Clinical Relevance of Red Blood Cell Distribution Width (RDW) in Endometrial Cancer: A Retrospective Single-Center Experience from Korea.

Background: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a standard parameter of complete blood count and indicates the variability in red blood cell size. This study aimed to determine whether preoperative RDW can be used to predict the recurrence and prognosis of endometrial carcinoma.

Methods: The medical records of 431 patients diagnosed with endometrial carcinoma were retrospectively reviewed between May 2006 and June 2018.

Expression Profiles of ID and E2A in Ovarian Cancer and Suppression of Ovarian Cancer by the E2A Isoform E47.

The E2A and inhibitor of DNA binding (ID) proteins are transcription factors involved in cell cycle regulation and cellular differentiation. Imbalance of ID/E2A activity is associated with oncogenesis in various tumors, but their expression patterns and prognostic values are still unknown. We evaluated ID and E2A expression in ovarian cancer cells, and assessed the possibility of reprogramming ovarian cellular homeostasis by restoring the ID/E2A axis.

Nationwide Comparison of Surgical and Oncologic Outcomes in Endometrial Cancer Patients Undergoing Robotic, Laparoscopic, and Open Surgery: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Purpose: Population-based comparisons between minimally invasive surgery (MIS) (robotic surgery [RS] and laparoscopic surgery [LS]) and open surgery (OS) for managing endometrial cancer are lacking. This study aimed to compare surgical and oncologic outcomes between endometrial cancer patients who underwent surgical staging via MIS or OS.

Materials And Methods: A population-based retrospective cohort study was performed using claims data from the Korean National Health Insurance database from January 2012 to December 2016.

Pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and its dynamic change during neoadjuvant chemotherapy as poor prognostic factors in advanced ovarian cancer.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic implications of the pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and its dynamic change during chemotherapy in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 203 patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to interval debulking surgery for advanced-stage ovarian cancer at Yonsei Cancer Hospital between 2007 and 2015. Pretreatment NLR was evaluated before starting neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

A screen for inducers of bHLH activity identifies pitavastatin as a regulator of p21, Rb phosphorylation and E2F target gene expression in pancreatic cancer.

The average survival for patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDA) is merely 6 months, underscoring the need for new therapeutic approaches. During PDA progression, pancreatic acinar cells lose activity of the ClassI/II bHLH factors that regulate quiescence. We previously found that promoting transcriptional activity of the Class I bHLH factor E47 in highly aggressive PDA cells induced stable growth arrest and .

Role of systematic lymphadenectomy as part of primary debulking surgery for optimally cytoreduced advanced ovarian cancer: Reappraisal in the era of radical surgery.

The prognostic significance of pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy during primary debulking surgery for advanced-stage ovarian cancer remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the survival impact of lymph node dissection (LND) in patients treated with optimal cytoreduction for advanced ovarian cancer. Data from 158 consecutive patients with stage IIIC-IV disease who underwent optimal cytoreduction (<1 cm) were obtained via retrospective chart review.

The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor E47 reprograms human pancreatic cancer cells to a quiescent acinar state with reduced tumorigenic potential.

Objectives: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) initiates from quiescent acinar cells that attain a Kras mutation, lose signaling from basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors, undergo acinar-ductal metaplasia, and rapidly acquire increased growth potential. We queried whether PDA cells can be reprogrammed to revert to their original quiescent acinar cell state by shifting key transcription programs.

Methods: Human PDA cell lines were engineered to express an inducible form of the bHLH protein E47.

Learning curve and surgical outcome for single-port access total laparoscopic hysterectomy in 100 consecutive cases.

Aims: To define the learning curve for single-port access (SPA) total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) and evaluate the surgical outcomes.

Methods: Patient demographics and segmental operating times of all 100 patients who underwent SPA-TLH by a single surgeon were analyzed. Patients were arranged in order based on surgery date.

Prognostic significance of human epididymis protein 4 in epithelial ovarian cancer.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) level in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

Study Design: A total of 78 women diagnosed with a pelvic mass and operated on in our institute comprised our cohort. Forty-five of these were diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer and treated with debulking surgery, followed by taxane and platinum-based chemotherapy as clinically indicated.

Differential effect of intraperitoneal albendazole and paclitaxel on ascites formation and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in ovarian cancer cell-bearing athymic nude mice.

Objectives: The purposes of our study were to evaluate the effect of intraperitoneal albendazole on tumor growth, ascites formation, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA expression, and to assess the synergistic effect of paclitaxel in OVCAR-3-bearing nude mice.

Methods: In all, 4 groups of mice were injected intraperitoneally with weekly albendazole (450 mg/kg per week), paclitaxel (30 mg/kg per week), albendazole plus paclitaxel, or normal saline for 4 weeks.

Results: Ascitic fluid accumulation (2.

The feasibility of carboplatin-based intraperitoneal chemotherapy in ovarian cancer.

Objective: To reduce toxicities in cisplatin-based intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy, we substituted carboplatin for cisplatin. The purpose of this study was to provide preliminary toxicity data of carboplatin-based IP chemotherapy and to evaluate the feasibility of this chemotherapy regimen in patients with ovarian cancer after primary debulking surgery.

Study Design: The toxicity data of 19 primary ovarian cancer patients (IP group) who underwent carboplatin-based IP and intravenous (IV) combination chemotherapy (IP carboplatin AUC 5 on day 1, IV paclitaxel 175mg/m² on day 2, and IP paclitaxel 60mg/m² on day 8) after primary debulking surgery were retrospectively analyzed and compared to 34 patients (IV group) who were treated with standard platinum-based IV chemotherapy during the same period.

Clinical significance of microsatellite instability in sporadic epithelial ovarian tumors.

Purpose: We evaluated the expression of microsatellite instability (MSI) in sporadic ovarian tumors using 5 standard and 9 new MSI markers to determine the clinical significance of MSI in sporadic epithelial ovarian tumors.

Materials And Methods: MSI was examined in 21 borderline and 25 malignant ovarian tumors. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using the 5 markers recommended by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for colon cancer and 9 additional markers.

A case of placenta increta presenting as delayed postabortal intraperitoneal bleeding in the first trimester.

Placenta increta is an uncommon and life-threatening complication of pregnancy characterized by complete or partial absence of the decidua basalis. Placenta increta usually presents with vaginal bleeding during difficult placental removal in the third-trimester. Although placenta increta may complicate first and early second-trimester pregnancy loss, the diagnosis can be very difficult during early pregnancy and thus the lesion is difficult to identify.

Structural and functional analyses of mutations of the human phenylalanine hydroxylase gene.

Background: Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism that results from a deficiency of phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH). We demonstrated PAH mutational spectrum from patients with PKU, including 10 novel and 3 tetrahydrobiopterin (BH(4))-responsive mutations. In this study, 11 PAH missense mutations, including 6 novel mutations (P69S, G103S, L293M, G332V, S391I, A447P) found in our previous study, 2 mutations common in east Asian patients with PKU (R243Q, R413P), and 3 tetrahydrobiopterin (BH(4))-responsive mutations (R53H, R241C, R408Q) have been functionally and structurally analyzed.

Quantitative analysis of SMN1 gene and estimation of SMN1 deletion carrier frequency in Korean population based on real-time PCR.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disorder, caused by homozygous absence of the survival motor neuron gene (SMN1) in approximately 94% of patients. Since most carriers have only one SMN1 gene copy, several SMN1 quantitative analyses have been used for the SMA carrier detection. We developed a reliable quantitative real-time PCR with SYBR Green I dye and studied 13 patients with SMA and their 24 parents, as well as 326 healthy normal individuals.

The molecular basis of phenylketonuria in Koreans.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism that results from a deficiency of phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH). We characterized the PAH mutations of 79 independent Korean patients with PKU or hyperphenylalaninemia. PAH nucleotide sequence analysis revealed 39 different mutations, including ten novel mutations.

Patterns of treatment failure following radiotherapy with combination chemotherapy for patients with high-risk stage IIB cervical carcinoma.

Background: To evaluate the patterns of treatment failure in patients with stage IIB cervical carcinoma with high-risk factors following radiotherapy given concurrently with combination chemotherapy.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 349 patients with stage IIB cervical carcinoma with high-risk factors (lesion size >/= 4 cm, lymph node metastasis, high-risk cell type) treated by radiotherapy and cisplatin-based chemotherapy was performed. Sites of treatment failure were categorized as pelvic, pelvic plus distant metastases, and distant metastases alone.

Rapid detection of duplication/deletion of the PMP22 gene in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease Type 1A and hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy by real-time quantitative PCR using SYBR Green I dye.

Mutations and altered gene dosage of the peripheral myelin protein (PMP22) gene in chromosome 17p11.2-12 are the main causes for hereditary neuropathies, accounting for approximately 70% of all cases. Patients with duplication of the PMP22 develop Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A) and deletion of one PMP22 allele leads to hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy (HNPP).