Purpose: This report offers a detailed examination of the inception and current state of the Heavy-ion Therapy Center (HITC) at the Yonsei Cancer Center (YCC), setting it apart as the world’s first center equipped with a fixed beam and two superconducting gantries for carbon-ion radiation therapy (CIRT). Materials and Methods: Preparations for CIRT at YCC began in 2013; accordingly, this center has completed a decade of meticulous planning and culminating since the operational commencement of the HITC in April 2023. Results: This report elaborates on the clinical preparation for adopting CIRT in Korea. It includes an extensive description of HITC’s facility layout at YCC, which comprises the accelerator and treatment rooms. Furthermore, this report delineates the clinical workflow, criteria for CIRT application, and the rigorous quality assurance processes implemented at YCC. It highlights YCC’s sophisticated radiation therapy infrastructure, collaborative initiatives, and the efficacious treatment of >200 prostate cancer cases utilizing CIRT. Conclusion This manuscript concludes by discussing the prospective influence of CIRT on the medical domain within Korea, spotlighting YCC’s pioneering contribution and forecasting the widespread integration of this groundbreaking technology.

Purpose: This report offers a detailed examination of the inception and current state of the Heavy-ion Therapy Center (HITC) at the Yonsei Cancer Center (YCC), setting it apart as the world’s first center equipped with a fixed beam and two superconducting gantries for carbon-ion radiation therapy (CIRT). Materials and Methods: Preparations for CIRT at YCC began in 2013; accordingly, this center has completed a decade of meticulous planning and culminating since the operational commencement of the HITC in April 2023. Results: This report elaborates on the clinical preparation for adopting CIRT in Korea. It includes an extensive description of HITC’s facility layout at YCC, which comprises the accelerator and treatment rooms. Furthermore, this report delineates the clinical workflow, criteria for CIRT application, and the rigorous quality assurance processes implemented at YCC. It highlights YCC’s sophisticated radiation therapy infrastructure, collaborative initiatives, and the efficacious treatment of >200 prostate cancer cases utilizing CIRT. Conclusion This manuscript concludes by discussing the prospective influence of CIRT on the medical domain within Korea, spotlighting YCC’s pioneering contribution and forecasting the widespread integration of this groundbreaking technology.

Purpose: This report offers a detailed examination of the inception and current state of the Heavy-ion Therapy Center (HITC) at the Yonsei Cancer Center (YCC), setting it apart as the world’s first center equipped with a fixed beam and two superconducting gantries for carbon-ion radiation therapy (CIRT). Materials and Methods: Preparations for CIRT at YCC began in 2013; accordingly, this center has completed a decade of meticulous planning and culminating since the operational commencement of the HITC in April 2023. Results: This report elaborates on the clinical preparation for adopting CIRT in Korea. It includes an extensive description of HITC’s facility layout at YCC, which comprises the accelerator and treatment rooms. Furthermore, this report delineates the clinical workflow, criteria for CIRT application, and the rigorous quality assurance processes implemented at YCC. It highlights YCC’s sophisticated radiation therapy infrastructure, collaborative initiatives, and the efficacious treatment of >200 prostate cancer cases utilizing CIRT. Conclusion This manuscript concludes by discussing the prospective influence of CIRT on the medical domain within Korea, spotlighting YCC’s pioneering contribution and forecasting the widespread integration of this groundbreaking technology.

Purpose: We sought to evaluate the time-dependent efficacy and safety of eplerenone for central serous chorioretinopathy. Methods: A systematic search was performed from inception to May 2023 in the Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane literature databases to find randomized controlled trials that have administered oral eplerenone therapy to central serous chorioretinopathy patients. Results: Five randomized controlled trials were included in the final analysis. Among a total of 252 central serous chorioretinopathy patients, 134 were included in the eplerenone group and 118 were included in the control group. The best-corrected visual acuity was statistically significantly improved in the eplerenone group compared to the control group (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.08 to -0.02; p = 0.001). After meta-analysis was performed at each follow-up point, it was found that eplerenone statistically significantly improved the best-corrected visual acuity compared to the control group at 2 and 3 months after starting oral eplerenone therapy, but there was no statistically significant difference at 6 months. Subretinal fluid, chorioretinal thickness, central macular thickness, and complications showed no statistically significant differences between the eplerenone and control groups (p = 0.43, 0.67, 0.64, and 0.12, respectively). The difference in the risk of complications occurring between the eplerenone and control groups also didn’t show statistical significance (p = 0.12). Conclusions Although eplerenone is not superior to a control protocol when considering anatomical improvements, the best-corrected visual acuity seems to improve up to 3 months superiorly compared to in the control group when oral eplerenone therapy is administered for central serous chorioretinopathy. In addition, the complications of eplerenone are tolerable. Therefore, clinically short-term use of eplerenone up to 3 months in central serous chorioretinopathy patients can be considered.

Purpose: This report offers a detailed examination of the inception and current state of the Heavy-ion Therapy Center (HITC) at the Yonsei Cancer Center (YCC), setting it apart as the world’s first center equipped with a fixed beam and two superconducting gantries for carbon-ion radiation therapy (CIRT). Materials and Methods: Preparations for CIRT at YCC began in 2013; accordingly, this center has completed a decade of meticulous planning and culminating since the operational commencement of the HITC in April 2023. Results: This report elaborates on the clinical preparation for adopting CIRT in Korea. It includes an extensive description of HITC’s facility layout at YCC, which comprises the accelerator and treatment rooms. Furthermore, this report delineates the clinical workflow, criteria for CIRT application, and the rigorous quality assurance processes implemented at YCC. It highlights YCC’s sophisticated radiation therapy infrastructure, collaborative initiatives, and the efficacious treatment of >200 prostate cancer cases utilizing CIRT. Conclusion This manuscript concludes by discussing the prospective influence of CIRT on the medical domain within Korea, spotlighting YCC’s pioneering contribution and forecasting the widespread integration of this groundbreaking technology.

Purpose: This report offers a detailed examination of the inception and current state of the Heavy-ion Therapy Center (HITC) at the Yonsei Cancer Center (YCC), setting it apart as the world’s first center equipped with a fixed beam and two superconducting gantries for carbon-ion radiation therapy (CIRT). Materials and Methods: Preparations for CIRT at YCC began in 2013; accordingly, this center has completed a decade of meticulous planning and culminating since the operational commencement of the HITC in April 2023. Results: This report elaborates on the clinical preparation for adopting CIRT in Korea. It includes an extensive description of HITC’s facility layout at YCC, which comprises the accelerator and treatment rooms. Furthermore, this report delineates the clinical workflow, criteria for CIRT application, and the rigorous quality assurance processes implemented at YCC. It highlights YCC’s sophisticated radiation therapy infrastructure, collaborative initiatives, and the efficacious treatment of >200 prostate cancer cases utilizing CIRT. Conclusion This manuscript concludes by discussing the prospective influence of CIRT on the medical domain within Korea, spotlighting YCC’s pioneering contribution and forecasting the widespread integration of this groundbreaking technology.

Background/Aims: Drugs that stabilize intestinal motility may improve the efficacy of nonabsorbable antibiotics, such as rifaximin, against small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). We compared the efficacy of rifaximin alone with that of its combination with trimebutine maleate against SIBO. Methods: We performed a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial (https://cris.nih.go.kr, no. KCT0004836) that included patients with functional bloating, no constipation, and SIBO using the hydrogen (H2 )–methane (CH4 ) glucose breath test (GBT). Patients were randomized into 2 groups in a 1:1 ratio, namely rifaximin (1200 mg/day) + trimebutine maleate (600 mg/day) group and rifaximin + placebo group, for 2 weeks. Patients completed a symptom questionnaire and underwent a GBT at baseline and at 1 month after treatment withdrawal. The primary outcome was SIBO eradication. The secondary outcomes included changes in the concentrations of exhaled gases, symptoms, and presence of adverse events. Results: The complete eradication rate of SIBO was 35.9% (14/39) in the rifaximin group, and 34.1% (14/41) in the combined group with no significant differences. In both groups, no significant differences were observed in GBT profiles before and after the treatment, respectively. However total breath H2 and CH4 concentration were conspicuously decreased in the combined group after treatment.The combined group exhibited substantial relief of bloating. The adverse events were similar in the 2 groups. Conclusion While the combination therapy was not superior over rifaximin alone for SIBO eradication, it improves the symptom of bloating with numerically reducing the concentration of breath H2 /CH4 .

A 3D-printed resin crown is a novel option for esthetic crown restoration for primary teeth, which are typically bonded with resin cement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bonding ability of a 3D printing resin and compare it with other indirect resin materials for crown fabrication. The shear bond strengths of two 3D printing resin materials, Graphy (GP) and NextDent (NXT), and two indirect resin materials, VIPI Block (VIPI) and MAZIC Duro (MZ), were compared in the study. For all materials, the shear bond strength at the interface between the surface of the resin material and resin cement was measured. The mean shear bond strength values of GP, NXT, MZ, and VIPI were 23.29 ± 3.88, 26.14 ± 4.67, 25.41 ± 4.03, and 18.79 ± 4.26 MPa, respectively. There was no significant difference among the SBSs of GP, NXT and MZ except for VIPI. The result of this study indicates that the 3D printing resin meets the essential requirement for clinical use by showing clinically adequate bond strength.

Purpose: To investigate the predictive accuracy of refraction and any change in intraocular pressure (IOP) after transscleral fixation of intraocular lenses (IOLs) in trabeculectomized eyes with glaucoma. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of glaucoma patients who underwent trabeculectomy, followed by transscleral fixation of dislocated IOLs combined with vitrectomy. The refraction predicted by the SRK/T formula and the postoperative refraction were converted into spherical equivalents. Predictive refraction accuracies were analyzed when the differences between the two values were within ± 0.5 diopters (D) and ± 1.0 D. The IOP was measured before and after surgery. Results: Eleven eyes of 11 men (mean age, 67.27 ± 10.55 years) were included. The mean axial length was 23.64 ± 1.26 mm; the mean predicted and postoperative refractions were -0.02 ± 0.46 D and -0.80 ± 0.98 D, respectively (p = 0.029). The refractive outcome was more myopic (by -0.78 ± 1.11 D) than predicted. The predictive accuracies were 36.4% and 72.7% when the differences were ± 0.5 and ± 1.0 D, respectively. The IOP did not change during follow-up (13.18 ± 4.56, 12.82 ± 5.88, and 12.73 ± 4.58 mmHg at baseline, 1 week, and 3 months, respectively). Conclusions In trabeculectomized eyes, transscleral IOL fixation did not affect the IOP, but the refractive outcome was more myopic than predicted. This difference should be considered when choosing IOL target power.