Efficacy of an educational material on second primary cancer screening practice for cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Cancer surivors have limited knowledge about second primary cancer (SPC) screening and suboptimal rates of completion of screening practices for SPC. Our objective was to test the efficacy of an educational material on the knowledge, attitudes, and screening practices for SPC among cancer survivors.

Methods: Randomized, controlled trial among 326 cancer survivors from 6 oncology care outpatient clinics in Korea.

Association of colorectal adenoma with components of metabolic syndrome.

Purpose: Recently, some studies have shown that diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome increase the risk of colorectal neoplasms. Although the mechanism is not known, those have been proposed to contribute to this phenomenon, including insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and adipokine production. The objective of this study was to assess the association between metabolic risk factors and colorectal neoplasm.

Can the new American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system predict survival in rectal cancer patients treated with curative surgery following preoperative chemoradiotherapy?

Background: Although ypStage has been known as a strong prognosticator of recurrence and survival, the detailed interaction of ypT and ypN classification on a survival rate has never been evaluated.

Methods: Between October 2001 and December 2007, in total, 960 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer were enrolled retrospectively at 3 centers. Five-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rate were calculated for each ypTN classification.

Web-based tailored education program for disease-free cancer survivors with cancer-related fatigue: a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: To determine whether an Internet-based tailored education program is effective for disease-free cancer survivors with cancer-related fatigue (CRF).

Patients And Methods: We randomly assigned patients who had completed primary cancer treatment within the past 24 months in any of four Korean hospitals and had reported moderate to severe fatigue for at least 1 week to participate in a 12-week, Internet-based, individually tailored CRF education program or to receive routine care. We based the program on the CRF guidelines of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and incorporated the transtheoretic model (TTM).

No correlation between pretreatment serum CEA levels and tumor volume in locally advanced rectal cancer patients.

Background: Although serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels reflect tumor volume in rectal cancer patients intrapersonally, it is unclear interpersonally. We determined the correlation between pretreatment serum CEA levels and tumor volume.

Methods: A total of 489 patients with locally advanced primary rectal cancer who underwent preoperative chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery between October 2001 and April 2007 were retrospectively evaluated.

Is step section necessary for determination of complete pathological response in rectal cancer patients treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy?

Aims: To assess the efficacy of the step section for determination of pathological complete response (pCR) in rectal cancer treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT).

Methods And Results: Of 709 patients with rectal cancer who received preoperative CRT, 88 were initially diagnosed as having pCR. These 88 patients were re-evaluated after two-level step sections of the entire tumour by using Dworak's regression grade.

Is the N1c category of the new American Joint Committee on cancer staging system applicable to patients with rectal cancer who receive preoperative chemoradiotherapy?

Background: Pericolorectal tumor deposits (TDs) are associated with adverse outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer, and the seventh edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system recently classified TDs without regional lymph node metastasis as category N1c. However, the definition of TDs has varied. Moreover, with the recent, widespread application of preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in rectal cancers, residual primary tumor confined to the mesorectum is not infrequent, and it is unclear whether the N1c category is appropriate for these tumors.

Associations of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption with advanced or multiple colorectal adenoma risks: a colonoscopy-based case-control study in Korea.

The associations between alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking habits and the risk for colorectal adenomatous polyps according to the detailed clinical information about polyps were assessed in a large colonoscopy-based study. The study enrolled participants who visited the National Cancer Center of the Republic of Korea for cancer screening between April 2007 and April 2009. In 1,242 newly diagnosed colorectal adenoma patients and 3,019 polyp-free controls, past smokers (odds ratio (OR) = 1.

Lipid profiles for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.

Background: We evaluated whether direct tissue matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of lipids may distinguish intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas from adjacent normal tissue and from other adenocarcinomas that frequently metastasize to liver.

Methods: Four pairs of frozen surgical specimens of cholangiocarcinomas and adjacent normal tissue were analyzed using histology-directed, MALDI MS analysis. 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid / α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid were manually deposited on tumor-rich areas, and mass spectra were acquired using a MALDI-time of flight instrument.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection for rectal neuroendocrine (carcinoid) tumors.

Purpose: Rectal neuroendocrine (carcinoid) tumors smaller than 1 cm without lymph node metastasis and confined within the submucosal layer (stage T1aN0) can be treated using endoscopic resection. The present study was aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for T1aN0 carcinoid tumors.

Patients And Methods: A total of 35 consecutive patients with a T1aN0 rectal carcinoid tumor were enrolled between March 2007 and December 2009.

Tumor volume reduction rate after preoperative chemoradiotherapy as a prognostic factor in locally advanced rectal cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the prognostic significance of tumor volume reduction rate (TVRR) after preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).

Methods And Materials: In total, 430 primary LARC (cT3-4) patients who were treated with preoperative CRT and curative radical surgery between May 2002 and March 2008 were analyzed retrospectively. Pre- and post-CRT tumor volumes were measured using three-dimensional region-of-interest MR volumetry.

Clinical outcomes of chemoradiotherapy for locally recurrent rectal cancer.

Background: To assess the clinical outcome of chemoradiotherapy with or without surgery for locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) and to find useful and significant prognostic factors for a clinical situation.

Methods: Between January 2001 and February 2009, 67 LRRC patients, who entered into concurrent chemoradiotherapy with or without surgery, were reviewed retrospectively. Of the 67 patients, 45 were treated with chemoradiotherapy plus surgery, and the remaining 22 were treated with chemoradiotherapy alone.

Prognostic significance of distribution of lymph node metastasis in advanced mid or low rectal cancer.

Background: Few studies have focused on distribution of lymph node metastasis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prognostic significance of the location of involved lymph nodes in patients with advanced mid or low rectal cancer.

Methods: We defined proximal lymph node involvement (PLNp) as superior rectal and inferior mesenteric lymph node metastasis along the trunks of the supplying vessel, and mesorectal lymph node involvement (MLNp) as lymph node metastasis located within the mesorectum.

Prevalence of gastric and duodenal polyps and risk factors for duodenal neoplasm in korean patients with familial adenomatous polyposis.

Background/aims: The prevalence of gastric polyps, duodenal adenoma and duodenal cancer has been reported as being high among familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) patients, but there have been no reports of this association in Korea. This study evaluated the prevalence of gastric and duodenal polyps and risk factors for duodenal neoplasm in FAP patients in Korea.

Methods: We reviewed both initial and follow-up endoscopic results from FAP patients.

Characteristics and prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer-associated brain metastases in the era of modern systemic chemotherapy.

Brain metastases (BM) occur in approximately 20-40% of cancer patients. The present study investigated the clinical outcomes of patients with BM from colorectal cancer (CRC) to assess the benefit of systemic chemotherapy (CT) administered after surgical or radiotherapeutic control of BM and to identify independent prognostic factors associated with survival after BM. Between August 2001 and July 2009, 118 patients with symptomatic BM from CRC received either cranial irradiation or craniotomy at two large cancer centers in South Korea.

Knowledge, attitudes, risk perception, and cancer screening behaviors among cancer survivors.

Background: Knowledge, attitudes, and risk perception in relation to second primary cancer (SPC) screening and their impact on screening practices in cancer survivors are largely unknown.

Methods: A total of 326 cancer survivors who had completed primary treatment for cancer >1 year previously were recruited from 6 oncology care outpatient clinics in the Republic of Korea. Survivors' knowledge, attitudes, perceived risk, and screening practices were assessed along with sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics.

Stage-to-stage comparison of preoperative and postoperative chemoradiotherapy for T3 mid or distal rectal cancer.

Purpose: To investigate, in a comparative analysis, the prognostic implications of postchemoradiotherapy (post-CRT) pathologic stage (ypStage) vs. postoperative pathologic stage (pStage) in rectal cancer.

Methods And Materials: Between May 2001 and December 2006, 487 patients with T3 mid or distal rectal cancer were analyzed retrospectively.

Castleman's disease of the mesorectum: report of a case.

Castleman's disease is a benign lymphoid proliferative disorder, which most commonly presents as a solitary mass in the mediastinum, although extrathoracic sites have been reported in the neck, axilla, pelvis, mesentery, pancreas, and retroperitoneum. We report a case of asymptomatic, isolated Castleman's disease in the mesorectum, which is extremely rare. The patient was a 34-year-old woman who underwent investigations for vaginal spotting.

Pathologic complete response of primary tumor following preoperative chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer: long-term outcomes and prognostic significance of pathologic nodal status (KROG 09-01).

Objective: To investigate long-term outcomes of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients with postchemoradiotherapy (post-CRT) pathologic complete response of primary tumor (ypT0) and determine prognostic significance of post-CRT pathologic nodal (ypN) status.

Background: LARC patients with post-CRT pathologic complete response were suggested to have favorable long-term outcomes, but prognostic significance of ypN status has never been specifically defined in ypT0 patients.

Methods: The Korean Radiation Oncology Group collected clinical data for 333 LARC patients with ypT0 following preoperative CRT and curative radical resections between 1993 and 2007.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practice on second primary cancer screening among cancer survivors: a qualitative study.

Objective: The goal of this study was to examine the knowledge, attitude, and practice on second cancer screening among cancer survivors.

Methods: Three focus group interviews were conducted with thirteen disease-free stomach, colorectal, breast and thyroid cancer survivors. Recurrent issues were identified and then placed into thematic categories.

The role of omental flap transposition in patients with locoregional recurrent rectal cancer treated with reirradiation.

Background And Objectives: We performed reirradiation after omental flap transposition (OFT) in patients with locoregional recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) and evaluated the effect of OFT on the irradiated small bowel by comparing the displacement of the small bowel from the radiation field before and after OFT.

Methods: Between October 2005 and October 2008, this study included 12 patients with LRRC who had previously received radiotherapy. To evaluate the effect of OFT on the irradiated volume of the small bowel and bladder, we measured the closest distances between the small bowel and the tumor or tumor bed (distance(SB)) and between the bladder and tumor or tumor bed (distance(BL)) before and after OFT, respectively.

Small-dose India ink tattooing for preoperative localization of colorectal tumor.

Introduction: India ink tattooing is widely used for tumor localization; however, the tattooing procedure is not yet standardized. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of small-dose tattooing with sterile India ink using a saline test-injection method.

Patients And Methods: Between April 2009 and August 2009, 20 patients underwent colonoscopic tattooing with prepackaged sterile India ink before resection of colorectal tumor.

Curative chemoradiotherapy for isolated retroperitoneal lymph node recurrence of colorectal cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the efficacy of curative chemoradiotherapy for isolated retroperitoneal lymph node recurrence of colorectal cancer.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-two colorectal cancer patients who received three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (n=20) or helical tomotherapy (n=2) for isolated retroperitoneal lymph node recurrence were analyzed retrospectively. Radiation dose was 55.

Early intrapulmonary recurrence after pulmonary metastasectomy related to colorectal cancer.

Background: Early intrapulmonary recurrence is a major problem after pulmonary metastasectomy related to colorectal cancer. However, the risk factors for early intrapulmonary recurrence are not clear.

Methods: Between August 2001 and December 2007, 125 patients underwent pulmonary metastasectomy after colorectal cancer.