Background: AML is a heterogeneous disease, and despite intensive therapy, recurrence is still high in AML patients who achieve the criterion for cytomorphologic remission (residual tumor burden [measurable residual disease, MRD]<5%). This study aimed to develop a targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel to detect MRD in AML patients and validate its performance. Methods: We designed an error-corrected, targeted MRD-NGS panel without using physical molecular barcodes, including 24 genes. Fifty-four bone marrow and peripheral blood samples from 23 AML patients were sequenced using the panel. The panel design was validated using reference material, and accuracy was assessed using droplet digital PCR. Results: Dilution tests showed excellent linearity and a strong correlation between expected and observed clonal frequencies (R>0.99). The test reproducibly detected MRD in three dilution series samples, with a sensitivity of 0.25% for single-nucleotide variants. More than half of samples from patients with morphologic remission after one month of chemotherapy had detectable mutations. NGS-MRD positivity for samples collected after one month of chemotherapy tended to be associated with poor overall survival and progression-free survival. Conclusions Our highly sensitive and accurate NGS-MRD panel can be readily used to monitor most AML patients in clinical practice, including patients without gene rearrangement. In addition, this NGS-MRD panel may allow the detection of newly emerging clones during clinical relapse, leading to more reliable prognoses of AML.

Purpose: Event-free survival at 24 months (EFS24) is known to be a surrogate marker for overall survival (OS) for patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). We examined the role of EFS24 in PTCL compared to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and then assessed the clinical predictive factors of achieving EFS24. Materials and Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed PTCL treated with anthracycline-based chemotherapy were included. Subsequent OS was defined as the time elapsed from 24 months after diagnosis until death from any cause in those who achieved EFS24. Results: Overall, 153 patients were evaluated, and 51 patients (33.3%) achieved EFS24. Patients who achieved EFS24 showed superior OS compared to patients who did not (p < 0.001). EFS24 could stratify the subsequent OS although it did not reach to that of the general population. After matching the PTCL group to the DLBCL group based on the international prognostic index, the subsequent OS in patients who achieved EFS24 was similar between the two groups (p=0.094). Advanced stage was a significant factor to predict the failing EFS24 by multivariable analysis (p < 0.001). Conclusion Patients with PTCL who achieve EFS24 could have a favorable subsequent OS. Since advanced disease stage is a predictor of EFS24 failure, future efforts should focus on developing novel therapeutic strategies for PTCL patients presenting with advanced disease.

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of tuberculosis-related knowledge and family support on medication adherence in tuberculosis patients. Methods: The data were collected from 175 patients diagnosed with tuberculosis at three general hospitals located in two provincial cities in South Korea from September 1 to November 31, 2020. The 160 questionnaires were analyzed using IBM SPSS WIN 25.0. Results: The patients’ average score for tuberculosis-related knowledge was 15.85±5.87 (out of 25), for family support it was 22.03±9.20 (out of 35), and for medication adherence it was 5.11±2.68 (out of 8). There were significant differences in tuberculosis-related knowledge, family support, and medication adherence according to patients’ general characteristics and significant positive relationships among tuberculosis-related knowledge, family support, and medication adherence. Factors affecting patients’ tuberculosis medication adherence were history of stopping the medication, the importance of treatment among tuberculosis-related knowledge and family support, and these factors could explain 78% of patients’ taking tuberculosis drugs. Conclusion It could be concluded that the importance of tuberculosis treatment and family support are very important for improving patients’ rates of medication adherence. Therefore, medical staffs caring for tuberculosis patients need to manage patients’ medication of tuberculosis drugs with continuous consultation.

Background/Aims: The hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) reflects portal hypertension, but its measurement is invasive. Transient elastography (TE) is a noninvasive method for evaluating liver stiffness (LS). We investigated the correlation between the value of LS, LS to platelet ratio (LPR), LS-spleen diameter-to-platelet ratio score (LSPS) and HVPG according to the etiology of cirrhosis, especially focused on alcoholic cirrhosis. Methods: Between January 2008 and March 2017, 556 patients who underwent HVPG and TE were consecutively enrolled. We evaluated LS, LPR, and LSPS according to the etiology of cirrhosis and analyzed their correlations with HVPG. Results: The LS value was higher in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis than viral cirrhosis based on the HVPG (43.5 vs. 32.0 kPa, P<0.001). There were no significant differences in the LPR or LSPS between alcoholic and viral cirrhosis groups, and the areas under the curves for the LPR and LSPS in subgroups according to HVPG levels were not superior to that for LS. In alcoholic cirrhosis, the LS cutoff value for predicting an HVPG ≥10 mmHg was 32.2 kPa with positive predictive value (PPV) of 94.5% and 36.6 kPa for HVPG ≥12 mmHg with PPV of 91.0%. Conclusions The LS cutoff value should be determined separately for patients with alcoholic and viral cirrhosis. In alcoholic cirrhosis, the LS cutoff values were 32.2 and 36.6 kPa for predicting an HVPG ≥10 and ≥12 mmHg, respectively. However, there were no significant differences in the LPR or LSPS between alcoholic and viral cirrhosis groups.

Background/Aims: Although the use of surveillance 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is discouraged in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, its usefulness in different subtypes has not been thoroughly investigated. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 157 patients who showed positive results on surveillance FDG-PET/CT every 6 months following complete response for up to 5 years. All of the patients also underwent biopsies. Results: Seventy-eight (49.6%) of 157 patients had true positive results; the remaining 79 (50.3%), including eight (5.1%) with secondary malignancies, were confirmed to yield false positive results. Among the 78 patients with true positive results, the disease in seven (8.9%) had transformed to a different subtype. The positive predictive value (PPV) of FDG-PET/CT for aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) was lower than that for indolent B-cell or aggressive T-cell NHL (p = 0.003 and p = 0.018, respectively), especially in patients with a low/low-intermediate international prognostic index (IPI) upon a positive PET/CT finding. On the other hand, indolent B-cell and aggressive T-cell NHL patients showed PPVs of > 60%, including those with low/low-intermediate secondary IPIs. Conclusions The role of FDG-PET/CT surveillance is limited, and differs according to the lymphoma subtype. FDG-PET/CT may be useful in detecting early relapse in patients with aggressive T-cell NHL, including those with low/low-intermediate risk secondary IPI; as already known, FDG-PET/CT has no role in aggressive B-cell NHL. Repeat biopsy should be performed to discriminate relapse or transformation from false positive findings in patients with positive surveillance FDG-PET/CT results.

PURPOSE: Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is recently performed in older cancer patients. The complication rate of PD is high. The present study was to compare the postoperative short- and long-term outcomes of PD in between older patients and younger patients. METHODS: Between 2000 and 2014, patients who underwent PD due to periampullary cancers were enrolled. Patients aged 75 years or over were included in the older group. RESULTS: Total 1,249 patients were enrolled in this study and 168 patients (13.5%) were included in the older group. Postoperative complication rates, duration of postoperative hospital stay, and 30-day mortality were comparable between the 2 groups, although the admission rate of intensive care unit postoperatively was higher in the older adult group (20.8% vs. 10.5%, P < 0.001). In terms of long-term outcomes, 5-year overall survival rate was lower in the older group (23.4% vs. 41.8%, P < 0.001), and 5-year cumulative recurrence rate was higher in the older group without statistical significance (63.9% vs. 57.9%, P = 0.095). However, there were no statistical differences of cumulative recurrence in pancreatic cancer patients (81.5% vs. 82.5%, P = 0.805). CONCLUSION PD for periampullary cancer is a safe and feasible treatment in the older patients. The treatment modality for obtaining better survival outcomes will be investigated.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether subfoveal choroidal thickness, measured using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT), is an indicator of subclinical ocular or systemic inflammation in eyes with Behçet disease (BD) without active ocular inflammation. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was used to examine clinical features of non-uveitic patients with BD (NUBD group), patients with a previous history of Behçet uveitis in an inactive state (IUBD group), and healthy controls were evaluated from October 2014 to September 2015. Subfoveal choroidal thickness was measured using EDI-OCT. RESULTS: The NUBD group included 46 eyes in 24 patients; the IUBD group included 16 eyes in 11 patients; and the control group included 35 eyes in 23 individuals. The mean subfoveal choroidal thicknesses differed significantly among these groups. Choroidal thickness was significantly greater in the NUBD (310.5 ± 81.0 µm) than in the IUBD (263.1 ± 56.6 µm, p = 0.013) and control (256.9 ± 67.9 µm, p = 0.002) groups. The disease activity score was significantly higher in the NUBD than in the IUBD group (p < 0.001), while the use of cyclosporine was significantly associated with choroidal thickness in eyes with NUBD (p = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS: Subfoveal choroidal thickness, as measured by EDI-OCT, may be a clinical indicator of subclinical ocular inflammation and systemic inflammation in BD patients without active ocular inflammation.
Behcet Syndrome* ; Choroid* ; Cyclosporine ; Humans ; Inflammation* ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Uveitis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Electroanatomical mapping using a three-dimensional (3D) system has high accuracy and improves the results of the ablation of outflow tract (OT) premature ventricular contraction (PVC) or ventricular tachycardia (VT) but imposes a considerable economic burden. Here, we compared detailed diagnostic catheterization and 3D mapping system for the ablation of OT PVC/VT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between June 2012 and February 2017, patients with symptomatic OT PVC/VT underwent radiofrequency ablation. Group 1 underwent detailed diagnostic catheterization (using circular and linear multielectrodes) without a 3D mapping system, while group 2 underwent diagnostic catheterization using a conventional 3D mapping system. Procedural success of PVC reduction, remaining symptoms, need for post-operative medications, and procedural time were evaluated. RESULTS: Ninety-eight OT PVC/VT cases were consecutively enrolled. The mean follow-up period was 17.7±14.5 months. Neither acute success rate (95% vs. 82%, p=0.06) nor a PVC reduction > 80% (84% vs. 87%, p=0.74) differed significantly between the two groups. The recurrence rates of PVC-related symptoms were similar (12% vs. 7%, p=0.06) between the groups, but the medication requirement for symptomatic PVC differed (12% vs. 29%, p < 0.01). The total procedure time of group 1 was shorter than that of group 2 (132±42 min vs. 157±47 min, p=0.01) and fluoroscopy time (24±15 min vs. 38±22 min, p < 0.01) and ablation time (528±538 sec vs. 899±598 sec, p < 0.01) were also significantly shortened. CONCLUSION: Detailed electrode catheter positioning is a safe and cost-effective method for the ablation of OT PVC/VT.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac* ; Catheter Ablation ; Catheterization ; Catheters* ; Electrodes* ; Fluoroscopy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Methods ; Recurrence ; Tachycardia, Ventricular ; Ventricular Premature Complexes

Glucose is essential for testicular function; the uptake of carbohydrate-derived glucose by cells is mediated by glucose transporters (GLUTs). In the present study, we investigated the activity of GLUT1 and GLUT3, the two main isoforms of GLUTs found in testes, in the left scrotal and right abdominal testes of a German Shepherd dog. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that GLUT1 immunoreactivity was absent in the scrotal and abdominal testes. In contrast, weak to moderate GLUT3 immunoreactivity was observed in mature spermatocytes as well as spermatids in the scrotal testis. In the abdominal testis, relatively strong GLUT3 immunoreactivity was detected in Leydig cells only and was absent in mature spermatocytes and spermatids. GLUT3 immunoreactivity was significantly decreased in the tubular region of abdominal testis and significantly increased in the extra-tubular (interstitial) region of abdominal testis compared to observations in the each region of scrotal testis, respectively. These results suggest that GLUT3 is the major glucose transporter in the testes and that abdominal testes may increase the uptake of glucose into interstitial areas, leading to an increased risk of developing cancer.
Animals ; Cryptorchidism ; Dogs* ; Glucose Transport Proteins, Facilitative* ; Glucose* ; Leydig Cells ; Male ; Protein Isoforms ; Spermatids ; Spermatocytes ; Testis*

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is widely used to treat a variety of gastric lesions including early gastric cancer and gastric adenoma. Bleeding and perforation are the most common complications of ESD. However, a rare and fatal bacterial stomach infection, termed acute phlegmonous gastritis, can also develop after ESD. We treated a patient with a high fever who complained of severe abdominal pain after ESD. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed a diffuse, submucosal, minimally attenuated lesion and mucosal irregularity. The clincial presentation and the CT findings were compatible with acute phlegmonous gastritis and the patient was successfully treated with antibiotics alone. The case is worth reporting because acute phlegmonous gastritis is a very rare complication of ESD.
Abdominal Pain ; Adenoma ; Anti-Bacterial Agents* ; Cellulitis* ; Fever ; Gastritis* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms