Purpose: Cancer poses a significant global health challenge, demanding precise genomic testing for individualized treatment strategies. Targeted-panel sequencing (TPS) has improved personalized oncology but often lacks comprehensive coverage of crucial cancer alterations. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) addresses this gap, offering extensive genomic testing. This study demonstrates the medical potential of WGS. Materials and Methods: This study evaluates target-enhanced WGS (TE-WGS), a clinical-grade WGS method sequencing both cancer and matched normal tissues. Forty-nine patients with various solid cancer types underwent both TE-WGS and TruSight Oncology 500 (TSO500), one of the mainstream TPS approaches. Results: TE-WGS detected all variants reported by TSO500 (100%, 498/498). A high correlation in variant allele fractions was observed between TE-WGS and TSO500 (r=0.978). Notably, 223 variants (44.8%) within the common set were discerned exclusively by TE-WGS in peripheral blood, suggesting their germline origin. Conversely, the remaining subset of 275 variants (55.2%) were not detected in peripheral blood using the TE-WGS, signifying them as bona fide somatic variants. Further, TE-WGS provided accurate copy number profiles, fusion genes, microsatellite instability, and homologous recombination deficiency scores, which were essential for clinical decision-making. Conclusion TE-WGS is a comprehensive approach in personalized oncology, matching TSO500’s key biomarker detection capabilities. It uniquely identifies germline variants and genomic instability markers, offering additional clinical actions. Its adaptability and cost-effectiveness underscore its clinical utility, making TE-WGS a valuable tool in personalized cancer treatment.

Purpose: Cancer poses a significant global health challenge, demanding precise genomic testing for individualized treatment strategies. Targeted-panel sequencing (TPS) has improved personalized oncology but often lacks comprehensive coverage of crucial cancer alterations. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) addresses this gap, offering extensive genomic testing. This study demonstrates the medical potential of WGS. Materials and Methods: This study evaluates target-enhanced WGS (TE-WGS), a clinical-grade WGS method sequencing both cancer and matched normal tissues. Forty-nine patients with various solid cancer types underwent both TE-WGS and TruSight Oncology 500 (TSO500), one of the mainstream TPS approaches. Results: TE-WGS detected all variants reported by TSO500 (100%, 498/498). A high correlation in variant allele fractions was observed between TE-WGS and TSO500 (r=0.978). Notably, 223 variants (44.8%) within the common set were discerned exclusively by TE-WGS in peripheral blood, suggesting their germline origin. Conversely, the remaining subset of 275 variants (55.2%) were not detected in peripheral blood using the TE-WGS, signifying them as bona fide somatic variants. Further, TE-WGS provided accurate copy number profiles, fusion genes, microsatellite instability, and homologous recombination deficiency scores, which were essential for clinical decision-making. Conclusion TE-WGS is a comprehensive approach in personalized oncology, matching TSO500’s key biomarker detection capabilities. It uniquely identifies germline variants and genomic instability markers, offering additional clinical actions. Its adaptability and cost-effectiveness underscore its clinical utility, making TE-WGS a valuable tool in personalized cancer treatment.

Purpose: Cancer poses a significant global health challenge, demanding precise genomic testing for individualized treatment strategies. Targeted-panel sequencing (TPS) has improved personalized oncology but often lacks comprehensive coverage of crucial cancer alterations. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) addresses this gap, offering extensive genomic testing. This study demonstrates the medical potential of WGS. Materials and Methods: This study evaluates target-enhanced WGS (TE-WGS), a clinical-grade WGS method sequencing both cancer and matched normal tissues. Forty-nine patients with various solid cancer types underwent both TE-WGS and TruSight Oncology 500 (TSO500), one of the mainstream TPS approaches. Results: TE-WGS detected all variants reported by TSO500 (100%, 498/498). A high correlation in variant allele fractions was observed between TE-WGS and TSO500 (r=0.978). Notably, 223 variants (44.8%) within the common set were discerned exclusively by TE-WGS in peripheral blood, suggesting their germline origin. Conversely, the remaining subset of 275 variants (55.2%) were not detected in peripheral blood using the TE-WGS, signifying them as bona fide somatic variants. Further, TE-WGS provided accurate copy number profiles, fusion genes, microsatellite instability, and homologous recombination deficiency scores, which were essential for clinical decision-making. Conclusion TE-WGS is a comprehensive approach in personalized oncology, matching TSO500’s key biomarker detection capabilities. It uniquely identifies germline variants and genomic instability markers, offering additional clinical actions. Its adaptability and cost-effectiveness underscore its clinical utility, making TE-WGS a valuable tool in personalized cancer treatment.

In 2018, the South Korean government launched a community care policy aimed at providing more extensive social services for older adults, the disabled, and mental health patients.This policy also included an expansion of home-based hospice services in response to the growing demand for hospice and palliative care. Despite these initiatives, social workers play a limited role in home-based hospice care, and those specializing in hospice and palliative care are not yet fully equipped to provide effective community care services. This study investigated both domestic and international research trends to identify key tasks for defining the roles of hospice and palliative care social workers within community care. It also examined how these social workers perceive community care. The findings suggest that previous research has called for a more precise definition of the roles of hospice and palliative care social workers. It is particularly critical to address the underutilization of social workers in home-based hospice care, which is essential for effective community care. The study also revealed that while hospice and palliative care workers recognize the necessity of community care, their understanding of the community resources needed for its implementation and their actual performance in delivering such care are lacking. Additionally, their appreciation of the importance of establishing discharge plans, which include home visits, assessments and improvements of the residential environment, and transportation arrangements, was found to be limited. They acknowledged the need to establish a community linkage system and develop an information system to effectively implement community care. To clearly establish the role of hospice and palliative care social workers in community care, several measures should be taken: First, the role and function of home-based hospice and palliative care workers need to be institutionally strengthened. Second, training focused on developing discharge plans for these social workers should be improved. Concurrently, priority in this training should be given to those workers who are at a higher risk of burnout. Third, the activation of regional hospice centers should be pursued to ensure a robust community linkage system and the implementation of a community information system.

We investigated the relationship between positive surgical margin (PSM)-related factors and biochemical recurrence (BCR) and the ability of intraoperative frozen sections to predict significant PSM in patients with prostate cancer. The study included 271 patients who underwent robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy with bilateral nerve sparing and maximal urethral preservation. Intraoperative frozen sections of the periurethra, dorsal vein, and bladder neck were analyzed. The ability of PSM-related factors to predict BCR and significant PSM was assessed by logistic regression. Of 271 patients, 108 (39.9%) had PSM and 163 (60.1%) had negative margins. Pathologic Gleason score ≥8 (18.9% vs 7.5%, P = 0.015) and T stage ≥T3a (51.9%vs 24.6%, P < 0.001) were significantly more frequent in the PSM group. Multivariate analysis showed that Gleason pattern ≥4 (vs <4; hazard ratio: 4.386; P = 0.0004) was the only significant predictor of BCR in the PSM cohort. Periurethral frozen sections had a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 84.2% in detecting PSM with Gleason pattern ≥4. Multivariate analysis showed that membranous urethra length (odds ratio [OR]: 0.79, P = 0.0376) and extracapsular extension of the apex (OR: 4.58, P = 0.0226) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positive periurethral tissue (OR: 17.85, P < 0.0001) were associated with PSM of the apex. PSM with Gleason pattern ≥4 is significantly predictive of BCR. Intraoperative frozen sections of periurethral tissue can independently predict PSM, whereas sections of the bladder neck and dorsal vein could not. Pathologic examination of these samples may help predict significant PSM in patients undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy with preservation of functional outcomes.

Materials and methods: A rigorous and systematic approach was used and each of the selected studies was evaluated for methodological quality. Data about study design, total number of cases enrolled, iron administration method, timing, and dose were extracted. Change in hemoglobin and transfusion rates were extracted to evaluate the effectiveness of iron supplementation. Results: Eleven studies were included in the final analysis. Most of studies reported that hemoglobin change between iron and control group did not show any difference. Only one study reported that iron supplementation could reduce the decrease in hemoglobin. However, transfusion rate showed a decrease in the iron supplementation group compared with the control group. There was no clear consensus on the optimum timing and dose of iron supplementation and intravenously administered iron was more effective than orally administered iron, especially in anemic patients. Conclusion Iron supplementation is not clear as a way to raise hemoglobin levels after TKA, but an effective treatment for lowering transfusion rate, especially in patients with anemia. We could not determine the optimal timing and dose of the iron. Intravenously administered iron was similar to, or better than, orally administered iron for improving hemoglobin levels and transfusion rate.

Materials and methods: A rigorous and systematic approach was used and each of the selected studies was evaluated for methodological quality. Data about study design, total number of cases enrolled, iron administration method, timing, and dose were extracted. Change in hemoglobin and transfusion rates were extracted to evaluate the effectiveness of iron supplementation. Results: Eleven studies were included in the final analysis. Most of studies reported that hemoglobin change between iron and control group did not show any difference. Only one study reported that iron supplementation could reduce the decrease in hemoglobin. However, transfusion rate showed a decrease in the iron supplementation group compared with the control group. There was no clear consensus on the optimum timing and dose of iron supplementation and intravenously administered iron was more effective than orally administered iron, especially in anemic patients. Conclusion Iron supplementation is not clear as a way to raise hemoglobin levels after TKA, but an effective treatment for lowering transfusion rate, especially in patients with anemia. We could not determine the optimal timing and dose of the iron. Intravenously administered iron was similar to, or better than, orally administered iron for improving hemoglobin levels and transfusion rate.

PURPOSE: We compared subtypes of papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC; types 1 and 2) and clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) in patients with T1-stage RCC to analyze the impact of the subtype on oncological outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This paper reviewed 75 patients with pRCC and 252 patients with ccRCC at T1-stage from 1998–2012. Thus, we assessed the impact of subtype on oncologic outcomes among patients with T1-stage RCC. We used Kaplan-Meier analysis to estimate the overall survival and recurrence-free survival The median follow-up duration was 95 months (interquartile range, 75.4–119.3 months). RESULTS: The 5-year recurrence-free survivals of pRCC and ccRCC were 95.4% and 97.6%, respectively. pRCC is worse than ccRCC in terms of recurrence-free survival (p=0.008) and there was no significant difference in the overall survival between pRCC and ccRCC (p=0.32). In addition, there was no significant statistical difference between type 1 pRCC and type 2 pRCC in terms of either recurrence-free survival (p=0.526) or overall survival (p=0.701). Age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.069; p < 0.001) and recurrence (HR, 4.93; p < 0.001) were predictors of overall survival. Only tumor size (HR, 1.071; p=0.004) was predictors in the case of cancer specific survival in the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with T1-stage RCC, recurrence after surgery was more common in pRCC than ccRCC. The subtype of pRCC (types 1 and 2) had no impact on the recurrence-free survival or overall survival.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Recurrence

Avulsion fracture of the posterior cruciate ligament from its femoral insertion is quite rare, particularly in adults, and the treatment guidelines have not been established. A 68-year-old female patient with residual poliomyelitis presented with an avulsion fracture of the femoral insertion of the posterior cruciate ligament after a falling accident and was treated with arthroscopic headless compression screw fixation and pull-out suture of the avulsed ligament. We report this case with a relevant discussion of this type of injury.
Accidental Falls ; Adult ; Aged ; Arthroscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Poliomyelitis ; Posterior Cruciate Ligament ; Sutures

PURPOSE: This study examined whether any fracture pattern shown in computed tomography (CT) scan is associated with the presence of lateral meniscus (LM) injury in a tibia plateau fracture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-three tibia plateau fractures with both preoperative CT and magnetic resonance imagings (MRI) available were reviewed. The patient demographics, including age, sex, body mass index, and energy level of injury were recorded. The fracture type according to the Schatzker classification, patterns including the lateral plateau depression (LPD), lateral plateau widening (LPW), fracture fragment location, and the number of columns involved were assessed from the CT scans. The presence of a LM injury was determined from the MRI. The differences in the factors between the patients with (Group 1) and without (Group 2) LM injuries were compared and the correlation between the factors and the presence of LM injury was analyzed. RESULTS: The LM was injured in 23 cases (Group 1, 43.4%) and intact in 30 cases (Group 2, 56.6%). The LPD in Group 1 (average, 8.2 mm; range, 3.0–20.0 mm) and Group 2 (average, 3.8 mm; range, 1.4–12.1 mm) was significantly different (p < 0.001). The difference in LPW of Group 1 (average, 6.9 mm; range, 1.2–15.3 mm) and Group 2 (average, 4.8 mm; range, 1.4–9.4 mm) was not significant (p=0.097). The other fracture patterns or demographics were similar between in the two groups. Regression analysis revealed that an increased LPD (p=0.003, odds ratio [OR]=2.12) and LPW (p=0.048, OR=1.23) were significantly related to the presence of a LM tear. CONCLUSION: LPD and LPW measured from the CT scans were associated with an increased risk of concomitant LM injury in tibia plateau fractures. If such fracture patterns exist, concomitant LM injury should be considered and an MRI may be beneficial for an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.
Body Mass Index ; Classification ; Demography ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Menisci, Tibial ; Odds Ratio ; Tears ; Tibia ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed