Purpose: This study evaluated the postoperative quality of life (QoL) after various types of gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: A multicenter prospective observational study was conducted in Korea using the Korean Quality of Life in Stomach Cancer Patients Study (KOQUSS)-40, a new QoL assessment tool focusing on postgastrectomy syndrome. Overall, 496 patients with gastric cancer were enrolled, and QoL was assessed at 5 time points: preoperatively and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. Results: Distal gastrectomy (DG) and pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (PPG) showed significantly better outcomes than total gastrectomy (TG) and proximal gastrectomy (PG) with regard to total score, indigestion, and dysphagia. DG, PPG, and TG also showed significantly better outcomes than PG in terms of dumping syndrome and worry about cancer. Postoperative QoL did not differ significantly according to anastomosis type in DG, except for Billroth I anastomosis, which achieved better bowel habit change scores than the others. No domains differed significantly when comparing double tract reconstruction and esophagogastrostomy after PG. The total QoL score correlated significantly with postoperative body weight loss (more than 10%) and extent of resection (P<0.05 for both).Reflux as assessed by KOQUSS-40 did not correlate significantly with reflux observed on gastroscopy 1 year postoperatively (P=0.064). Conclusions Our prospective observation using KOQUSS-40 revealed that DG and PPG lead to better QoL than TG and PG. Further study is needed to compare postoperative QoL according to anastomosis type in DG and PG.

Purpose: This study evaluated the postoperative quality of life (QoL) after various types of gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: A multicenter prospective observational study was conducted in Korea using the Korean Quality of Life in Stomach Cancer Patients Study (KOQUSS)-40, a new QoL assessment tool focusing on postgastrectomy syndrome. Overall, 496 patients with gastric cancer were enrolled, and QoL was assessed at 5 time points: preoperatively and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. Results: Distal gastrectomy (DG) and pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (PPG) showed significantly better outcomes than total gastrectomy (TG) and proximal gastrectomy (PG) with regard to total score, indigestion, and dysphagia. DG, PPG, and TG also showed significantly better outcomes than PG in terms of dumping syndrome and worry about cancer. Postoperative QoL did not differ significantly according to anastomosis type in DG, except for Billroth I anastomosis, which achieved better bowel habit change scores than the others. No domains differed significantly when comparing double tract reconstruction and esophagogastrostomy after PG. The total QoL score correlated significantly with postoperative body weight loss (more than 10%) and extent of resection (P<0.05 for both).Reflux as assessed by KOQUSS-40 did not correlate significantly with reflux observed on gastroscopy 1 year postoperatively (P=0.064). Conclusions Our prospective observation using KOQUSS-40 revealed that DG and PPG lead to better QoL than TG and PG. Further study is needed to compare postoperative QoL according to anastomosis type in DG and PG.

Purpose: This study evaluated the postoperative quality of life (QoL) after various types of gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: A multicenter prospective observational study was conducted in Korea using the Korean Quality of Life in Stomach Cancer Patients Study (KOQUSS)-40, a new QoL assessment tool focusing on postgastrectomy syndrome. Overall, 496 patients with gastric cancer were enrolled, and QoL was assessed at 5 time points: preoperatively and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. Results: Distal gastrectomy (DG) and pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (PPG) showed significantly better outcomes than total gastrectomy (TG) and proximal gastrectomy (PG) with regard to total score, indigestion, and dysphagia. DG, PPG, and TG also showed significantly better outcomes than PG in terms of dumping syndrome and worry about cancer. Postoperative QoL did not differ significantly according to anastomosis type in DG, except for Billroth I anastomosis, which achieved better bowel habit change scores than the others. No domains differed significantly when comparing double tract reconstruction and esophagogastrostomy after PG. The total QoL score correlated significantly with postoperative body weight loss (more than 10%) and extent of resection (P<0.05 for both).Reflux as assessed by KOQUSS-40 did not correlate significantly with reflux observed on gastroscopy 1 year postoperatively (P=0.064). Conclusions Our prospective observation using KOQUSS-40 revealed that DG and PPG lead to better QoL than TG and PG. Further study is needed to compare postoperative QoL according to anastomosis type in DG and PG.

Purpose: This subgroup analysis of the Korean subset of patients in the phase 3 LASER301 trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of lazertinib versus gefitinib as first-line therapy for epidermal growth factor receptor mutated (EGFRm) non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and Methods: Patients with locally advanced or metastatic EGFRm NSCLC were randomized 1:1 to lazertinib (240 mg/day) or gefitinib (250 mg/day). The primary endpoint was investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS). Results: In total, 172 Korean patients were enrolled (lazertinib, n=87; gefitinib, n=85). Baseline characteristics were balanced between the treatment groups. One-third of patients had brain metastases (BM) at baseline. Median PFS was 20.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 16.7 to 26.1) for lazertinib and 9.6 months (95% CI, 8.2 to 12.3) for gefitinib (hazard ratio [HR], 0.41; 95% CI, 0.28 to 0.60). This was supported by PFS analysis based on blinded independent central review. Significant PFS benefit with lazertinib was consistently observed across predefined subgroups, including patients with BM (HR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.53) and those with L858R mutations (HR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.63). Lazertinib safety data were consistent with its previously reported safety profile. Common adverse events (AEs) in both groups included rash, pruritus, and diarrhoea. Numerically fewer severe AEs and severe treatment–related AEs occurred with lazertinib than gefitinib. Conclusion Consistent with results for the overall LASER301 population, this analysis showed significant PFS benefit with lazertinib versus gefitinib with comparable safety in Korean patients with untreated EGFRm NSCLC, supporting lazertinib as a new potential treatment option for this patient population.

In addition to cellular damage, ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury induces substantial damage to the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. In this study, we sought to determine whether impaired mitochondrial function owing to IR could be restored by transplanting mitochondria into the heart under ex vivo IR states. Additionally, we aimed to provide preliminary results to inform therapeutic options for ischemic heart disease (IHD). Healthy mitochondria isolated from autologous gluteus maximus muscle were transplanted into the hearts of Sprague–Dawley rats damaged by IR using the Langendorff system, and the heart rate and oxygen consumption capacity of the mitochondria were measured to confirm whether heart function was restored. In addition, relative expression levels were measured to identify the genes related to IR injury. Mitochondrial oxygen consumption capacity was found to be lower in the IR group than in the group that underwent mitochondrial transplantation after IR injury (p < 0.05), and the control group showed a tendency toward increased oxygen consumption capacity compared with the IR group. Among the genes related to fatty acid metabolism, Cpt1b (p < 0.05) and Fads1 (p < 0.01) showed significant expression in the following order: IR group, IR + transplantation group, and control group. These results suggest that mitochondrial transplantation protects the heart from IR damage and may be feasible as a therapeutic option for IHD.

Purpose: Renal tumors account for approximately 7% of all childhood cancers. These include Wilms tumor (WT), clear cell sarcoma of the kidney (CCSK), malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney (MRTK), renal cell carcinoma (RCC), congenital mesoblastic nephroma (CMN) and other rare tumors. We investigated the epidemiology of pediatric renal tumors in Korea. Materials and Methods: From January 2001 to December 2015, data of pediatric patients (0–18 years) newly-diagnosed with renal tumors at 26 hospitals were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Among 439 patients (male, 240), the most common tumor was WT (n=342, 77.9%), followed by RCC (n=36, 8.2%), CCSK (n=24, 5.5%), MRTK (n=16, 3.6%), CMN (n=12, 2.7%), and others (n=9, 2.1%). Median age at diagnosis was 27.1 months (range 0-225.5) and median follow-up duration was 88.5 months (range 0-211.6). Overall, 32 patients died, of whom 17, 11, 1, and 3 died of relapse, progressive disease, second malignant neoplasm, and treatment-related mortality. Five-year overall survival and event free survival were 97.2% and 84.8% in WT, 90.6% and 82.1% in RCC, 81.1% and 63.6% in CCSK, 60.3% and 56.2% in MRTK, and 100% and 91.7% in CMN, respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusion The pediatric renal tumor types in Korea are similar to those previously reported in other countries. WT accounted for a large proportion and survival was excellent. Non-Wilms renal tumors included a variety of tumors and showed inferior outcome, especially MRTK. Further efforts are necessary to optimize the treatment and analyze the genetic characteristics of pediatric renal tumors in Korea.

Background/Aims: The Genoss DES™ is a novel, biodegradable, polymer-coated, sirolimus-eluting stent with a cobalt- chromium stent platform and thin strut. Although the safety and effectiveness of this stent have been previously investigated, real-world clinical outcomes data are lacking. Therefore, the aim of this prospective, multicenter trial was to evaluate the clinical safety and effectiveness of the Genoss DES™ in all-comer patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Methods: The Genoss DES registry is a prospective, single-arm, observational trial for evaluation of clinical outcomes after Genoss DES™ implantation in all-comer patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention from 17 sites in South Korea. The primary endpoint was a device-oriented composite outcome of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction (MI), and clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR) at 12 months. Results: A total of 1,999 patients (66.4 ± 11.1 years of age; 72.8% male) were analyzed. At baseline, 62.8% and 36.7% of patients had hypertension and diabetes, respectively. The implanted stent number, diameter, and length per patient were 1.5 ± 0.8, 3.1 ± 0.5 mm, and 37.0 ± 25.0 mm, respectively. The primary endpoint occurred in 1.8% patients, with a cardiac death rate of 1.1%, target vessel-related MI rate of 0.2%, and clinically driven TLR rate of 0.8%. Conclusions In this real-world registry, the Genoss DES™ demonstrated excellent safety and effectiveness at 12 months among all-comer patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. These findings suggest that the Genoss DES™ may be a viable treatment option for patients with coronary artery disease.

Background/Aims: Although anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) assay is widely used to screen for HCV infection, it has a high false-positive (FP) rate in low-risk populations. We investigated the accuracy of anti-HCV signal-to-cutoff (S/CO) ratio to distinguish true-positive (TP) from FP HCV infection. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 77,571 patients with anti-HCV results. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of anti-HCV S/CO ratio in anti-HCV positive patients. Results: Overall, 1,126 patients tested anti-HCV positive; 34.7% of patients were FP based on HCV RNA and/or recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) results. The age and sex-adjusted anti-HCV prevalence was 1.22%. We identified significant differences in serum aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase levels, anti-HCV S/CO ratio, and RIBA results between groups (viremia vs. non-viremia, TP vs. FP). Using ROC curves, the optimal cutoff values of anti-HCV S/CO ratio for HCV viremia and TP were 8 and 5, respectively. The area under the ROC curve, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 0.970 (95% CI, 0.959–0.982, p < 0.001), 99.7%, 87.5%, 87.4%, and 99.7%, respectively, for predicting HCV viremia at an anti-HCV S/CO ratio of 8 and 0.987 (95% CI, 0.980–0.994, p < 0.001), 95.3%, 94.7%, 97.1%, and 91.4%, respectively, for TP HCV infection at an anti-HCV S/CO ratio of 5. No patients with HCV viremia had an anti-HCV S/CO ratio below 5. Conclusions The anti-HCV S/CO ratio is highly accurate for discriminating TP from FP HCV infection and should be considered when diagnosing HCV infections.

Background: The role of vitamin D deficiency and vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms has been established in many autoimmune diseases, including vitiligo, but the result is still controversial. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the serum vitamin D levels in vitiligo patients and to compare the association of VDR gene polymorphisms in vitiligo patients and healthy controls. Methods: We collected the data of age, sex, serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25[OH]D) level, thyroid autoantibodies, disease duration, types of vitiligo, family history and the affected body surface area of vitiligo from 172 patients. And we analyzed the VDR gene polymorphisms in 130 vitiligo and 453 age-sex-matched control subjects. Results: The mean serum level of 25(OH)D in 172 vitiligo patients was 18.75 ± 0.60 ng/mL, which had no significant difference with a mean serum value of 25(OH)D in the Korean population. However, there were significant differences according to the duration of the disease and family history. Also, there were no significant differences in the genotypic and allelic distributions of 37 examined SNPs of VDR gene between vitiligo patients and healthy controls. Conclusion Serum level of 25(OH)D in vitiligo patients was not significantly different from the mean serum value of the Korean population. Also, there were no significant differences in the genotypic distributions of VDR gene between vitiligo patients and healthy controls.