Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has emerged as a promising tool for various clinical applications, including early diagnosis, therapeutic target identification, treatment response monitoring, prognosis evaluation, and minimal residual disease detection. Consequently, ctDNA assays have been incorporated into clinical practice. In this review, we offer an indepth exploration of the clinical implementation of ctDNA assays. Notably, we examined existing evidence related to pre-analytical procedures, analytical components in current technologies, and result interpretation and reporting processes. The primary objective of this guidelines is to provide recommendations for the clinical utilization of ctDNA assays.

Peripheral neurodegenerative diseases induced by irreversible peripheral nerve degeneration (PND), such as diabetic peripheral neuropathy, have a high prevalence worldwide and reduce the quality of life. However, there is no agent effective against the irreversible PND. After peripheral nerve injury, Schwann cells play an important role in regulating PND. However, because PND involves multiple biochemical events in Schwann cells, a one-drug-single-target therapeutic strategy is not feasible for PND. Here, we suggested that fascaplysin (Fas), a compound with multiple targets (CDK4/6), could overcome these problems. Fas exerted a significant inhibitory effect on axonal degradation, demyelination, and Schwann cell proliferation and dedifferentiation during in vitro and ex vivo PND. To discover the most likely novel target for PND, a chemo-bioinformatics analysis predicted the other on-targets of Fas and identified androgen receptor (AR) which were involved in Schwann cell differentiation and proliferation.AR interacted with Fas, and nuclear import of the AR/Fas complex was inhibited in Schwann cells, altering the expression patterns of transcription factors during PND. Therefore, Fas may have therapeutic potential for irreversible peripheral neurodegenerative diseases.

The Korean Association of Urogenital Tract Infection and Inflammation and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency regularly update, revise, and develop new content for the Korean sexually transmitted infection (STI) guidelines. These professional bodies respond to changing epidemiological trends and evolving scientific evidence, and consider advances in laboratory diagnostics and research. The principal recommendations of the 2023 Korean STI guidelines in terms of viral infection follow: 1) If genital herpes recurs more than 4–6 times annually, suppressive therapy with acyclovir 400 mg orally 2 times/day or famciclovir 250 mg orally 2 times/day or valacyclovir 500 mg orally once a day (for patients with <10 episodes/year) or valacyclovir 1 g orally once daily (for patients with ≥10 episodes/year) is recommended to prevent recurrence; 2) molecular human papillomavirus (HPV) testing is not recommended as a routine test for STI status, nor for determination of HPV vaccination status; and 3) patients should inform their current sexual partners about anogenital warts because the types of HPV that cause such warts can be passed to partners. These guidelines will be updated every 5 years and will be revised when new knowledge on STIs becomes available and there is a reasonable need to improve the guidelines. Physicians and other healthcare providers can use the guidelines to assist in the prevention and treatment of STIs.

Peripheral neurodegenerative diseases induced by irreversible peripheral nerve degeneration (PND), such as diabetic peripheral neuropathy, have a high prevalence worldwide and reduce the quality of life. However, there is no agent effective against the irreversible PND. After peripheral nerve injury, Schwann cells play an important role in regulating PND. However, because PND involves multiple biochemical events in Schwann cells, a one-drug-single-target therapeutic strategy is not feasible for PND. Here, we suggested that fascaplysin (Fas), a compound with multiple targets (CDK4/6), could overcome these problems. Fas exerted a significant inhibitory effect on axonal degradation, demyelination, and Schwann cell proliferation and dedifferentiation during in vitro and ex vivo PND. To discover the most likely novel target for PND, a chemo-bioinformatics analysis predicted the other on-targets of Fas and identified androgen receptor (AR) which were involved in Schwann cell differentiation and proliferation.AR interacted with Fas, and nuclear import of the AR/Fas complex was inhibited in Schwann cells, altering the expression patterns of transcription factors during PND. Therefore, Fas may have therapeutic potential for irreversible peripheral neurodegenerative diseases.

Peripheral neurodegenerative diseases induced by irreversible peripheral nerve degeneration (PND), such as diabetic peripheral neuropathy, have a high prevalence worldwide and reduce the quality of life. However, there is no agent effective against the irreversible PND. After peripheral nerve injury, Schwann cells play an important role in regulating PND. However, because PND involves multiple biochemical events in Schwann cells, a one-drug-single-target therapeutic strategy is not feasible for PND. Here, we suggested that fascaplysin (Fas), a compound with multiple targets (CDK4/6), could overcome these problems. Fas exerted a significant inhibitory effect on axonal degradation, demyelination, and Schwann cell proliferation and dedifferentiation during in vitro and ex vivo PND. To discover the most likely novel target for PND, a chemo-bioinformatics analysis predicted the other on-targets of Fas and identified androgen receptor (AR) which were involved in Schwann cell differentiation and proliferation.AR interacted with Fas, and nuclear import of the AR/Fas complex was inhibited in Schwann cells, altering the expression patterns of transcription factors during PND. Therefore, Fas may have therapeutic potential for irreversible peripheral neurodegenerative diseases.

Peripheral neurodegenerative diseases induced by irreversible peripheral nerve degeneration (PND), such as diabetic peripheral neuropathy, have a high prevalence worldwide and reduce the quality of life. However, there is no agent effective against the irreversible PND. After peripheral nerve injury, Schwann cells play an important role in regulating PND. However, because PND involves multiple biochemical events in Schwann cells, a one-drug-single-target therapeutic strategy is not feasible for PND. Here, we suggested that fascaplysin (Fas), a compound with multiple targets (CDK4/6), could overcome these problems. Fas exerted a significant inhibitory effect on axonal degradation, demyelination, and Schwann cell proliferation and dedifferentiation during in vitro and ex vivo PND. To discover the most likely novel target for PND, a chemo-bioinformatics analysis predicted the other on-targets of Fas and identified androgen receptor (AR) which were involved in Schwann cell differentiation and proliferation.AR interacted with Fas, and nuclear import of the AR/Fas complex was inhibited in Schwann cells, altering the expression patterns of transcription factors during PND. Therefore, Fas may have therapeutic potential for irreversible peripheral neurodegenerative diseases.

Background: Acute pancreatitis may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, although this association remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to investigate this association. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the 2002–2019 Korean National Health Insurance ServiceNational Sample Cohort using 1:3 propensity score matching for sex and age (acute pancreatitis, n = 4,494; matched controls, n = 13,482). We calculated the hazard ratio (HR) for pancreatic cancer risk in patients with acute pancreatitis using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: Acute pancreatitis was significantly associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer throughout the study period (adjusted HR, 7.56 [95% confidence interval, 5.00– 11.41]), which persisted for 2, 2–5, and > 5 years post-diagnosis (19.11 [9.60–38.05], 3.46 [1.35–8.33], and 2.73 [1.21–6.15], respectively). This pancreatitis-related pancreatic cancer risk became insignificant beyond 10 years of follow-up (1.24 [0.24–6.49]). Furthermore, this risk notably increased as the number of recurrent acute pancreatitis episodes increased (1 episode: 5.25 [3.31–8.33], 2 episodes: 11.35 [6.38–20.19], ≥ 3 episodes: 24.58 [13.66–44.26]). Conclusion Following an acute pancreatitis diagnosis, the risk of pancreatic cancer increases significantly in the initial years, with a rapid increase further accentuated with recurrent acute pancreatitis episodes. Additional study is needed to evaluate whether this increased risk of carcinogenesis is attributed to accumulated inflammation.

Background: Achieving a definitive genetic diagnosis of unexplained multiple congenital anomalies (MCAs) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) infants is challenging because of the limited diagnostic capabilities of conventional genetic tests. Although the implementation of whole genome sequencing (WGS) has commenced for diagnosing MCAs, due to constraints in resources and faculty, many NICUs continue to utilize chromosomal microarray (CMA) and/or karyotyping as the initial diagnostic approach. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of WGS in infants with MCAs who have received negative results from karyotyping and/or CMA. Methods: In this prospective study, we enrolled 80 infants with MCAs who were admitted to a NICU at a single center and had received negative results from CMA and/or karyotyping.The phenotypic characteristics were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases and the Human Phenotype Ontology. We assessed the diagnostic yield of trioWGS in infants with normal chromosomal result and explored the process of diagnosing by analyzing both phenotype and genotype. Also, we compared the phenotype and clinical outcomes between the groups diagnosed with WGS and the undiagnosed group. Results: The diagnostic yield of WGS was 26% (21/80), of which 76% were novel variants.There was a higher diagnostic yield in cases of craniofacial abnormalities, including those of the eye and ear, and a lower diagnostic yield in cases of gastrointestinal and genitourinary abnormalities. In addition, higher rates of rehabilitation therapy and gastrostomy were observed in WGS-diagnosed infants than in undiagnosed infants. Conclusion This prospective cohort study assessed the usefulness of trio-WGS following chromosomal analysis for diagnosing MCAs in the NICU and revealed improvements in the diagnostic yield and clinical utility of WGS.

Purpose: The use of gallium-68 prostate-specific membrane antigen-11 positron emission tomography/computed tomography (Ga-68 PSMA-11 PET/CT) is becoming increasingly common among men with prostate cancer (PCa). However, it remains uncertain which patients will derive the most benefit, and there is a scarcity of real-world data regarding its impact on altering treatment plans. This study investigated which patients would most benefit from Ga-68 PSMA-11 PET/CT, focusing on detection rates and changes in treatment strategies, drawing from a single-center experience. Materials and Methods: In total, 230 men with PCa who underwent Ga-68 PSMA-11 PET/CT between November 2021 and August 2022 were included in this retrospective study. The patients were classified into 5 groups based on their disease status: group 1, further work-up for high-risk localized PCa; group 2, de novo metastatic PCa; group 3, biochemical recurrence after definitive treatment; group 4, castration-resistant PCa; group 5, others. The positivity rate, positive lesions, predictive value of lymph node metastases, comparison with conventional images, and treatment changes after Ga-68 PSMA-11 PET/CT were analyzed in each group. Results: Of the 230 patients, 40 (17.4%), 20 (8.7%), 77 (33.5%), 76 (33.0%), and 17 (7.4%) were classified into groups 1–5, respectively. Ga-68 PSMA-11 PET/CT showed lesions in 74.8% of patients, and the optimal cutoff value for PSA was 1.99 ng/mL. Lesions not observed on conventional imaging were found in 62 patients (33.2%). In 38 patients (13.5%), treatment was changed due to Ga-68 PSMA-11 PET/CT. Conclusions These real-world data suggest that Ga-68 PSMA-11 PET/CT may be clinically useful for various disease conditions, as substantial stage migration and subsequent treatment changes occur in men with PCa. However, the prognostic impact of this modality remains unclear; thus, a well-designed prospective study is needed to address this issue.

Objective: The increasing utilization of various molecular tests for diagnosing and selecting treatments for patients with malignancies has led to a rising trend in both the frequency of biopsies and the required tissue volume. We aimed to compare the safety of outpatient ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous liver biopsy (PLB) between the coaxial method with needle track plugging (NTP) and the conventional method. Materials and Methods: This single-center, prospective, randomized controlled study was conducted from October 2022 to May 2023. Patients referred for US-guided PLB with target liver lesions measuring ≥1 cm and requiring ≥3 tissue cores were enrolled. Patients with severe coagulopathy or a substantial volume of ascites were excluded. Patients were randomly assigned to undergo PLB using either the coaxial method with NTP or the conventional method, in a 1:1 ratio, and were subsequently discharged after 2 hours. The primary endpoint was the presence of a patent track sign, defined as a linear color flow along the biopsy track on Doppler US, as an indication of bleeding. The secondary endpoints included clinically significant bleeding, delayed bleeding after discharge, and diagnostic yield. The incidences of these endpoints were compared between the two methods. Results: A total of 107 patients completed the study protocol. Patent track signs were observed significantly less frequently in the coaxial method with NTP group than in the conventional method group: 16.7% (9/54) vs. 35.8% (19/53; P = 0.042).Clinically significant bleeding and delayed bleeding did not occur in either group, and both methods achieved a high diagnostic yield: 94.4% (51/54) vs. 98.1% (52/53; P = 0.624). Conclusion Compared with the conventional method, the coaxial method with NTP may potentially be safer, with a reduced risk of overall bleeding complications after PLB when retrieving ≥3 tissue cores. The coaxial method with NTP could be considered a viable option for acquiring multiple liver tissues on an outpatient basis.