Purpose: This study aimed to explore the practices, perceptions, and barriers related to specialty palliative care (SPC) referrals among oncologists in Korea, highlighting the clinical implications of early integration. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey targeting board-certified hemato-oncology specialists was conducted between August 1-25, 2024. The survey assessed referral practices, attitudes toward early SPC integration, referral criteria, barriers, and institutional characteristics. Results: A total of 227 oncologists participated (response rate, 36.7%). Among them, 68.7% reported frequent SPC referrals, with higher referral rates observed among younger physicians, those in tertiary hospitals, and institutions with in-house SPC teams (p < 0.001). Although 74.9% supported early SPC integration, referrals were often inconsistently timed, frequently occurring after disease progression or at the discontinuation of chemotherapy. For time-based referrals, the most commonly endorsed triggers were disease progression despite palliative second-line treatment and a prognosis of expected mortality within 6-12 months. Need-based referral triggers such as patient or family requests (96.5%), psychological distress (89.9%), or uncontrolled symptoms (83.3%), were also widely endorsed. The major barriers to early SPC integration included patient and family resistance (70.0%) and limited availability of SPC teams (34.4%). Conclusion This study emphasizes the importance of systematic efforts to promote timely SPC integration in Korea, including education to raise patient awareness, improved referral systems, and enhanced infrastructure. The positive attitudes toward early SPC among oncologists reflect a growing recognition of its value, highlighting the need for strategies that align with international standards.

There are many possible causes of esophageal ulcer, such as reflux esophagitis, pill-induced esophagitis, infectious esophagitis, tuberculosis, syphilis, Behcet's disease, radiation injury, caustic injury, foreign body-induced injury, esophageal cancer, and so on. However, there are only a few cases of esophageal ulcer by thermal injury from food, and most of these were caused by liquids; few are related to ingestion of solid food. We experienced a case of a large symmetrical esophageal ulcer caused by thermal and compressive injury from a hot solid foodstuff known as 'Song-pyen', a traditional Korean food, and report the natural course of healing by conservative treatment, with a review of the few available reports regarding such injuries.
Eating ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; Esophagitis ; Esophagitis, Peptic ; Radiation Injuries ; Syphilis ; Tuberculosis ; Ulcer

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It was reported that atorvastatin co-administered with clopidogrel for 8 months did not affect the anti-platelet potency of clopidogrel in Korean patients with acute coronary syndrome, but not in patients with stable angina. We investigated whether co-administration of statins with clopidogrel affected the anti-platelet efficacy of clopidogrel in Korean patients with stable angina. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This was a randomized, open-label and two-period crossover design study conducted at two centers. Two hundreds thirty three patients with stable angina scheduled for coronary stenting were randomized into two groups. In Group A, 119 patients first received atorvastatin (10 mg) followed by fluvastatin (80 mg) for 12 weeks per treatment. In Group B, 114 patients received the same treatments in reverse order. RESULTS: Baseline adenosine diphosphate (ADP, 10 micromol/L)-induced platelet aggregation was 54.4+/-9.1% in Group A and 53.8+/-9.0% in Group B (p=0.44), and significant differences were noted after each treatment period (p<0.001). Inhibition of platelet aggregation was similar between Group A and Group B at 24 hours following clopidogrel loading (29.2+/-11.0% vs. 30.4+/-12.7%; p=0.42). The two treatment least square means of 12-week ADP (10 mol/L)-induced platelet aggregation [29.50+/-0.79 {standard error (SE)}% on the atorvastatin treatment group vs. 28.16+/-0.70 (SE)% in the fluvastatin treatment group] in a 2x2 cross-over study were not significantly different (p=0.204). CONCLUSION: Statin and clopidogrel co-administration for 12 weeks is not associated with attenuated anti-platelet activity of clopidogrel in Korean patients with stable angina after coronary stenting, in support of the findings of similar studies conducted in Caucasian populations.
Acute Coronary Syndrome ; Adenosine Diphosphate ; Angina, Stable ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cross-Over Studies ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A ; Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated ; Heptanoic Acids ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; Indoles ; Platelet Aggregation ; Pyrroles ; Stents ; Ticlopidine ; Atorvastatin Calcium

Oxaliplatin with 5-fluorouracil plus leucovorin (FOLFOX) has become the standard treatment in patients with colorectal cancer. Among known toxicities induced by oxaliplatin, hematological, gastrointestinal and neurological toxicities are common. However, acute pulmonary toxicity associated with oxaliplatin is unusual. One case of interstitial lung disease associated with the FOLFOX protocol is reported here.
Aged ; Antineoplastic Agents/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy ; Fluorouracil/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Leucovorin/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial/chemically induced/*etiology/radiography ; Male ; Organoplatinum Compounds/*adverse effects/therapeutic use

Oxaliplatin with 5-fluorouracil plus leucovorin (FOLFOX) has become the standard treatment in patients with colorectal cancer. Among known toxicities induced by oxaliplatin, hematological, gastrointestinal and neurological toxicities are common. However, acute pulmonary toxicity associated with oxaliplatin is unusual. One case of interstitial lung disease associated with the FOLFOX protocol is reported here.
Aged ; Antineoplastic Agents/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy ; Fluorouracil/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Leucovorin/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial/chemically induced/*etiology/radiography ; Male ; Organoplatinum Compounds/*adverse effects/therapeutic use

PURPOSE: To evaluate the association between multidrug resistance (MDR) gene and prognosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), several parameters were compared according to the expression status of MDR associated P-glycoprotein. METHODS: 40 bone marrow samples from 36 children of acute lymphoblastic leukemia were analyzed with immunohistochemical stain by C219 monoclonal antibody. RESULTS: 1) The expression of MDR associated P-glycoprotein was positive in 47% at the time of initial diagnosis & 66.7% at relapse. 2) There are no stastical difference between two groups in complete remission rate, relapse rate, mean 2 years survival rate. 3) Event free survival duration was 11.3 months (+/-8.5 months) in P-glycoprotein positive group, while 20 months (+/-7.3months) in P-glycoprotein negative group (P<0.05). 4) There are no stastical difference between two groups in the mean age, sex ratio, initial WBC and immunophenotype of subjects. CONCLUSION: These results suggested the possibility of adopting MDR associated P-glycoprotein in the design of therapeutic regimen and prognostification of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, a prospective, randomized study incorporating a larger population should precede before a firm conclusion of significance would draw regarding the prognostic and the therapeutic implication of P-glycoprotein in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Bone Marrow ; Child* ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Resistance, Multiple* ; Humans ; P-Glycoprotein* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma* ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies ; Recurrence ; Sex Ratio ; Survival Rate