Purpose: Intraoral scanners, desktop scanners, and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) are being used in a complementary way for diagnosis and treatment planning. Limited patient-based results are available about dimensional reproducibility among different three-dimensional imaging systems. This study aimed to evaluate dimensional reproducibility among patient-derived digital models created from an intraoral scanner, desktop scanner, and two CBCT systems. Materials and Methods: Twenty-nine arches from sixteen patients who were candidates for implant treatments were enrolled. Different types of CBCT systems (KCT and VCT) were used before and after the surgery. Polyvinylsiloxane impressions were taken on the enrolled arches after the healing period. Gypsum casts were fabricated and scanned with an intraoral scanner (CIOS) and desktop scanner (MDS). Four test groups of digital models, each from CIOS, MDS, KCT, and VCT, respectively, were compared to the reference gypsum cast group. For comparison of linear measurements, intercanine and intermolar widths and left and right canine to molar lengths were measured on individual gypsum cast and digital models. All measurements were triplicated, and the averages were used for statistics.Bland–Altman plots were drawn to assess the degree of agreement between each test group with the reference gypsum cast group. A linear mixed model was used to analyze the fixed effect of the test groups compared to the reference group (α=0.05).Result: The Bland–Altman plots showed that the bias of each test group was –0.07 mm for CIOS, –0.07 mm for MDS, –0.21 mm for VCT, and –0.25 mm for KCT. The linear mixed model did not show significant differences between the test and reference groups (P>0.05). Conclusion The linear distances measured on the digital models created from CIOS, MDS, and two CBCT systems showed slightly larger than the references but clinically acceptable reproducibility for diagnosis and treatment planning.reproducibility for diagnosis and treatment planning.plots showed that the bias of each test group was –0.07 mm for CIOS, –0.07 mm for MDS,

PURPOSE: To determine prognostic significance of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in prostate cancer patients who underwent adjuvant or salvage postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) after radical prostatectomy (RP) MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 168 patients with prostate cancer received PORT after RP, with a follow-up of ≥12 months. Biochemical failure after PORT was defined as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ≥0.2 ng/mL after PORT or initiation of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for increasing PSA levels regardless of the value. We analyzed the clinical outcomes including survivals, failure patterns, and prognostic factors affecting the outcomes. RESULTS: In total, 120 patients (71.4%) received salvage PORT after PSA levels were >0.2 ng/mL or owing to clinical failure. The 5-year biochemical failure-free survival (BCFFS), clinical failure-free survival (CFFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), overall survival, and cause-specific survival rates were 78.3%, 94.3%, 95.0%, 95.8%, and 97.3%, respectively, during a follow-up range of 12–157 months (median: 64 months) after PORT. On multivariate analysis, PSA level of ≤1.0 ng/mL at the time of receiving PORT predicted favorable BCFFS, CFFS, and DMFS. LVI predicted worse CFFS (p = 0.004) and DMFS (p = 0.015). Concurrent and/or adjuvant ADT resulted in favorable prognosis for BCFFS (p < 0.001) and CFFS (p = 0.017). CONCLUSION: For patients with adverse pathologic findings, PORT should be initiated as early as possible after continence recovery after RP. Even after administering PORT, LVI was an unfavorable predictive factor, and further intensive adjuvant therapy should be considered for these patients.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Prostate ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Radiotherapy ; Survival Rate

Gastrectomy is known to be a risk factor for adenocarcinoma in remnant stomach. It is suggested that reflux of bile juice or duodenal secretion to remnant stomach induces atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and gastric adenocarcinoma. Malignant lymphoma in remnant stomach after gastrectomy is very rare. Only about thirty cases are reported in the world, and there is no case report in Korea. Gastric MALT (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue) lymphoma is associated with Helicobacter pylori infection but the mechanism of lymphoma development in remnant stomach is still unknown. We report a case of low grade gastric MALT lymphoma of gastric stump after 10 years from partial gastrectomy.
Aged ; *Gastrectomy ; *Gastric Stump ; Humans ; *Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone/pathology ; Male ; *Neoplasms, Second Primary ; Stomach Neoplasms/pathology/*surgery

Ganglioneuroma is a rare benign neoplasm that originates from the neural crest tissue and is characterized histologically by the composition of mature ganglion cells and Schwann's cells. Its definitive diagnosis is achieved by histological examination and most ganglioneuromas arise in the posterior mediastinum followed by the retroperitoneum. Due to the slow growth of the tumor, it may be incidentally detected in imaging studies for unrelated reasons and most of them are clinically silent. Recently a 18-year-old man visited Chonnam National University Hospital because of intermittent gross hematuria. We tentatively diagnosed him as renal cyst or retroperitoneal benign cystic tumor by abdominal CT and MRI, however biopsy result of surgically resected tumor showed that it contained Schwann's cells and mature ganglion cells, thus we confirmed the diagnosis of retroperitoneal ganglioneuroma. To our best knowledge, this is the first reported case of retroperitoneal ganglioneuroma with gross hematuria in Korea, so we report the case with reviews of other literatures.
Adolescent ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Ganglion Cysts ; Ganglioneuroma* ; Hematuria* ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do ; Korea ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mediastinum ; Neural Crest ; Retroperitoneal Space ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

It has been reported that colitis may be associated with intrarectally administered drugs or chemicals. Colonotoxicity may results from conventional medical therapy, herbal or other illicit drugs, contrast materials, and detergents. Clues that a colitis may be due to an intrarectally administered agent include perianal excoriation, segmental distal colitis due to a concentration gradient from enema administration, and recent diagnostic or therapeutic administration of high risk solutions such as hypertonic contrast agents or detergent enemas. Barium is a highly viscous contrast agent that is insoluble in water. Barium enemas are usually very safe. Also, no case report of barium-induced chemical colitis has been reported yet. We report a case of chemical colitis with colonic stricture occurring after the barium enema for diagnostic purpose.
Barium Sulfate/*adverse effects ; Colitis/*chemically induced/pathology ; Contrast Media/*adverse effects ; *Enema ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

BACKGROUND/AIMS: X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) is the most potent member of the IAP family that exerts antiapoptotic effects. Recently, XIAP-associated factor 1 (XAF1) and two mitochondrial proteins, Smac/DIABLO and HtrA2, have been identified to negatively regulate the caspase-inhibiting activity of XIAP. We explored the candidacy of XAF1, Smac/DIABLO and HtrA2 as a tumor suppressor in colonic carcinogenesis. METHODS: Expression and mutation status of the genes in 10 colorectal carcinoma cell lines and 40 primary tumors were examined by quantitative PCR analysis. RESULTS: XAF1 transcript was not expressed or present at extremely low levels in 60% (6/10) of cancer cell lines whereas Smac/DIABLO and HtrA2 are normally expressed in all cell lines examined. Tumor-specific loss or reduction of XAF1 was also found in 35% (14/40) of matched tissue sets obtained from the same patients. XAF1 transcript was reactivated in all the low expressor cell lines by treatment with the demethylating agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine. Moreover, bisulfite DNA sequencing analysis for 34 CpG sites in the promoter region revealed a strong association between hypermethylation and gene silencing. Restoration of XAF1 expression resulted in enhanced apoptotic response to etoposide and 5-flurouracil, whereas knockdown of XAF1 expression by siRNA transfection significantly inhibited chemotherapeutic drug-induced apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: XAF1 undergoes epigenetic gene silencing in a considerable proportion of human colon cancers by aberrant promoter hypermethylation, suggesting that XAF1 inactivation might be implicated in colonic tumorigenesis.
Cell Line, Tumor ; Colonic Neoplasms/*genetics ; *DNA Methylation ; English Abstract ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; *Gene Silencing ; Humans ; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/genetics ; Mitochondrial Proteins/genetics ; Neoplasm Proteins/*genetics ; Promoter Regions (Genetics) ; Serine Endopeptidases/genetics

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Anti-HCV positivity suggests past or present infection of HCV, or false positivity. The positive predictability of this test can differ according to the subjects. This study examines the positive predictability of the third generation anti-HCV ELISA and factors predicting HCV infection with special emphasis on the significance of the anti-HCV sample/cut-off (S/CO) ratio. METHODS: One hundred and ninety patients who were anti-HCV positive were enrolled, from November 1998 to January 2002 in Kyung Hee University Hospital. RT-PCR was performed to confirm HCV infection. RESULTS: One hundred and seven patients were RT-PCR positive (56.3% positive predictability). The positive predictability changed with the S/CO ratio: 17.9% in cases below 6, 58.3% between 6 and 50, 78.6% between 51 and 75, and 60% over 75. Those with the S/CO ratio more than 6 showed significantly higher predictability, but it did not increase further when the ratio got higher. Factors predicting HCV infection were the presence of liver cirrhosis (OR 5.5, p=0.000), hepatocellular carcinoma (OR 11.67, p=0.004), liver diseases (OR 2.99 p=0.001), and increase of AST (OR 2.49, p=0.002), ALT (OR 2.32, p=0.005), alpha-FP (OR 3.49, p=0.040), and the S/CO ratio of more than 6 (OR 7.82, p=0.000). However, liver cirrhosis was the sole factor in multivariate analysis (OR 8.32, p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The positive predictability of the third generation anti-HCV test was 56.3% with a significant difference between those with the S/CO ratio below 6 (18%) and above 6 (63%). In liver cirrhosis, positive predictability of anti-HCV test was relatively high as 85%.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; English Abstract ; *Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Hepacivirus/immunology ; Hepatitis C/*diagnosis ; Hepatitis C Antibodies/*blood ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may manifest paraneoplastic syndromes such as hypercholesterolemia, hypoglycemia, hypercalcemia and erythrocytosis. This study was aimed at evaluating the incidence and clinical significance of paraneoplastic syndromes in Korean HCC patients. METHODS: The medical records of 165 HCC patients who were diagnosed and died in the Kyung Hee University Hospital, were reviewed retrospectively. The following variables were analyzed: age, gender, hepatitis markers, platelet, liver function test, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), Child-Pugh score, tumor features, and the duration of their survival. RESULTS: In total, paraneoplastic syndromes were presented in 43.6% of the HCC patients during the course of their disease. Hypercholesterolemia was solely presented in 14.5%, hypoglycemia in 12.7% and hypercalcemia in 7.8%. The patients who presented with more than 2 syndromes were 8.5%. While 80% of erythrocytosis (4/5) and 51.6% of hypercholesterolemia (16/31) was presented at the time of HCC diagnosis, hypoglycemia and hypercalcemia mainly occurred as terminal events. The patients with paraneoplastic syndromes were younger and had higher rates of portal vein thrombosis, bi-lobar tumor involvement and tumor more of more than 10 cm in diameter, compared to those patients without them. The proportion of patients with a serum AFP more than 400 ng/mL tended to be higher in the patients with paraneoplastic syndromes. The HCC patients with paraneoplastic syndromes, except for erythrocytosis, had a shorter survival than those patients without them. CONCLUSIONS: Paraneoplastic syndromes are not infrequently presented in HCC patients, especially at an advanced stage, and the survival of these patients is relatively shorter.
Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*complications/mortality ; English Abstract ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/*complications/mortality ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Paraneoplastic Syndromes/complications/diagnosis

Clinical significance and prevalence of gastric carcinoid tumor are considerably rising. This is reflective of both their increased identification, with the widespread availability of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, as well as the development of immunohistochemical study. The improvements in survival rates of gastric carcinoid tumor indicate an ability to develop optimal therapeutic strategies and regimens. Usually, the recommended treatment is surgical or endoscopic excision of the tumor. We experienced a case of intestinal pseudoobstruction combined with gastric carcinoid tumors in a 45 year-old man. He was successfully treated with endoscopic polypectomy.
Carcinoid Tumor* ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Humans ; Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction* ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Survival Rate

A myopericytoma is a rare benign neoplasm, which shows perivascular growth of the spindle cells and their differentiation to perivascular myoid cells. Several tumors, showing such histological findings, including myopericytomas, glomangiopericytomas, solitary myofibromas and infantile hemangiopericytomas, were previously named hemangiopericytomas. However, they are now regarded as the same group of disease, with similar histological findings. Such tumors usually originate in the subcutaneous tissue of the extremities, but very rarely originate in visceral organs. Until now, only 7 cases originating in the urinary bladder have previously been reported as hemangiopericytomas. Although macroscopically the aspect is benign, it has a recognized ability for local invasion and distant dissemination. Radical surgical excision is the treatment of choice, as adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy offer limited success in this malignancy. A case of a 57 year-old woman with a malignant myopericytoma, originating in the urinary bladder, with extensive lung metastasis, is reported.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Extremities ; Female ; Hemangiopericytoma ; Humans ; Lung ; Middle Aged ; Myofibroma ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Urinary Bladder*