Efficacy of the granisetron transdermal system for the control of nausea and vomiting induced by highly emetogenic chemotherapy: a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial.

Background/aims: We compared the efficacy of the granisetron transdermal system (GTS) with that of ondansetron for controlling chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients treated with highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC).

Methods: We randomized a total of 389 patients to groups treated by GTS and ondansetron before HEC. The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients achieving complete response (CR; no retching/vomiting/rescue medication) of CINV from the time of chemotherapy initiation to 24 hours after the last administration of chemotherapy (prespecified non-inferiority margin of 15%).

Experience of serious intestinal hemorrhage and perforation in small bowel lymphoma: a case report.

There have been several reports of complications of small bowel lymphoma, such as bleeding, obstruction, and perforation, often require emergency surgery. It is hardly showed complications of bleeding and wound dehiscence for diffuse large B cell lymphoma with distal ileum involvement, which needed urgent surgery and medical management. A 65-year-old man with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with distal ileum involvement experienced both intestinal bleeding and perforation during the course of treatment.

Intracerebral Hemorrhage due to Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome after Vaccination against COVID-19: the First Fatal Case in Korea.

Vaccination with an adenoviral vector vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can result in the rare development of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia mediated by platelet-activating antibodies against platelet factor 4 (PF4). This is a life-threating condition that may be accompanied by bleeding due to thrombocytopenia with thrombosis of the cerebral venous sinus or splanchnic vein. Herein, we describe the first fatal case of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome in Korea, presenting with intracranial hemorrhage caused by cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

An open-label expanded access program of afatinib in EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor-naïve patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer harboring EGFR mutations.

Background: Afatinib is approved globally for EGFR-TKI treatment-naïve patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this Korean expanded access program, we evaluated its 'real-world' safety and efficacy.

Methods: EGFR-TKI treatment-naïve patients with EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC received afatinib 40 mg/day until disease progression or other withdrawal criteria.

Changes in the palliative performance scale may be as important as the initial palliative performance scale for predicting survival in terminal cancer patients.

Objective: The accurate estimation of expected survival in terminal cancer patients is important. The palliative performance scale (PPS) is an important factor in predicting survival of hospice patients. The purpose of this study was to examine how initial status of PPS and changes in PPS affect the survival of hospice patients in Korea.

Outcomes of decitabine treatment for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia in older adults​.

Purpose: We evaluated the outcomes of decitabine as first-line treatment in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and investigated the predictors, including a baseline mini nutritional assessment short form (MNA-SF) score, of response and survival.

Patients And Methods: Between 2010 and 2018, 96 AML patients aged 65 and above who received decitabine treatment at 6 centers in Korea were retrospectively evaluated. Response rates, hematologic improvements (HI), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed.

Efficacy and safety of oxycodone/naloxone as add-on therapy to gabapentin or pregabalin for the management of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in Korea.

Aims: To investigate the efficacy and safety of oxycodone/naloxone in patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) inadequately controlled with pregabalin or gabapentin.

Methods: This 4-week, multicenter, interventional, single-arm phase IV study included 72 Korean patients with CIPN inadequately controlled with pregabalin or gabapentin (Numeric Rating Scale 0-10; NRS ≥4 at baseline). In addition to pregabalin or gabapentin at existing doses, patients received 20/10 mg/day oxycodone/naloxone (up-titrated to 80/40 mg/day as needed).

Multicenter Retrospective Analysis of Clinical Characteristics, Treatment Patterns, and Outcomes in Very Elderly Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: The Korean Cancer Study Group LY16-01.

Purpose: The treatment strategy for elderly patients older than 80 years with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has not been established because of poor treatment tolerability and lack of data.

Materials And Methods: This multicenter retrospective study was conducted to investigate clinical characteristics, treatment patterns and outcomes of patients older than 80 years who were diagnosed with DLBCL at 19 institutions in Korea between 2005 and 2016.

Results: A total of 194 patients were identified (median age, 83.

Genetic-pathologic characterization of myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders characterized by the proliferation of one or more myeloid lineages. The current study demonstrates that three driver mutations were detected in 82.6% of 407 MPNs with a mutation distribution of JAK2 in 275 (67.

Clinical Outcome and Predictive Factors in the Response to Splenectomy in Elderly Patients with Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Background: Because many physicians seem reluctant to recommend splenectomy for elderly patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), we investigated the safety and efficacy of splenectomy and the predictive factors for response in these patients.

Methods: 184 patients with primary ITP were retrospectively analyzed based on age at splenectomy: an elderly group (≥60 years, n = 52) and a younger group (<60 years, n = 132).

Results: There was no difference in the response rate of elderly versus younger patients (80.

HPV-Related Retroperitoneal Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary: A Case Report.

A 56-year-old female was referred to our hospital due to a mass measuring 5 cm in size in the left pelvic cavity, which was found incidentally during a health examination by ultrasonography. Exploratory laparotomy was performed and the mass was located at the left retroperitoneal parametrium without invasion of the uterus and ovary. The pathology report confirmed squamous cell carcinoma.

Patient's Factors at Entering Hospice Affecting Length of Survival in a Hospice Center.

Purpose: In order to provide effective hospice care, adequate length of survival (LOS) in hospice is necessary. However the reported average LOS is much shorter. Analysis of LOS in hospice has not been reported from Korea.

Clinical characteristics and treatment outcome of acute myeloid leukemia in elderly patients in Korea: a retrospective analysis.

Background: The clinical characteristics of elderly patients with AML differ from those of younger patients, resulting in poorer survival and treatment outcomes. We analyzed retrospectively the clinical data of AML patients 65 years old and above to describe patients' characteristics and treatment patterns, and to define meaningful prognostic factors of survival in the Korean population.

Methods: Basic patients' characteristics, clinical outcomes according to treatments, and prognostic factors associated with survival and treatment intensity were examined in a total of 168 patients diagnosed in 5 institutes between 1996 and 2012 as having AML.

Durable response after just one cycle of belotecan-based chemotherapy in a patient with relapsed primary peritoneal serous carcinoma.

The efficacy of second-line chemotherapy for relapsed primary peritoneal serous carcinoma has been numerously reported, but reports on durable response after second-line therapy have been rare. We report the case of a 66-year-old woman with relapsed primary peritoneal serous carcinoma who showed durable response after just one cycle of second-line belotecan-based therapy. The response might be a complete pathologic remission.

The prevalence and clinical characteristics of cancer among anemia patients treated at an outpatient clinic.

Background: Anemia is the most common hematologic condition encountered in outpatient clinics. It is often overlooked because it is common among patients; however, anemia is one of the leading indicators of cancer. This study examined the prevalence and characteristics of cancer among anemia patients who visited an outpatient clinic.

Diplopia as a presenting symptom in a gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are the most common mesenchymal neoplasm of the gastrointestinal tract. Distant metastasis of gastrotintestinal stromal tumors occurs in ∼50% of the cases and is usually found in the liver and peritoneum. We present a patient with diplopia which was due to a metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the clivus.

Bortezomib, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone combination therapy followed by thalidomide and dexamethasone consolidation as a salvage treatment for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma: analysis of efficacy and safety.

We conducted a phase 2 study with bortezomib, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone (PAD) followed by thalidomide and dexamethasone (TD) in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma (MM). Forty patients were enrolled between November 2005 and October 2007, with follow-up continuing until January 2009. Efficacy could be assessed in 37 patients.

Bortezomib, thalidomide, dexamethasone induction therapy followed by melphalan, prednisolone, thalidomide consolidation therapy as a first line of treatment for patients with multiple myeloma who are non-transplant candidates: results of the Korean Multiple Myeloma Working Party (KMMWP).

Bortezomib (VELCADE), thalidomide and dexamethasone (VTD), as well as melphalan, prednisolone, and thalidomide (MPT) therapy, are highly effective in patients with multiple myeloma. We evaluated the responses and survival times of 35 patients treated with VTD followed by MPT. All patients were newly diagnosed and non-transplantation candidates.

Clinical features and survival outcomes in patients with multiple myeloma: analysis of web-based data from the Korean Myeloma Registry.

Aim: The Korean Multiple Myeloma Working Party performed a nationwide registration of multiple myeloma patients via a web-based data bank system.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed registered data from 3,209 patients since 1999.

Results: The median overall survival (OS) was 50.

Randomized, multicenter, phase III trial of heptaplatin 1-hour infusion and 5-fluorouracil combination chemotherapy comparing with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil combination chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Purpose: Heptaplatin (Sunpla) is a cisplatin derivative. A phase IIb trial using heptaplatin resulted in a 34% response rate with mild nephrotoxicity. We conducted a randomized phase III trial of heptaplatin plus 5-FU compared with cisplatin plus 5-FU in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Successful prevention of acute graft-versus-host disease using low-dose antithymocyte globulin after mismatched, unrelated, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for acute myelogenous leukemia.

In this study, we investigated the effects of low-dose antithymocyte globulin (ATG, thymoglobulin) in the prevention of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) in mismatched, unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantations (uHSCTs) in patients with the single disease entity of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Patients (n = 103) with a variable risk for AML who received uHSCTs from available Asian and Caucasian donors were enrolled. First, we compared HLA-matched (group 1, n = 54) and HLA-mismatched (group 2, n = 49) transplantation patients.

Death receptor 5 and Bcl-2 protein expression as predictors of tumor response to gemcitabine and cisplatin in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

The cytotoxic effects of gemcitabine (G) and cisplatin (C) seem to occur through induction of apoptosis. To examine whether the efficacy of GC chemotherapy might be influenced by the expression of death receptor 5 (DR5) and Bcl-2 of the tumor, we investigated the correlation between the tumor response rate and DR5 and Bcl-2 expression in a series of patients prospectively treated with GC. Thirty-four chemotherapy naïve patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) received intravenously 1000 mg/m2 gemcitabine on d 1 and 8 along with 80 mg/m2 cisplatin on d 2, every 21 d.

Distribution of adenoviral vector in brain after intravenous administration.

The delivery of transgenes to the central nervous system (CNS) can be a valuable tool to treat CNS diseases. Various systems for the delivery to the CNS have been developed; vascular delivery of viral vectors being most recent. Here, we investigated gene transfer to the CNS by intravenous injection of recombinant adenoviral vectors, containing green fluorescence protein (GFP) as a reporter gene.