression ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Exercise Test ; Female ; Humans ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Outpatients ; Pulmonary Artery ; Thorax

Jugular bulb diverticulum (JBD) is a rarely reported vascular anomaly, which is an extraluminal outpouching from the jugular bulb. Especially, there exists a lack of reported cases involving JBD encroaching the internal auditory canal (IAC) in Korea. Subjects with JBD may be asymptomatic or have variable symptoms based on its location and size. In this article, we report a unique case of JBD eroding into the IAC that was presented as sudden sensorineural hearing loss with vertigo.
Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 ; Diverticulum ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural ; Korea ; Vertigo

We report a patient of left atrial huge myxoma presenting with severe pulmonary hypertension in adolescents. A patient was a 14-year-old boy presented with sudden onset dyspnea. Transthoracic echocardiographic study revealed the presence of a nodular, 4.34 x 8.11 cm sized, mobile, hyperechoic mass in the left atrium and severe pulmonary hypertension with tricuspid insufficiency. After surgical therapy, tricuspid regurgitation and pulmonary hypertension was decreased and the patient was stabilized and had an uneventful clinical course.
Adolescent ; Dyspnea ; Heart Atria ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Myxoma ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency