Prediction of menstrual recovery patterns in premenopausal women with breast cancer taking tamoxifen after chemotherapy: an ASTRRA Substudy.

Background: Chemo-endocrine therapy can lead to various side effects associated with ovarian dysfunction. Predicting menstrual recovery is necessary to discuss the treatment-related issues regarding fertility and premature menopause with patients.

Methods: In the ASTRRA trial, patients who resumed ovarian function within 2 years after chemotherapy were randomized to receive tamoxifen for 5 years or OFS with tamoxifen for 2 years.

Preparation of in vivo intermediate metabolites of soybean saponins with improved bioactivity by in vitro deacetylation and deglucosylation.

Unlike natural soyasaponins and their aglycones formed by enzymatic hydrolysis in the human intestine, in vivo intermediate soyasaponin metabolites are difficult to prepare. Therefore, the pharmacological activities of in vivo intermediate soyasaponins remain uninvestigated. Herein, in vivo intermediate soyasaponins with purities of >90% were prepared by in vitro deacetylation (alkaline treatment) and deglucosylation (β-glucosidase treatment) of natural soyasaponins using preparative high-performance liquid chromatography.

Safety and Effectiveness of Trastuzumab Biosimilar SB3 in Korean Patients, a Post-Marketing Surveillance Study.

Introduction: SB3 is a trastuzumab biosimilar approved in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and the USA. This real-world study evaluated safety and effectiveness of SB3 as part of the Korean post approval safety management system.

Methods: This post-marketing surveillance in Korea included patients in line with approved indications, i.

An observational, prospective, open label, multicenter study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of pegfilgrastim as secondary prophylaxis to decrease the incidence of febrile neutropenia in Korean female patients with breast cancer.

Purpose: Pegfilgrastim is a widely used long-acting granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) that prevents febrile neutropenia (FN) in patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of chemotherapy-related FN events and other adverse events (AEs) during chemotherapy in Korean patients with breast cancer treated with pegfilgrastim as secondary prophylactic support.

Materials And Methods: This was a multicenter, open-label, prospective, observational study.

Prediction of Oncotype DX Recurrence Score Using Clinicopathological Variables in Estrogen Receptor-Positive/Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Negative Breast Cancer.

Purpose: Oncotype DX (ODX) is a well-validated multigene assay that is increasingly used in Korean clinical practice. This study aimed to develop a clinicopathological prediction (CPP) model for the ODX recurrence scores (RSs).

Methods: A total of 297 patients (study group, n = 175; external validation group, n = 122) with estrogen receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative, T1-3N0-1M0 breast cancer, and available ODX test results were included in the study.

Characteristics and chronologically changing patterns of late-onset breast cancer in Korean women of age ≥ 70 years: A hospital based-registry study.

Background: Women from Asian and western countries have vastly different ages of onset of breast cancer, with the disease tending to occur at an older age in the West. Through an investigation of the patterns of old-onset breast cancer (OBC) in Korean women, we aimed to identify the characteristics of Korean OBC and evaluate whether these patterns are changing in relation to increasing westernization.

Methods: This study retrospectively evaluated 102,379 patients who underwent surgical treatment of primary breast cancer between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2013 in Korea.

Risk factors for level V metastasis in patients with N1b papillary thyroid cancer.

Background: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer, and its incidence has increased. Lateral lymph node metastasis (LLNM) implies a worse prognosis than central lymph node metastasis, with a higher recurrence rate and decreased disease-free survival. The 2015 American Thyroid Association guidelines recommend compartmental node dissection in patients with LLNM to reduce the risk of recurrence and mortality.

Characteristics and Prognosis of Estrogen Receptor Low-Positive Breast Cancer.

Purpose: The updated American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists guideline for estrogen receptor (ER) testing recommends that breast cancer with ER expression in 1-10% of tumor cells should be reported as ER-low positive (ER), although limited data are available on the overall benefits of endocrine therapy. We investigated the clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcomes of ER breast cancer and to compare them with those of ER-negative (ER) and ER-high (> 10% of tumor cells, ER) breast cancers.

Methods: Consecutive patients with invasive breast cancer who underwent curative surgery between November 2007 and December 2014 were included.

Production of 8,11-dihydroxy fatty acids from oleic and palmitoleic acids by Escherichia coli cells expressing variant 6,8-linoleate diol synthases from Penicillium oxalicum.

Recombinant Escherichia coli cells expressing 8,11-linoleate diol synthase (LDS) from Penicillium chrysogenum convert oleic and palmitoleic acids to 8-hydroperoxy-9(Z)-octadecenoic acid (HPOME) and 8-hydroperoxy-9(Z)-hexadecenoic acid (HPHME) only, respectively. However, recombinant E. coli cells expressing Q889A variant 6,8-LDS from Penicillium oxalicum as an 8,11-LDS converted oleic and palmitoleic acids to 8,11-dihydroxy-9(Z)-octadecenoic acid (DiHOME) and 8,11-dihydroxy-9(Z)-hexadecenoic acid (DiHHME), respectively, which were identified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis.

Impacts of Subtype on Clinical Feature and Outcome of Male Breast Cancer: Multicenter Study in Korea (KCSG BR16-09).

Purpose: The treatment of male breast cancer (MBC) has been extrapolated from female breast cancer (FBC) because of its rarity despite their different clinicopathologic characteristics. We aimed to investigate the distribution of intrinsic subtypes based on immunohistochemistry, their clinical impact, and treatment pattern in clinical practice through a multicenter study in Korea.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 248 MBC patients from 18 institutions across the country from January 1995 to July 2016.

Production of Deglucose-Apiose-Xylosylated Platycosides from Glycosylated Platycosides by Crude Enzyme from .

Platycosides, Platycodi radix ( root) saponins, are used as food supplements and exert diverse pharmacological activities. Deglycosylation of saponins enhances their biological efficacy, and deglycosylated platycosides are produced mainly through enzymatic hydrolysis. However, the types of available deglycosylated platycosides remain limited because of a lack of hydrolyzing enzymes that can act on specific glycosides in glycosylated platycosides.

Clinical impact of radioactive iodine dose selection based on the number of metastatic lymph nodes in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate whether the number of metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) could be used as a basis in the radioactive iodine (RAI) dose selection for patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

Patients: A total of 595 patients with PTC who received first RAI therapy after total or near-total thyroidectomy and had no evidence of disease in treatment response assessment were retrospectively enroled from five hospitals. The patients were classified into two subgroups based on the number of metastatic LNs (>5).

Recurrence prediction for breast phyllodes tumours: validation of the Singapore nomogram in Korean women.

Aim: The Singapore nomogram was developed to predict recurrence risk of phyllodes tumours (PTs) of the breast based on histological features of stromal atypia, stromal mitoses, stromal overgrowth and surgical margin status. We aimed to validate the utility of the Singapore nomogram in a Korean PT cohort.

Methods: One hundred and twenty-four patients with Korean PT who underwent surgical resection between 1996 and 2015 were included in this study.

Impact of the Updated Guidelines on Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2) Testing in Breast Cancer.

Purpose: In 2007, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the College of American Pathologists had established a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) testing guideline, which was updated in 2013 and subsequently in 2018. We assessed the clinical impact of the recent update by comparing the hybridization (ISH) results based on the 2007, 2013, and 2018 guidelines.

Methods: We assessed 2 cohorts.

Periclavicular Lymph Node Activation Maintains the Lymphatic Circulation of Upper Extremity Following Breast Cancer Surgery with Axillary Lymph Node Dissection.

Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) can cause breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). However, ALND does not always produce lymphedema to the breast cancer survivors. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the correlation between the finding of lymphoscintigraphy and lymphedema in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery with ALND.

Increased Production of ω-Hydroxynonanoic Acid and α,ω-Nonanedioic Acid from Olive Oil by a Constructed Biocatalytic System.

ω-Hydroxynonanoic acid and α,ω-nonanedioic acid are used for synthesizing diverse chemicals. Although biological methods are developed, their concentrations are low due to the toxicity of high concentrations of the hydrophobic chemicals toward biocatalysts. Here, we constructed a biocatalytic system with high productivity by adding an adsorbent resin and a strong base anion-exchange resin, reducing the solubility of ω-hydroxynonanoic acid and α,ω-nonanedioic acid, feeding ω-hydroxynonanoic acid, and introducing a cofactor regeneration system.

Prospective, Randomized, Comparative, Multicenter Study of the Hybrid Ultrasonic Advanced Bipolar Device and the Ultrasonic Coagulating Shears in Open Thyroidectomy.

The hybrid ultrasonic advanced bipolar device (HUB) that integrates ultrasonic energy and advanced bipolar energy was recently developed and applied to thyroid surgery. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of HUB and ultrasonic coagulating shears for open thyroidectomy. A total of 200 patients were enrolled from April to September 2017 in this prospective, randomized, multicenter study.

Construction of an engineered biocatalyst system for the production of medium-chain α,ω-dicarboxylic acids from medium-chain ω-hydroxycarboxylic acids.

Medium-chain α,ω-dicarboxylic acids produced from renewable long-chain fatty acids are valuable as precursors in the chemical industry. However, they are difficult to produce biologically at high concentrations. Although improved biocatalyst systems consisting of engineering of Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases are used in the production of ω-hydroxycarboxylic acids from long-chain fatty acids, the engineering of biocatalysts involved in the production of α,ω-dicarboxylic acids from ω-hydroxycarboxylic acids has been rarely attempted.

The effectiveness of prophylactic ipsilateral central neck dissection in selected patients who underwent total thyroidectomy for clinically node-negative unilateral papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Background: Prophylactic central neck dissection (CND) in clinically node-negative (cN0) papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefits of prophylactic ipsilateral CND compared with bilateral CND in total thyroidectomy for cN0 unilateral PTC.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 174 patients who underwent total thyroidectomies with prophylactic CND for cN0 unilateral PTC between January 2009 and May 2010.

Biotransformation of Glycosylated Saponins in Balloon Flower Root Extract into 3--β-D-Glucopyranosyl Platycosides by Deglycosylation of Pectinase from .

root (Platycodi radix) saponins, platycosides, have been used as health supplements and food items for the treatment of respiratory disorders and pulmonary diseases. Deglycosylated saponins have been known to exert stronger biological effects than their glycosylated forms. In the present study, glycosylated platycosides in Platycodi radix extract were biotransformed into deglycosylated 3--β-D-glucopyranosyl platycosides, including 3--β-Dglucopyranosyl platycodigenin, 3--β-D-glucopyranosyl polygalacic acid, and 3--β-Dglucopyranosyl platyconic acid, by pectinase from .

Usefulness of 1-year of thyroid stimulating hormone suppression on additional levothyroxine in patients who underwent hemithyroidectomy with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify usefulness of 1-year of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) suppression, on additional levothyroxine in patients who underwent hemithyroidectomy with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC).

Methods: Two-hundred consecutive patients who had received hemithyroidectomy February 2011 to March 2013, were enrolled, retrospectively. Group 1, only, was taking levothyroxine for a year, postoperatively.

NDRG3 protein expression is associated with aggressive biologic phenotype and unfavorable outcome in patients with invasive breast cancer.

The N-myc downstream regulated gene (NDRG) protein family consists of 4 members (NDRG1, NDRG2, NDRG3, and NDRG4), that have been reported to be aberrantly expressed in human cancers. Furthermore, NDRG3 protein expression is known to promote tumor angiogenesis and cell growth. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of NDRG3 expression in invasive breast cancer (IBC).