Purpose: The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors represents a major advance in the treatment of lung cancer, allowing sustained recovery in a significant proportion of patients. Nivolumab is a monoclonal anti–programmed death cell protein 1 antibody licensed for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after prior chemotherapy. In this study, we describe the demographic and clinical outcomes of patients with advanced NSCLC treated with nivolumab in the Korean expanded access program. Materials and Methods: Previously treated patients with advanced non-squamous and squamous NSCLC patients received nivolumab at 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks up to 36 months. Efficacy data including investigator-assessed tumor response, progression data, survival, and safety data were collected. Results: Two hundred ninety-nine patients were treated across 36 Korean centers. The objective response rate and disease control rate were 18% and 49%, respectively; the median progression-free survival was 2.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.87 to 3.45), and the overall survival (OS) was 13.2 months (95% CI, 10.6 to 18.9). Patients with smoking history and patients who experienced immune-related adverse events showed a prolonged OS. Cox regression analysis identified smoking history, presence of immune-related adverse events as positive factors associated with OS, while liver metastasis was a negative factor associated with OS. The safety profile was generally comparable to previously reported data. Conclusion This real-world analysis supports the use of nivolumab for pretreated NSCLC patients, including those with an older age.

BACKGROUND: Diagnosing a pulmonary embolism is difficult because its presenting symptoms are nonspecific and there are limitations with all of the objective tests. The D-dimer is known to be a marker of the lysis of intravascular cross-linked fibrin as a result of the activation of the endogenous fibrinolytic pathways, and the D-dimer assay is these an objective method for diagnosing a pulmonary embolism. This study assessed the benefits of the D-dimer test for diagnosing a pulmonary embolism using semiquantitative latex agglutination. METHODS: The latex agglutination results of 185 patients were retrospectively reviewed. The D-dimer test was performed at the time a pulmonary embolism was suspected. Ninety patients(group I) were diagnosis with PE through spiral chest CT or a chest CT angiogram, perfusion/ventilation scans, and/or pulmonary angiogram. Ninety-five patients (group II) were found not to have a pulmonary embolism through the above tests. RESULTS: The male to female ratio and mean age in groups I and II was 37:55, and 57 years old to 50:45 and 52 years old, respectively. When the cut off value for a positive D-dimer assay was set to 500 microgram, the sensitivity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and specificity was 86.7%, 61.4%, 79.3%, and 48.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The semiquantitative latex agglutination method in the D-dimer test has a lower sensitivity and negative predictive value than the well known ELISA test particularly for small emboli. Therefore, this test is not a suitable screening test for excluding a pulmonary embolism.
Agglutination* ; Diagnosis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Fibrin ; Humans ; Latex* ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Embolism* ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND: An important metabolic feature of acromegaly is a reduced action of insulin on hepatic gluconeogenesis and peripheral glucose disposal which mediated by growth hormone hypersecretion. Octreotide, a synthetic octapeptide somatostatin analogue exerts complex effects on hormonal and metabolic regulations affecting glucose homeostasis. This study was designed to ascertain the shorterm effect of octreotide on glucose tolerance in acromegaly. METHODS: 10 patients (five men and five women, age 47.9+/-11.8) were injected subcutaneously with octreotide, 100 micrograms for 24 hours. Patients were assessed with respect to growth hormone, glucose, and insulin response to a standard 100 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) before and during the last 2 hour of octreotide infusion. RESULTS: During the therapy, there was significant decrease in mean blood glucose response to OGTT (678.4+/-51.9 vs 581.9+/-47.3 mg/dL/2hr: mean areas under the glucose curve, p=0.01) and mean serum insulin response to oral glucose load was significantly reduced in all patients (339.2+/-106.2 vs 256.7+/-111.3 U/mL/2hr: mean areas under the insulin curve, p=0.01). Using glucose tolerance test criteria three patients of 10 had normal glucose tolerance, four and three had impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes, respectively, at base line. While on octreotide these composition was changed to six patients of NGT, three of IGT and one diabetes. CONCLUSION: We conclude that insulin resistance mediated by GH hypersecretion was improved by shorterm octreotide treatment.
Acromegaly* ; Blood Glucose ; Female ; Gluconeogenesis ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Glucose* ; Growth Hormone ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Infusions, Subcutaneous* ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Octreotide* ; Social Control, Formal ; Somatostatin

Oncogenic osteomalacia is a rare clinicopathological condition. The syndrome is characterized by hypophosphataemic osteomalacia with hyperphosphaturia, low plasma 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and normal plasma calcaemia and parathyroid hormone, associated with a tumor, generally of mesenchymal origin. Complete excision of the tumour results in cure of the whole syndrome. Recently we experienced 56-year-old woman with oncogenic osteomalacia caused by a chondromyxoid fibroma of the left foot. We report this case with the review of literatures.
Female ; Fibroma* ; Foot ; Humans ; Hypophosphatemia, Familial ; Middle Aged ; Osteomalacia* ; Parathyroid Hormone ; Plasma

PURPOSE: To gain insight on transcriptional repression of Topo II a in HL-60 cells arrested to G2/M and M phase, the levels of Topo IIa mRNA and the binding activity of ATF have been investigated with Northern blot hybridization and DNA mobility shift assay, respectively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HL-60 cells were grown in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 10% heat-mactivated fetal bovine serum and antibiotics in a humidified 5% CO2 at 37C degree. Total RNA was prepared by a modification of the method of Karlinsey et al. Northern blot hybridization was performed by the method of Virca et al. A Xho I-Mlu I fragment of phTOP2 was used as probe for Northern blot analysis of Topo II a mRNA. DNA mobility shift assay was performed by the method of Lim et al. End labeled DNA oligomer (upper strand, 5-TCTCCGCTATGACGCCGAGTGGTG-3) for ATF binding activity was mixed with nuclear extracts in a 20 pl reaction volume containing 60 mM KC1, 12 mM HEPES, pH 7.9, 5 mM MgCl2, 0.2 mM EDTA, 0.2 mM DTT, 12% glycerol, and 2 ug of poly [dI-dC]. RESULTS: HL-60 cells were arrested at G2/M phase and M phase after taxol or nocodazole treatment. The levels of Topo II a mRNA were reduced at 24 hours after exposure with nocodazole or taxol but the unknotting activities were not changed. DNA mobility shift assay using oligonucleotide containing the ATF binding site showed that ATF binding activity was reduced after pretreatment of nododazole or taxol. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the reduction of ATF binding activity may be important to transcriptional repression of Topo II a gene by nocodazole and taxol in HL- 60 cells.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Binding Sites ; Blotting, Northern ; Cell Division* ; DNA Topoisomerases, Type I* ; DNA Topoisomerases, Type II* ; DNA* ; Edetic Acid ; Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay ; Genes, vif ; Glycerol ; HEPES ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Magnesium Chloride ; Nocodazole ; Paclitaxel ; Repression, Psychology ; RNA ; RNA, Messenger

Pulmonary blastoma are a family of tumors in which the glands or mesenchyme composing the neoplasm are primitive or embryonal in appearance. We report a pulmonary blastoma occurring in a 31 years old man. An abnormal shadow was detected in the right lower lung field in a routine chest X-ray film. The preoperative imaging films showed about a 5cm sized well circumscribed solid tumor of the right lung. A preoperative clinical diagnosis of primary lung cancer was considerd. The operative field showed that the hard, round mass, 6 x 5 x 4cm in diameter was localized in middle lobe of the right lung, and partially adhered to the upper lobe, pericardium and diaphragm. Right middle lobe lobectomy, right upper lobe wedge resection, partial pericardiectomy and diaphragm resection with plication was performed with radical lymph node dissection. Histopathologic diagnosis was pulmonary blastoma (Biphasic blastoma). It is considered that the prognosis of biphasic blastoma is worse than WDFA(well differentiated fetal adenocarcinoma). There are no other available treatments except for surgical resection. It is suggested that it is necessary to collect as many cases as possible, to make definite classifications and to examine the clinical course and prognosis of pulmonary blastoma.
Adult ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Diaphragm ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lymph Node Excision ; Mesoderm ; Pericardiectomy ; Pericardium ; Prognosis ; Pulmonary Blastoma* ; Thorax ; X-Ray Film

No astract is available
Radiosurgery*

This rare tumor has been diagnosed postoperatively in a 64-years-old male patient. Herein a case of extra-adrenal paraganglioma of the retroperitoneum is presented with brief review of literatures.
Humans ; Male ; Paraganglioma, Extra-Adrenal*

For many years it has been known that the dosage of thiopental required to induce anesthesia depends on the age of the patient, but this information ha resulted from clinical experience with the drugs rather than from planned study. In our study, to elucidate the influence of age on the size of the sleeping dosage of thiopental, 144 patients who underwent minor orthopedic and gynecological operations were studied. This patients had no evidence of a disease other than that scheduled for operation and were within normal values in hematologic examination, liver function and kidney function. Using a simple "yes" or "no" verbal command response, as sleeping response, to a single bolus of thiopental in mg/kg body weight, we have attemted to minimize uncontroliable factors such as cerebral perfusion, circulation time and plasma protein binding which would alter response to thiopental infusions continued to the end points. The results were as follows: 1) There was no statistical difference in verbal command response to thiopental according to age in age groups below 59 years. 2) Compared with age groups below 59 years, 60~79yrs, group failed to respond to the verbal command in 33% by 2.2mg/kg and 100% by above 2.6mg/kg.(p<0.05) 3) The mean time for loss of verbal command response after thiopental injection was 27.4+/-10.3 seconds and 80.4% of theses patients lost lid reflex with a mean time of 41.7+/-9.1 seconds after thiopental injection. 4) All groups showed statistically non-significant alterations of systolic blood pressure and heart rate after injection of thiopental.
Anesthesia ; Blood Pressure ; Body Weight ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Kidney ; Liver ; Orthopedics ; Perfusion ; Plasma ; Protein Binding ; Reference Values ; Reflex ; Thiopental*

Continuous monitoring of central venous pressure is now considered standard practice in the management of the critically ill patients. Some of these patients require support by mechanical ventilation, often with the concomitant use of PEEP. To determine the existence and amgnitude of systemic differences during mechanical ventilation and after disconnection of ventilation, we studied 120 central venous pressure measurements serially. The results show that mechanical ventilation reading were 11.0 CmH2O (+/-2.53) and ventilation disconnection readings were 8.0CmH2O(+/-2.39) with a mean difference of 3.0 CmH2O. both mechanical ventilation and ventilation disconnection readings were sensitive to hemodynamic changes when taken continuously. We feel that mechanical ventilation readings will more accurately reflect the patient's cariopulmonary status during ventilation support.
Central Venous Pressure* ; Critical Illness ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Reading ; Respiration, Artificial* ; Ventilation*