Purpose: The incidence of breast cancer in older females is increasing with increased life expectancy. This study analyzed tumor characteristics and oncological outcomes in patients aged ≥ 70 years compared to patients in a younger postmenopausal group, in conjunction with their adherence to treatment guidelines. Methods: Patients aged ≥ 50 years, newly diagnosed with breast cancer, were divided into two age categories: ≥ 70 years and 50–69 years. All patients underwent curative surgery at Korea University Guro Hospital between January 2009 and December 2019. Clinical data on tumor subtype, histopathological grade, and clinical stage, along with treatment details were collected. Disease-free survival, distant recurrence-free survival, and breast cancer-specific survival rates were determined. Results: Of 1,199 patients, 166 (13.8%) were ≥ 70 years at the time of surgery. The diseasefree, distant recurrence-free, and breast cancer-specific survival rates were significantly lower in patients aged ≥ 70 years (p < 0.05). In a subgroup analysis, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive tumors were the only subtype with a statistically significant difference in survival outcomes, and adherence to the guidelines was strongly linked to a better prognosis. Conclusion Patients aged ≥ 70 years had lower disease-free, distant recurrence-free, and breast cancer-specific survival rates compared to younger postmenopausal patients aged 50–69 years. With the continuous increase in life expectancy and advances in healthcare, it is critical to optimize treatment strategies for older patients with breast cancer to improve survival outcomes and enhance their quality of life.

Purpose: The incidence of breast cancer in older females is increasing with increased life expectancy. This study analyzed tumor characteristics and oncological outcomes in patients aged ≥ 70 years compared to patients in a younger postmenopausal group, in conjunction with their adherence to treatment guidelines. Methods: Patients aged ≥ 50 years, newly diagnosed with breast cancer, were divided into two age categories: ≥ 70 years and 50–69 years. All patients underwent curative surgery at Korea University Guro Hospital between January 2009 and December 2019. Clinical data on tumor subtype, histopathological grade, and clinical stage, along with treatment details were collected. Disease-free survival, distant recurrence-free survival, and breast cancer-specific survival rates were determined. Results: Of 1,199 patients, 166 (13.8%) were ≥ 70 years at the time of surgery. The diseasefree, distant recurrence-free, and breast cancer-specific survival rates were significantly lower in patients aged ≥ 70 years (p < 0.05). In a subgroup analysis, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive tumors were the only subtype with a statistically significant difference in survival outcomes, and adherence to the guidelines was strongly linked to a better prognosis. Conclusion Patients aged ≥ 70 years had lower disease-free, distant recurrence-free, and breast cancer-specific survival rates compared to younger postmenopausal patients aged 50–69 years. With the continuous increase in life expectancy and advances in healthcare, it is critical to optimize treatment strategies for older patients with breast cancer to improve survival outcomes and enhance their quality of life.

Purpose: The incidence of breast cancer in older females is increasing with increased life expectancy. This study analyzed tumor characteristics and oncological outcomes in patients aged ≥ 70 years compared to patients in a younger postmenopausal group, in conjunction with their adherence to treatment guidelines. Methods: Patients aged ≥ 50 years, newly diagnosed with breast cancer, were divided into two age categories: ≥ 70 years and 50–69 years. All patients underwent curative surgery at Korea University Guro Hospital between January 2009 and December 2019. Clinical data on tumor subtype, histopathological grade, and clinical stage, along with treatment details were collected. Disease-free survival, distant recurrence-free survival, and breast cancer-specific survival rates were determined. Results: Of 1,199 patients, 166 (13.8%) were ≥ 70 years at the time of surgery. The diseasefree, distant recurrence-free, and breast cancer-specific survival rates were significantly lower in patients aged ≥ 70 years (p < 0.05). In a subgroup analysis, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive tumors were the only subtype with a statistically significant difference in survival outcomes, and adherence to the guidelines was strongly linked to a better prognosis. Conclusion Patients aged ≥ 70 years had lower disease-free, distant recurrence-free, and breast cancer-specific survival rates compared to younger postmenopausal patients aged 50–69 years. With the continuous increase in life expectancy and advances in healthcare, it is critical to optimize treatment strategies for older patients with breast cancer to improve survival outcomes and enhance their quality of life.

Purpose: Recent advances in the treatment of breast cancer have led to the improvement of breast cancer patient’s survival. With the prolonged survival of these patients, pregnancy became an important issue, especially in young cancer patient aged 35 years or under. Increased hormone levels during pregnancy, however, raise concerns about elevating the risk of cancer recurrence. The aim of this study was to validate the notion of increased risk associated with pregnancy after breast cancer treatment in young patients. Methods: From January 2009 to December 2020, newly diagnosed breast cancer patients 35 years old or under who underwent optimal surgery in Korea University Guro Hospital were enrolled in this study. Patients were categorized into 3 groups: nulliparous, pregnancy prior to treatment of breast cancer, and patients with pregnancy after breast cancer treatment. Their overall survival and disease-free survival were evaluated. Results: A total of 107 patients were enrolled in this study. Thirteen patients (12.1%) conceived and successfully delivered. The mean follow-up period after surgery was 58.9 (± 33.5) months. There was no significant difference in overall survival (P = 0.608) and disease-free survival (P = 0.591) among different groups. Conclusion In young patients, pregnancy after treatment for breast cancer did not affect their overall survival or diseasefree survival as compared to nullipara or previously delivered groups. Therefore, pregnancy counseling should not be prevented in young breast cancer patients 35 years old or under.

BACKGROUND: Exosomes, nano-sized vesicles ranging between 30 and 150 nm secreted by human cells, play a pivotal role in long-range intercellular communication and have attracted significant attention in the field of regenerative medicine. Nevertheless, their limited productivity and cost-effectiveness pose challenges for clinical applications. These issues have recently been addressed by cell-derived nanovesicles (CDNs), which are physically synthesized exosome-mimetic nanovesicles from parent cells, as a promising alternative to exosomes. CDNs exhibit structural, physical, and biological properties similar to exosomes, containing intracellular protein and genetic components encapsulated by the cell plasma membrane. These characteristics allow CDNs to be used as regenerative medicine and therapeutics on their own, or as a drug delivery system. METHODS: The paper reviews diverse methods for CDN synthesis, current analysis techniques, and presents engineering strategies to improve lesion targeting efficiency and/or therapeutic efficacy. RESULTS: CDNs, with their properties similar to those of exosomes, offer a cost-effective and highly productive alternative due to their non-living biomaterial nature, nano-size, and readiness for use, allowing them to overcome several limitations of conventional cell therapy methods. CONCLUSION Ongoing research and enhancement of CDNs engineering, along with comprehensive safety assessments and stability analysis, exhibit vast potential to advance regenerative medicine by enabling the development of efficient therapeutic interventions.

Background: Ultraviolet radiation causes skin damage due to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammatory intermediates and direct attack of DNA of skin cells. Astaxanthin is a reddish pigment that belongs to a group of chemicals called carotenoids and has protective effects as an antioxidant. Objective: To determine the beneficial effects of astaxanthin on damaged human skin after exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Methods: Normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs) were pre-treated with astaxanthin for 24 hours and exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation. After 24 hours, the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay measured cell viability, ROS assay and flow cytometry analysis assessed apoptosis, and western blotting was performed to determine expression of apoptosis-related proteins. Results: Astaxanthin significantly inhibited UVB-induced NHEKs cytotoxicity. Pretreatment of NHEKs with astaxanthin reduced UVB-induced ROS production. Astaxanthin caused significant inhibition of UVB-induced apoptosis, as evidenced by flow cytometry analysis and western blotting. Conclusion These results suggest that astaxanthine has a beneficial effect of reducing damage caused by UVB by effectively inhibiting cell death and reducing ROS production in keratinocytes.

Salmonella enterica serotype Choleraesuis causes swine paratyphoid, with clinical findings of enterocolitis and septicemia. However, the clinicopathological features of S. Choleraesuis infections in pigs have not been reported in Korea. We describe the pathological findings of two weaned pigs with S. Choleraesuis infections, presenting with diarrhea, cough, and sudden death. Pathological examination indicated severe necrotic colitis in pig 1 and septicemic lesions in pig 2. Multidrug-resistant S. Choleraesuis was isolated from the pigs’ lungs and intestinal contents. Further research is required for the surveillance of S. Choleraesuis infections in pigs and the virulence estimation in the S. Choleraesuis isolates.

Background: and Objective Endoscopic airway dilation is the primary treatment for pediatric subglottic stenosis (SGS) due to its feasibility and non-invasiveness. The aim of this study is to evaluate the risk factors for the failure of endoscopic airway dilation in pediatric patients with SGS.
Materials and Methods: This study reviewed medical records of 38 pediatric patients had endoscopic dilation from a single and tertiary referral center, retrospectively. The success of the endoscopic dilation procedure was defined as no dyspneic symptom without tracheostomy or laryngotracheal reconstruction. Demographic profiles, underlying disease, and Myer-Cotton SGS severity grade were recorded. Success rates and risk factors for the failure of treatment were analyzed.
Results: The SGS patients with severity grade I was most common. After mean 1.8 numbers of procedures, there were 23 patients (60.5%) in the success group and 15 patients (39.5%) in the failure group. Age, sex, underlying diseases, and SGS severity grade were not significantly different between two groups. In patients who had multiple endoscopic procedures, the failure group showed SGS deteriorated after procedures in 66.7%, compared to 11.1% of the success group. In multivariable analysis, a long-term intubation (≥1 month) was identified as an independent risk factor for failure of endoscopic dilation procedure.
Conclusion Although endoscopic dilation procedure is safe and effective for the management, repetitive endoscopic dilation may not give clinical benefit in patient with long-term intubation. Other airway procedures must be considered in those group of patients.