Clinicopathological characteristics of colon cancer diagnosed at primary health care institutions.

Background/aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathologic characteristics of colon cancers detected at the SOK Sokpeynhan Internal Medical Network, a nationwide system of primary health care institutions.

Methods: We analyzed 579 colon cancer patients diagnosed using colonoscopy at the SOK network from January 2011 through December 2012. Cancers from the rectum to the splenic flexure were classified as left colon cancer.

[Clinicopathologic characteristics of superficial gastric cancer diagnosed at primary health care institutions in 2011].

Background/aims: Stomach cancer is prevalent in Korea. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of superficial gastric cancers detected at SOK Sokpeynhan Internal Medical Network, the nationwide primary health care institutions.

Methods: We prospectively analysed the clinicopathologic and endoscopic characteristics of 218 superficial gastric cancer patients diagnosed using gastric endoscopy at SOK network from January 2011 through December 2011.

Comparison of the characteristics of submucosal injection solutions used in endoscopic mucosal resection.

Objective: Submucosal injection is used to prevent complications, such as perforation, during endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). Since injection of normal saline produces mucosal elevation of short duration, repeated injection is needed for extensive resection. To overcome this limitation, various submucosal injection solutions have been developed but there are few data comparing their efficacy.

[A case of refractory pediatric Crohn's disease with a successful treatment by infliximab therapy].

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease which affects mainly children and young adults, and its cause remains unknown so far. Infliximab, a monoclonal antibody to the pivotal cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha, has been approved as a drug for both induction and maintenance therapy for moderately to severely active, or fistula-complicated Crohn's disease. The authors report a 12-year-old male patient diagnosed as Crohn's disease complicated with a perianal fistula, which was refractory to the conventional therapy.