Publications by authors named "JH Ku"
Introduction: We evaluated the prognostic potential of the Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG), Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), Cancer Antigen 125 (CA125), and Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) tumor markers for bladder cancer.
Methods: We analyzed the records of 369 patients who underwent radical cystectomy for urothelial cancer (UC) between October 2012 until December 2019. Levels of CA19-9, CA125, CEA, and β-hCG before radical cystectomy were measured in all patient samples, and serum biomarker cutoff values were used as normal and elevated values.
Background: The effect of anesthesia methods on non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) recurrence post-resection remains uncertain. We aimed to compare the oncological outcomes of spinal anesthesia (SA) and general anesthesia (GA) in patients with NMIBC.
Methods: This prospective randomized controlled trial recruited 287 patients with clinical NMIBC at Seoul National University Hospital from 2018 to 2020.
Background: To compare the efficacy and toxicity of docetaxel treatment regimens in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 162 patients diagnosed with mCRPC who underwent docetaxel chemotherapy between 2009 and 2020. The patients were divided into three groups according to the dosage and interval of docetaxel (DCT) chemotherapy regimen: 30 mL/m weekly, 50 mL/m biweekly (every 2 weeks), and 75 mL/m triweekly (every 3 weeks).
This retrospective cohort study evaluated the comparative vaccine effectiveness (cVE) of licensed standard-dose cell-based versus egg-based influenza vaccines in preventing influenza hospitalization among adults 18-64 years during the 2022-2023 season. The cohort included eligible Kaiser Permanente Southern California members who received ≥ 1 dose of influenza vaccine (n = 848,334). The adjusted cVE against influenza hospitalization was -10.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aims: Although increased mortality has been reported among people with pulmonary disease (MAC-PD), data are limited on survival associated with various antibiotic regimens used to treat MAC-PD. We conducted a comparative analysis of 3-year mortality in Medicare beneficiaries with bronchiectasis using various MAC-PD regimens.
Methods: We included Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥65 years with bronchiectasis (01/2006-12/2014).
To determine risk factors for urinary retention (UR) after robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RALC) with orthotopic neobladder diversion. A total of 269 patients who underwent RALC with orthotopic neobladder diversion from 2008 to 2019 at seven tertiary hospitals were retrospectively analyzed. There were 68 patients who had UR (UR arm) and 201 patients who did not have UR (no-UR arm).
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- * PLGA nanoparticles are commonly used for drug delivery but face challenges in controlling size and release, especially when encapsulating negatively charged nucleic acids.
- * This study improves nucleic acid encapsulation using negatively charged microbeads, tests a prostate cancer model with PSMA-617-conjugated PLGA nanoparticles, and suggests a novel method for customizing cancer treatments.
Article Synopsis
- A study developed and validated a natural language processing (NLP) algorithm to identify postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) from unstructured electronic health records (EHRs), aiming to improve accuracy compared to traditional diagnosis codes and prescription data.
- The research involved reviewing EHRs from a large health care system and comparing the NLP's performance with code-based methods by analyzing sensitivity, specificity, and other statistical measures.
- Results showed the NLP algorithm had high sensitivity (90.9%) and specificity (98.5%), with notable advantages in identifying PHN cases compared to code-based methods, which exhibited much lower sensitivity (52.7%-61.8%).
Article Synopsis
- Influenza significantly impacts older adults, necessitating updated data on vaccine effectiveness within this group.
- A study at Kaiser Permanente Southern California assessed the comparative vaccine effectiveness of high-dose, adjuvanted, and standard-dose cell-based influenza vaccines against the standard-dose egg-based vaccine among individuals aged 65 and older.
- Results indicated that both high-dose and adjuvanted vaccines offered better protection against influenza-related medical encounters and hospitalization compared to the standard-dose egg-based vaccine during the 2022-2023 flu season.
TFE3-rearranged renal cell cancer (tRCC) is a rare form of RCC that involves chromosomal translocation of the Xp11.2 TFE3 gene. Despite its early onset and poor prognosis, the molecular mechanisms of the pathogenesis of tRCC remain elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) occur commonly and often recur. However, recent data on the epidemiology of recurrent UTI (rUTI) are scarce.
Methods: Between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2020, index uncomplicated UTIs (uUTIs) from office, emergency department, hospital, and virtual care settings were identified from the electronic health records of women at Kaiser Permanente Southern California.
Article Synopsis
- A study of 148,994 adults with uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) found that 19% had a recurrence after a median of 300 days.
- The initial UTI was primarily caused by Escherichia coli (79%), but this decreased over time while Klebsiella spp. increased.
- Antibiotic resistance was common, with 57% of initial infections showing nonsusceptibility, rising to 65% in subsequent infections, indicating a need for ongoing monitoring of resistance patterns for better treatment strategies.
All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) are safe, high-energy-storage systems. However, despite the progress achieved in the development of high-ionic-conductivity solid electrolytes (SEs), the power performance of ASSBs remains low because of the high interfacial impedances in composite cathodes. Therefore, understanding the interfacial factors is crucial for obtaining high power ASSBs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo investigate the influence of preoperative smoking history on the survival outcomes and complications in a cohort from a large multicenter database. Many patients who undergo radical cystectomy (RC) have a history of smoking; however, the direct association between preoperative smoking history and survival outcomes and complications in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) who undergo robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) remains unexplored. We conducted a retrospective analysis using data from 749 patients in the Korean Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy Study Group (KORARC) database, with an average follow-up duration of 30.
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- - Innate immune cells play a crucial role in fighting tumors, and their function can be influenced by beneficial bacteria found in food.
- - The specific bacterial strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum IMB19 enhances antitumor immunity in mouse models, primarily through its capsular heteropolysaccharide, which activates immune pathways.
- - This strain reprograms tumor-related macrophages to promote robust T cell responses while also capturing iron in the tumor environment, potentially leading to cancer cell death and improved treatment strategies using "oncobiotics."
Article Synopsis
- Emerging SARS-CoV-2 sublineages continue to pose a risk for serious COVID-19 disease, particularly as many individuals haven’t been vaccinated in over a year.
- A study evaluated the effectiveness of the mRNA-1273 bivalent vaccine against these circulating sublineages by analyzing confirmed cases and matching them to controls, revealing a decline in vaccine effectiveness over time.
- The findings suggest that periodic revaccination with updated vaccines could be necessary to lower COVID-19-related health issues as the effectiveness of existing vaccines decreases against new variants.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated a public health workforce shortage and national strategies have called for the development of clear occupational pathways for students to enter the public health workforce and meaningful public health careers. In response to the immediate need for public health workers during the pandemic, several universities and academic hospitals rapidly mobilized students and employees and partnered with local or state health departments. However, many of those partnerships were based on short-term volunteer effort to support critical COVID-19 public health efforts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Data on vaccine-associated corneal transplant rejections are limited. We examined the association between graft rejection and vaccination.
Design: Matched case-control METHODS: We used electronic health records to identify corneal transplant recipients between January 2008 and August 2022 at Kaiser Permanente Southern California.
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a public health threat, with >80% of active TB in the United States occurring due to reactivation of latent TB infection (LTBI). We may be underscreening those with high risk for LTBI and overtesting those at lower risk. A better understanding of gaps in current LTBI testing practices in relation to LTBI test positivity is needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the standard of care for patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) after transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT). BCG in combination with programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors may yield greater anti-tumor activity compared with either agent alone. CREST is a phase III study evaluating the efficacy and safety of the subcutaneous PD-1 inhibitor sasanlimab in combination with BCG for patients with BCG-naive high-risk NMIBC.
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- - Nontuberculous mycobacteria, especially Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), are increasingly linked to serious lung infections known as MAC pulmonary disease (MAC-PD), which often require long-term treatment with multiple antibiotics.
- - A study analyzed thousands of Medicare patients to assess how different three-drug therapy regimens for MAC-PD impacted the occurrence of side effects and the need to change or stop treatments within a year of starting therapy.
- - Findings revealed that patients on clarithromycin and rifabutin regimens had a higher likelihood of needing to alter or discontinue their treatment compared to those on azithromycin and rifampin regimens, suggesting that azithromycin-based therapies might be more toler
Article Synopsis
- California leads the U.S. in tuberculosis (TB) cases, prompting a study on missed chances for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) screening in patients diagnosed with active TB.
- The study examined Kaiser Permanente Southern California patients over 11 years, revealing that a significant majority—82%—of those with TB disease had not been pre-screened for LTBI, which could have led to earlier treatment.
- The findings indicate that only one-fifth of patients were screened for LTBI prior to their TB diagnosis, highlighting a critical need for improved screening practices to prevent future TB cases.
Background: No new agent has improved overall survival in patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma when added to first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy.
Methods: In this phase 3, multinational, open-label trial, we randomly assigned patients with previously untreated unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma either to receive intravenous nivolumab (at a dose of 360 mg) plus gemcitabine-cisplatin (nivolumab combination) every 3 weeks for up to six cycles, followed by nivolumab (at a dose of 480 mg) every 4 weeks for a maximum of 2 years, or to receive gemcitabine-cisplatin alone every 3 weeks for up to six cycles. The primary outcomes were overall and progression-free survival.