Adoptive cell therapy with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells (CAR-Ts) has emerged as an innovative immunotherapy for hematological cancer treatment. However, the limited effect on solid tumors, complex processes, and excessive manufacturing costs remain as limitations of CAR-T therapy. Nanotechnology provides an alternative to the conventional CAR-T therapy. Owing to their unique physicochemical properties, nanoparticles can not only serve as a delivery platform for drugs but also target specific cells. Nanoparticle-based CAR therapy can be applied not only to T cells but also to CAR-natural killer and CAR-macrophage, compensating for some of their limitations. This review focuses on the introduction of nanoparticle-based advanced CAR immune cell therapy and future perspectives on immune cell reprogramming.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the severity of suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reinfection according to variants of concern in Gyeongsangbuk-do and Daegu, Korea. METHODS: The database of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases reported from epidemiological investigations through the integrated system operated by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, from January 20, 2020 to May 7, 2022 was combined with data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service system. The severity odds ratio (SOR) in secondary infection episodes compared with primary infection was estimated using a generalized linear model with a binomial distribution. RESULTS: In all patients, the SOR of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection was 0.89 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.82 to 0.95), and the severity was lower than in the first infection. Patients who had been vaccinated within 91 days showed a more attenuated SOR (0.85; 95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98). However, despite vaccination, in patients with both primary and secondary infections caused by the Omicron variant, the severity was reduced to a lesser extent than in patients primarily infected with other variants. CONCLUSIONS We could make efforts to relieve the severity of COVID-19 in vulnerable populations, in which death is more likely, by recommending booster vaccinations in case of a resurgence.

The Dr. LEE Jong-wook—Seoul Project (DLSP) in the Lao People'0s Democratic Republic (PDR) is a long-term development cooperation initiative aimed at upgrading the medical education capacity at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) in the Lao PDR. Under the project, eight faculty members from UHS were trained at the Seoul National University College of Medicine for a 12-month period during 2010–2011. Using a training-of-trainers model, we estimated the effect of DLSP on the learning outcomes of students, which was measured using the standard test scores of the students. The questionnaire developed by the Medical Education Assessment Consortium in Korea was given to the students and both the percent-correct and standardized scores were examined. The evaluation strategy was to compare the learning outcomes of the students taught by the trainees with those that were not and to compare the medical topics taught by the trainees with other topics. It was found that the first group of trainees in the DLSP was associated with an increase of 1.5 in the percent-correct test scores for basic medicine. While the interpretation requires caution, it is consistent with the view that a training program for faculty members could be effective in improving the teaching capacity of medical schools in developing countries.
Developing Countries ; Education ; Education, Medical ; Educational Measurement ; Humans ; Korea ; Laos ; Learning ; Schools, Medical ; Seoul ; Students, Medical

Since after 2006 when the first edition of practice guidelines for gynecologic oncologic cancer treatment was released, the Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology (KSGO) has published the following editions on a regular basis to suggest the best possible standard care considering updated scientific evidence as well as medical environment including insurance coverage. The Guidelines Revision Committee was summoned to revise the second edition of KSGO practice guidelines, which was published in July 2010, and develop the third edition. The current guidelines cover strategies for diagnosis and treatment of primary and recurrent ovarian cancer. In this edition, we introduced an advanced format based on evidence-based medicine, collecting up-to-date data mainly from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library CENTRAL, and conducting a meta-analysis with systematic review. Eight key questions were raised by the committee members. For every key question, recommendations were developed by the consensus meetings and provided with evidence level and strength of the recommendation.
Committee Membership ; Consensus* ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Insurance Coverage ; Korea* ; Ovarian Neoplasms*

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has risen rapidly worldwide, including in South Korea. Factors related to lifestyle are closely associated with the development of MetS. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between MetS and a number of factors positively influencing health, namely non-smoking, low-risk drinking, sufficient sleep, regular exercise, and the habit of reading food labels, among Korean men. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 3,869 men from the 2007–2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Information on five factors positively influencing their health was obtained using a self-reported questionnaire. We categorized subjects into four groups, depending on the number of positive factors reported (group I, 0–1 factor; group II, 2 factors; group III, 3 factors; group IV, 4–5 factors). RESULTS: Men who reported a greater number of positive health factors had better laboratory and anthropometric values than men who reported fewer positive health factors. The prevalence of MetS was 29.1, 27.2, 20.7, and 14.6% in groups I to IV, respectively. Compared to group I, odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for MetS were 0.96 (0.78–1.19) in group II, 0.67 (0.52–0.87) in group III, and 0.52 (0.35–0.76) in group IV, after adjusting for confounding factors. Odds ratios for abdominal obesity, glucose intolerance, and hypertriglyceridemia were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: A greater number of positive lifestyle factors influencing health were associated with a lower risk of developing MetS, in a nationally representative sample of Korean men.
Alcohol Drinking ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drinking ; Glucose Intolerance ; Humans ; Hypertriglyceridemia ; Korea ; Life Style ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Smoking

The Surgery Treatment Modality Committee of the Korean Gynecologic Oncology Group has determined to develop a surgical manual to facilitate clinical trials and to improve communication between investigators by standardizing and precisely describing operating procedures. The literature on anatomic terminology, identification of surgical components, and surgical techniques were reviewed and discussed in depth to develop a surgical manual for gynecologic oncology. The surgical procedures provided here represent the minimum requirements for participating in a clinical trial. These procedures should be described in the operation record form, and the pathologic findings obtained from the procedures should be recorded in the pathologic report form. Here, we describe surgical procedure for ovarian, fallopian tubal, and peritoneal cancers.
Female ; Gynecologic Surgical Procedures ; Humans ; Manuals as Topic ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Research Personnel

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate whether a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) could enhance chemosensitivity via the inhibition of vacuolar-type H⁺ ATPase (V-ATPase) in cervical cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression of V-ATPase was evaluated in 351 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human cervical cancer tissues using immunohistochemistry and compared with clinicopathologic risk factors for disease prognosis. The influence of cell proliferation and apoptosis following V-ATPase siRNA transfection or esomeprazole pretreatment was assessed in cervical cancer cell lines using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that V-ATPase was expressed in about 60% of cervical cancer tissue samples (211/351), and the expression was predominantly found in adenocarcinoma histology (p=0.016). Among patients with initially bulky cervical cancer (n=89), those with V-ATPase expression had shorter disease-free survival (p=0.005) and overall survival (p=0.023). Co-treatment with V-ATPase siRNA or esomeprazole with paclitaxel significantly decreased the cell proliferation of cervical cancer cell lines, including HeLa and INT407, compared to cell lines treated with paclitaxel alone (p < 0.01). Moreover, V-ATPase siRNA or esomeprazole followed by paclitaxel significantly increased the expression of active caspase-3 in these cells compared to cells treated with paclitaxel alone (both, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: V-ATPase was predominantly expressed in cervical adenocarcinoma, and the expression of V-ATPases was associated with poor prognosis. The inhibition of V-ATPase via siRNA or PPI (esomeprazole) might enhance the chemosensitivity of paclitaxel in cervical cancer cells.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adenosine Triphosphatases ; Antineoplastic Agents ; Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Disease-Free Survival ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Esomeprazole ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Paclitaxel* ; Prognosis ; Proton Pump Inhibitors ; Proton Pumps* ; Protons* ; Risk Factors ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Transfection ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms* ; Vacuolar Proton-Translocating ATPases

OBJECTIVE: To present our experience with laparoscopic tube-preserving surgery for ectopic tubal pregnancy and evaluate its feasibility and efficacy. METHODS: This was a prospective study of 57 consecutive patients with ectopic tubal pregnancies undergoing laparoscopic tube-preserving procedures including salpingotomy, salpingostomy, segmental resection and reanastomosis, and fimbrial milking. The outcome measures were treatment success rates and homolateral patency rates. RESULTS: Of the 57 surgical procedures, 55 (96.4%) were performed successfully without any additional intervention. The number of patients receiving salpingotomy, salpingostomy, segmental resection and reanastomosis, and fimbrial milking were 24 (42.1%), 25 (43.9%), 4 (7.0%), and 2 (3.5%), respectively. Two case was switched to salpingectomy because excessive bipolar coagulation was required to obtain hemostasis at the tubal bleeding bed. Over a mean β-human chorionic gonadotropin resolution time of 18.3±5.9 days, no persistent trophoblast or postoperative complications occurred. A tubal patency test using hysterosalpingography was performed in 15 cases at 3 months postoperatively. Among these, the homolateral tubal patency rate was 75% (11 of 15) and the contralateral patency rate was 80% (12 of 15). CONCLUSION: Tube-preserving surgery is a feasible and safe treatment option for ectopic tubal pregnancy. However, considering that the optimal goal of tube-preserving surgical procedures is not the treatment success, some caution is warranted in interpreting results of this study.
Chorionic Gonadotropin ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Hemostasis ; Humans ; Hysterosalpingography ; Milk ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Postoperative Complications ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Ectopic ; Pregnancy, Tubal* ; Prospective Studies ; Salpingectomy ; Salpingostomy ; Trophoblasts

Anticoccidial effects of the Plantago asiatica extract (PAE) were evaluated in chickens following oral infection with Eimeria (E.) tenella. This study was conducted on the 3-day-old chickens (n=30). Those animals were divided with 3 groups; PAE 0.1% treated/infected (n=10), PAE untreated/infected (n=10) and non-infected control (n=10). Chickens were fed a standard diet supplemented with or without PAE for 1 week prior to infection with E. tenella (10,000 sporulated oocysts per chicken). The effects of PAE on E. tenella infection were assessed by two parameters; fecal oocysts shedding and body weights gain. The PAE-fed chickens produced significantly reduced fecal oocysts (P<0.05) when compared to the E. tenella-infected group fed standard diet. Also, PAE-based diet, improved body weight loss caused by E. tenella infection. Our data demonstrated that PAE had remarkable anticoccidial activities against E. tenella. This finding might have implications for the development of anticoccidial drug. This study is the first to demonstrate anticoccidial effect of PAE on Eimeria parasites.
Animals ; Body Weight ; Chickens ; Diet ; Eimeria tenella* ; Eimeria* ; Oocysts ; Parasites ; Plantago*

Given the growing number of cancer patients and the resulting increase in the administration of chemotherapeutic agents, convenient and effective methods for measuring the symptoms and quality of life associated with the hand-foot syndrome (HFS) are needed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and validate the Korean version of the hand-foot skin reaction and quality of life questionnaire (HF-QoL-K), comprising a 20-item symptom domain and an 18-item daily activity domain. After we developed the HF-QoL-K, 209 Korean patients with gynecologic cancer who were undergoing chemotherapeutic agents relating the HFS were asked to fill in the questionnaire. The content validity, internal consistency reliability, and test-retest reliability were evaluated. The internal validity index, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, and intra-class correlation coefficient of the HF-QoL-K were 0.90, 0.958, and 0.825 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.774–0.865), respectively. The scatter plot (Pearson correlation coefficient, 0.826) and the Bland-Altman plot for test-retest reliability were also acceptable. The HF-QoL-K instrument is a valid and reliable questionnaire for the measurement of the symptoms and quality of life in Korean cancer patients suffering HFS.
Drug Therapy ; Hand-Foot Syndrome ; Humans ; Quality of Life* ; Reproducibility of Results ; Skin*