Publications by authors named "Ok Jun Lee"

Article Synopsis
  • Cytology (liquid-based cytology or LBC) has been a key method for cervical cancer screening, but HPV testing is becoming more common, prompting a comparison of these methods for cost-effectiveness.
  • A study involving 3,742 patients assessed sensitivity and specificity of primary LBC, primary HPV testing, and combined LBC plus HPV co-testing, revealing significant differences in diagnostic performance.
  • Results indicated that while the co-test had the highest sensitivity (97.5%), the primary LBC algorithm showed the best cost-benefit effect and better specificity, making it a strong option for cervical cancer screening.
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Cellular senescence, a hallmark of aging, is pathogenically linked to the development of aging-related diseases. This study demonstrates that FRMD6, an upstream component of the Hippo/YAP signaling cascade, is a key regulator of senescence. Proteomic analysis revealed that FRMD6 is upregulated in senescent IMR90 fibroblasts under various senescence-inducing conditions.

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Background: Epithelioid angiomyolipoma (EAML) is a rare variant of angiomyolipoma that predominantly consists of epithelioid cells and belongs to the perivascular epithelioid cell neoplasm (PEComa) family. The majority of EAMLs arise in the kidneys, and primary hepatic EAML appears to be much less common than renal EAML. Most PEComas arise sporadically, but may be associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), an autosomal dominant genetic disorder characterized by germline mutations in the TSC1 or TSC2 genes.

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Rationale: Myofibromas are rare benign spindle cell tumors of the soft tissue, bone, or internal organs that occur at any age. Here, we report a post-surgical thyroid bed myofibroma that mimicked a papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Patient Concerns: A 56-year-old male presented with a mass in the thyroid surgical bed, detected 3 years post thyroidectomy following papillary carcinoma.

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Rationale: Primary pulmonary synovial sarcoma is a rare malignant pulmonary tumor accompanied by calcifications in approximately 15% of cases. These calcifications usually have a fine, stippled appearance; coarse shapes have seldom been reported. Moreover, the presence of coarse calcifications often suggests benign tumors, which vastly differ in treatment.

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Oncogenic mutations occur in approximately 25% of human lung cancers and are most frequently found in codon 12 (G12C, G12V, and G12D). Mutated K-RAS inhibitors have shown beneficial results in many patients; however, the inhibitors specifically target K-RAS and acquired resistance is a common occurrence. Therefore, new treatments targeting all kinds of oncogenic mutations with a durable response are needed.

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Background: Non-coding microRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in tumor progression and hold great promise as therapeutic agents for multiple cancers. MicroRNA 29a (miR-29a) is a tumor suppressor miRNA that inhibits cancer cell growth and tumor progression in non-small cell lung cancer. Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 6 (CEACAM6), which plays an important role in lung cancer progression, has been identified as a target of miR-29a.

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Primary retroperitoneal mucinous cystic neoplasms are rare retroperitoneal tumors, which are histologically similar to mucinous cystic neoplasms of the ovaries. Only 31 cases of primary retroperitoneal mucinous cystic neoplasm with borderline malignancy (PRMCN-BM) have been reported (26 in women and five in men). We describe an additional male patient with PRMCN-BM.

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Article Synopsis
  • A case report describes a 45-year-old woman diagnosed with an IMT in her bladder, presenting with symptoms like gross hematuria, and subsequent analysis revealed the FN1-ALK fusion after tumor resection.
  • The study indicates that the FN1-ALK fusion, involving ALK exon 19 and FN1 exon 23, is primarily associated with urinary bladder IMTs, distinguishing it from other IMTs that usually involve different ALK exons.
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As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic remains uncontrolled owing to the continuous emergence of variants of concern, there is an immediate need to implement the most effective antiviral treatment strategies, especially for risk groups. Here, we evaluated the therapeutic potency of nirmatrelvir, remdesivir and molnupiravir, and their combinations in SARS-CoV-2 infected K18-hACE2 transgenic mice. Systemic treatment of mice with each drug (20 mg/kg) resulted in slightly enhanced antiviral efficacy and yielded an increased life expectancy of only about 20-40% survival.

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Snail family transcriptional repressor 2 (SNAI2, Slug) is a transcription factor that belong to the Slug/Snail superfamily. Site specific phosphorylation of slug (pSlug) is detected during the M phase, and thus, this phosphorylated protein is considered a novel marker for detecting mitotic figures. Herein, we investigated whether the detection of mitosis using pSlug expression can be used in the histological grading of meningioma.

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Background: This study aimed to develop and validate five machine learning models designed to predict actinomycotic osteomyelitis of the jaw. Furthermore, this study determined the relative importance of the predictive variables for actinomycotic osteomyelitis of the jaw, which are crucial for clinical decision-making.

Methods: A total of 222 patients with osteomyelitis of the jaw were analyzed, and Actinomyces were identified in 70 cases (31.

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  • Nilotinib is a second-line treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia, but it can rarely cause serious lung issues, as demonstrated in a case of interstitial lung disease in a patient who had been on the drug for over four years.
  • The patient, a 46-year-old man, exhibited symptoms like cough and weight loss, and tests revealed lung damage consistent with nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, though no infections or tumors were found.
  • After treatment with corticosteroids improved his cough, lung damage persisted, and resuming nilotinib led to further deterioration, highlighting the need for vigilance about potential lung complications in patients receiving this medication.
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  • Older adults (65+) have much higher COVID-19 mortality rates than younger people, despite similar seroprevalence rates across age groups.
  • In a study, ferrets of different ages infected with SARS-CoV-2 showed that older ferrets had higher viral loads, longer shedding periods, and more severe symptoms compared to younger ferrets.
  • Analysis of the lungs from aged ferrets revealed gene expression patterns similar to those found in severe COVID-19 patients, making them a valuable model for studying how the virus affects different age groups.
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Purpose: Histologic change is a resistant mechanism in lung cancer. The most common histological change is the switch from adenocarcinoma (AdenoCa) to small cell carcinoma (SCC) against to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). However, it is not clear whether other treatment modalities are involved in the histologic changes.

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Slug is a transcription factor belonging to the slug/snail superfamily. The protein is involved in embryonic development and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of tumors. Slug is also under temporal regulation during cell cycle.

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While the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in healthy people does not differ significantly among age groups, those aged 65 years or older exhibit strikingly higher COVID-19 mortality compared to younger individuals. To further understand differing COVID-19 manifestations in patients of different ages, three age groups of ferrets were infected with SARS-CoV-2. Although SARS-CoV-2 was isolated from all ferrets regardless of age, aged ferrets (≥ 3 years old) showed higher viral loads, longer nasal virus shedding, and more severe lung inflammatory cell infiltration and clinical symptoms compared to juvenile (≤ 6 months) and young adult (1-2 years) groups.

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Background: The present study investigated the association of serum parathyroid hormone (PTH), vitamin D, and calcium levels with prostate cancer (CaP).

Methods: The study population consisted of an experimental group [459 patients including 216 patients with CaP and 243 patients with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH)] and a prostatectomy group (47 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy). Patients with serum creatinine levels >1.

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This study aimed to understand whether the effect of non-metastatic cells 1 (NME1) on recurrence-free survival (RFS) in early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can be modified by β-catenin overexpression and cisplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy. Expression levels of NME1 and β-catenin were analyzed using immunohistochemistry in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from 425 early stage NSCLC patients. Reduced NME1 expression was found in 39% of samples.

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Bioinformatic and functional data link integrin-mediated cell adhesion to cellular senescence; however, the significance of and molecular mechanisms behind these connections are unknown. We now report that the focal adhesion-localized βPAK-interacting exchange factor (βPIX)-G protein-coupled receptor kinase interacting protein (GIT) complex controls cellular senescence in vitro and in vivo. βPIX and GIT levels decline with age.

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The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in China and rapidly spread worldwide. To prevent SARS-CoV-2 dissemination, understanding the in vivo characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 is a high priority. We report a ferret model of SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission that recapitulates aspects of human disease.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is being studied as a potential alternative for mutation analysis, specifically focusing on EGFR mutations in advanced lung adenocarcinoma cases.
  • The study analyzed matched samples from patients, including tissue, malignant pleural effusion cell blocks, supernatants, and plasma, using a specific analytical technique called PANAMutyper™.
  • Results showed that MPE supernatant had higher sensitivity and predictive values than plasma in detecting EGFR mutations, indicating it might be a more reliable biomaterial for such analyses.
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The World Health Organization 2016 edition assigned anaplastic lymphoma kinase () rearrangement-associated renal cell carcinoma (ALK-RCC) as an emerging renal tumor entity. Identifying ALK-RCC is important because ALK inhibitors have been shown to be effective in treatment. Here, we report the case of a 14-year-old young man with ALK-RCC.

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