Quantification of breast tumor heterogeneity for ER status, HER2 status, and TN molecular subtype evaluation on DCE-MRI.

Purpose: Recognizing molecular markers is helpful for guiding treatment plans for breast cancer. This study correlated estrogen receptor (ER), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) statuses to the degree of heterogeneity on breast dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI).

Materials And Methods: A total of 102 biopsy-proven cancers from 102 patients between October 2010 and December 2012 were used in this study, including ER (59 positive, 43 negative), HER2 (47 positive, 55 negative), and TNBC (22 TNBC, 80 non-TNBC).

A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study of Migraine and Organic-Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction.

As chronic illnesses and chronic pain are related to erectile dysfunction (ED), migraine as a prevalent chronic disorder affecting lots of people all over the world may negatively affect quality of life as well as sexual function. However, a large-scale population-based study of erectile dysfunction and other different comorbidities in patients with migraine is quite limited. This cohort longitudinal study aimed to estimate the association between migraine and ED using a nationwide population-based database in Taiwan.

A Decade of Changes in Family Caregivers' Preferences for Life-Sustaining Treatments for Terminally Ill Cancer Patients at End of Life in the Context of a Family-Oriented Society.

Context: Temporal changes in different family caregiver cohorts' preferences for life-sustaining treatments (LSTs) at end of life (EOL) have not been examined nor have the concept of whether caregivers' LST preferences represent a homogeneous or heterogeneous construct. Furthermore, LST preferences are frequently assessed from multiple treatments, making clinical applications difficult/infeasible.

Objectives: To identify parsimonious patterns and changes in the pattern of LST preferences for two independent cohorts of family caregivers for terminally ill Taiwanese cancer patients.

Association Between Reduced Risk of Intracerebral Hemorrhage and Pelvic Inflammatory Disease.

This study examines whether pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) facilitates the development of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).By using outpatient claims data from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan, we included the data of 25,508 patients who were newly diagnosed with PID between 1999 and 2004, and also from the Taiwan NHIRD, we randomly selected 102,032 women without PID, who were frequency-matched by age and entry-year and with 4 times the number of the PID patients, as the control cohort. We measured ICH risks associated with PID and comorbidities, including hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and atrial fibrillation, by the end of 2011.

Levofloxacin Sequential Therapy vs Levofloxacin Triple Therapy in the Second-Line Treatment of Helicobacter pylori: A Randomized Trial.

Objectives: The efficacy of levofloxacin triple therapy has fallen below 80% in the second-line treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). We aimed to assess whether the levofloxacin sequential therapy is more effective than levofloxacin triple therapy in the second-line treatment.

Breast Density Analysis with Automated Whole-Breast Ultrasound: Comparison with 3-D Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

In this study, a semi-automatic breast segmentation method was proposed on the basis of the rib shadow to extract breast regions from 3-D automated whole-breast ultrasound (ABUS) images. The density results were correlated with breast density values acquired with 3-D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI images of 46 breasts were collected from 23 women without a history of breast disease.

Patients With Carbon Monoxide Poisoning and Subsequent Dementia: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

The present study evaluated the dementia risk after carbon monoxide poisoning (CO poisoning). Using the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan, a total of 9041 adults newly diagnosed with CO poisoning from 2000 to 2011 were identified as the CO poisoning cohort. Four-fold (N = 36,160) of non-CO poisoning insured people were randomly selected as controls, frequency-matched by age, sex, and hospitalization year.

Imaging Breast Density: Established and Emerging Modalities.

Mammographic density has been proven as an independent risk factor for breast cancer. Women with dense breast tissue visible on a mammogram have a much higher cancer risk than women with little density. A great research effort has been devoted to incorporate breast density into risk prediction models to better estimate each individual's cancer risk.

Systematic review with meta-analysis: 10- or 14-day sequential therapy vs. 14-day triple therapy in the first line treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection.

Background: Whether 10-day or 14-day sequential therapy is superior to 14-day triple therapy in the first-line treatment of Helicobacter pylori remains controversial.

Aim: To compare the efficacy of 10-day or 14-day sequential therapy vs. 14-day triple therapy.

Increased Risk of Pyogenic Liver Abscess Among Patients With Colonic Diverticular Diseases: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Whether patients with diverticular diseases exhibit a higher risk of developing pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) remains inconclusive.From the inpatient claims in Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified 54,147 patients diagnosed with diverticulosis in the 1998 to 2010 period and 216,588 controls without the disorder. The 2 cohorts were matched by age, sex, and admission year, and were followed up until the end of 2010 to estimate the risk of PLA.

Utilization of a Cloud-Based Diabetes Management Program for Insulin Initiation and Titration Enables Collaborative Decision Making Between Healthcare Providers and Patients.

Background: Overseeing proper insulin initiation and titration remains a challenging task in diabetes care. Recent advances in mobile technology have enabled new models of collaborative care between patients and healthcare providers (HCPs). We hypothesized that the adoption of such technology could help individuals starting basal insulin achieve better glycemic control compared with standard clinical practice.

The Overexpression of FEN1 and RAD54B May Act as Independent Prognostic Factors of Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Synthetic lethality arises when a combination of mutations in two or more genes leads to cell death. However, the prognostic role of concordant overexpression of synthetic lethality genes in protein level rather than a combination of mutations is not clear. In this study, we explore the prognostic role of combined overexpression of paired genes in lung adenocarcinoma.

Preexisting Diabetes and Risks of Morbidity and Mortality After Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: A Nationwide Database Study.

The purpose of this study was to determine the risk of surgical mortality and morbidity in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) undergoing a gastrectomy for gastric cancer (GC). Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified 6284 patients who underwent gastrectomy for GC from 1999 to 2010. In addition, we created a non-DM control cohort consisting of 6268 patients who received gastrectomy during the same period.

Sequential therapy for 10 days versus triple therapy for 14 days in the eradication of in the community and hospital populations: a randomised trial.

Objective: Significant heterogeneity was observed in previous trials that assessed the efficacies of sequential therapy for 10 days (S10) versus triple therapy for 14 days (T14) in the first-line treatment of We aimed to compare the efficacy of S10 and T14 and assess the factors affecting their efficacies.

Design: We conducted this open-label randomised multicentre trial in eight hospitals and one community in Taiwan. 1300 adult subjects with infection naïve to treatment were randomised (1:1) to receive S10 (lansoprazole and amoxicillin for the first 5 days, followed by lansoprazole, clarithromycin and metronidazole for another 5 days) or T14 (lansoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin for 14 days).

Quantification of Regional Breast Density in Four Quadrants Using 3D MRI-A Pilot Study.

Purpose: This study presented a three-dimensional magnetic resonance (MR)-based method to separate a breast into four quadrants for quantitative measurements of the quadrant breast volume (BV) and density.

Methods: Breast MR images from 58 healthy women were studied. The breast and the fibroglandular tissue were segmented by using a computer-based algorithm.

Quantitative analysis of breast echotexture patterns in automated breast ultrasound images.

Purpose: Breast tissue composition is considered to be associated with breast cancer risk. This study aimed to develop a computer-aided classification (CAC) system to automatically classify echotexture patterns as heterogeneous or homogeneous using automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) images.

Methods: A CAC system was proposed that can recognize breast echotexture patterns in ABUS images.

Investigation of factors affecting hypothermic pelvic tissue cooling using bio-heat simulation based on MRI-segmented anatomic models.

This study applied a simulation method to map the temperature distribution based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of individual patients, and investigated the influence of different pelvic tissue types as well as the choice of thermal property parameters on the efficiency of endorectal cooling balloon (ECB). MR images of four subjects with different prostate sizes and pelvic tissue compositions, including fatty tissue and venous plexus, were analyzed. The MR images acquired using endorectal coil provided a realistic geometry of deformed prostate that resembled the anatomy in the presence of ECB.

Long-term risk of pancreatitis and diabetes after cholecystectomy in patients with cholelithiasis but no pancreatitis history: a 13-year follow-up study.

Background & Aim: Patients with biliary pancreatitis are suggested to undergo cholecystectomy to prevent the recurrence of pancreatitis. However, it remains controversial whether cholecystectomy is associated with reduced risks of pancreatitis and diabetes in patients with cholelithiasis and no history of pancreatitis.

Methods: From Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified the following cohorts and analyzed the long-term risks of pancreatitis and diabetes in each cohort: 1) cholecystectomy cohort: cholelithiasis patients who had no history of pancreatitis and diabetes and underwent cholecystectomy; and 2) comparison cohort: cholelithiasis patients who had no history of pancreatitis and diabetes and did not undergo cholecystectomy.

Computer-aided diagnosis for distinguishing between triple-negative breast cancer and fibroadenomas based on ultrasound texture features.

Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive subtype, is frequently misclassified as fibroadenoma due to benign morphologic features on breast ultrasound (US). This study aims to develop a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system based on texture features for distinguishing between TNBC and benign fibroadenomas in US images.

Methods: US images of 169 pathology-proven tumors (mean size, 1.

Pitfalls and Limitations of Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Diagnosis of Urinary Bladder Cancer.

Adequately selecting a therapeutic approach for bladder cancer depends on accurate grading and staging. Substantial inaccuracy of clinical staging with bimanual examination, cystoscopy, and transurethral resection of bladder tumor has facilitated the increasing utility of magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate bladder cancer. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a noninvasive functional magnetic resonance imaging technique.

Background Parenchymal Enhancement of the Contralateral Normal Breast: Association with Tumor Response in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

Purpose: This study investigated the association between background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) and pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

Methods: A total of 46 patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer were analyzed. Each patient had three magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, one pre-treatment and two follow-up (F/U) MRI studies.

Pre-existing diabetes and risks of morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation: A nationwide database study in an Asian population.

Background: Whether diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with a higher risk of perioperative mortality and mortality after liver transplantation (LTx) remains unclear.

Methods: We compared the risk of postoperative mortality and morbidity in DM and non-DM patients undergoing LTx. We enrolled 558 DM patients who underwent LTx from 2000 to 2010.

Impact of positional difference on the measurement of breast density using MRI.

Purpose: This study investigated the impact of arms/hands and body position on the measurement of breast density using MRI.

Methods: Noncontrast-enhanced T1-weighted images were acquired from 32 healthy women. Each subject received four MR scans using different experimental settings, including a high resolution hands-up, a low resolution hands-up, a high resolution hands-down, and finally, another high resolution hands-up after repositioning.

The Primary Resistance of Helicobacter pylori in Taiwan after the National Policy to Restrict Antibiotic Consumption and Its Relation to Virulence Factors-A Nationwide Study.

Objective: The Taiwan Government issued a policy to restrict antimicrobial usage since 2001. We aimed to assess the changes in the antibiotic consumption and the primary resistance of H. pylori after this policy and the impact of virulence factors on resistance.