Radiation Response Prediction Model Based on Integrated Clinical and Genomic Data Analysis / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

Purpose@#The value of the genomic profiling by targeted gene-sequencing on radiation therapy response prediction was evaluated through integrated analysis including clinical information. Radiation response prediction model was constructed based on the analyzed findings. @*Materials and Methods@#Patients who had the tumor sequenced using institutional cancer panel after informed consent and received radiotherapy for the measurable disease served as the target cohort. Patients with irradiated tumor locally controlled for more than 6 months after radiotherapy were defined as the durable local control (DLC) group, otherwise, non-durable local control (NDLC) group. Significant genomic factors and domain knowledge were used to develop the Bayesian Network model to predict radiotherapy response. @*Results@#Altogether, 88 patients were collected for analysis. Of those, 41 (43.6%) and 47 (54.4%) patients were classified as the NDLC and DLC group, respectively. Somatic mutations of NOTCH2 and BCL were enriched in the NDLC group, whereas, mutations of CHEK2, MSH2, and NOTCH1 were more frequently found in the DLC group. Altered DNA repair pathway was associated with better local failure–free survival (hazard ratio, 0.40; 95% confidence interval, 0.19 to 0.86; p=0.014). Smoking somatic signature was found more frequently in the DLC group. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the Bayesian network model predicting probability of 6-month local control was 0.83. @*Conclusion@#Durable radiation response was associated with alterations of DNA repair pathway and smoking somatic signature. Bayesian network model could provide helpful insights for high precision radiotherapy. However, these findings should be verified in prospective cohort for further individualization.

Cortical Trajectory Screw Fixation in Lumbar Spine Surgery: A Review of the Existing Literature

Posterior lumbar fusion is a safe and effective surgical method for diseases, such as lumbar stenosis, spondylolisthesis, lumbar instability, spinal deformity, and tumor. Pedicle screw (PS) fixation was first introduced by Bouche and has been adopted as the gold standard for posterior lumbar fusion. Santoni and colleagues introduced a new methodological screw insertion technique that uses a cortical bone trajectory (CBT), described as that from a medial to lateral path in the transverse axial plane and caudal to the cephalad path in the sagittal plane through the pedicle for maximum contact of the screw with the cortical bone. Owing to the lower invasiveness, superior cortical bone contact, and reduced neurovascular injury incidence, the CBT technique has been widely used in posterior lumbar fusion; however, these advantages have not been proven in clinical/radiological and biomechanical studies. We designed the present study to review the existing evidence and evaluate the merit of CBT screw fixation. Six electronic databases were searched for relevant articles published in August 2020 using the search terms “cortical bone trajectory,” “CBT spine,” “CBT fixation,” “cortical pedicle screws,” and “cortical screws.” Studies were analyzed and divided into the following groups: “biomechanics investigation,” “surgical technique,” and “clinical/radiological studies.” Most studies compared CBT and PS fixation, and the CBT screw fixation method showed better or similar outcomes.

Study on Physician's Perceptions and Attitudes on Organ Donation in Brain Dead Donors / 대한이식학회지

PURPOSE: The demand for suitable organs in the world greatly outweighs the supply of transplantable organs. Perceptions and attitudes of the attending physician to brain death are pivotal for the organ donation process in brain dead donors. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the perceptions and attitudes of the attending physician on brain death and organ donation in order to promote the organ donation from brain dead donors in Korea. METHODS: Questionnaires were collected from 194 (17.9%) among 1,018 physicians and were analyzed by descriptive statistics. RESULTS: 97.5% (189/194) of respondents have positive attitudes toward organ donation. Although 97.9% (190/194) have experienced donor management, the referral rate was no more than half (96/194, 49.5%). The main barriers against organ donation were lack of knowledge on organ donation and transplantation (60/129, 46.5%), cultural background (27/120, 20.9%) and complexity in the organ donation process (12/129, 9.3%). CONCLUSION: Promotion of organ procurement organization and well trained-education programs are crucial to help attending physicians to understand the organ donation process, and eventually to increase the rate of organ donations in brain dead donors.

Early Result of Bentall Operation / 대한흉부외과학회지

From October 1993 to April 1997, 37 patients (30 male and 7 female patients), ranging in age from 23 to 73 years, were operated for annuloaortic ectasia with or without aortic dissection. Four patients were in New York Heart Association Class I, 10 in Class II, 20 in Class III, and 3 in Class IV. In cases of annuloaortic ectasia with aortic dissection, the surgical treatment in all cases consisted of total replacement of the ascending aorta with composite graft and reimplantation of the coronary arteries to the tube graft. The postoperative complication, as postoperative bleeding or LV dysfunction, was 18% (7 cases) and late mortality for entire group was 2.7% (one death). The period of follow-up ranged from 1 month to 36 months (average 9.6 months). In conclusion, Bentall operation for annuloaortic ectasia with or without aortic dissection is reliable method with low mortality and excellent short-term results.

An Analysis of the Social and Clinical Status of Organ Donation from Brain Death Donors / 대한이식학회지

BACKGROUND: Since the first successful kidney transplatation from a brain death donor(BDD) in 1979, organ transplantations from BDD have steadily increased. The legal definition of brain death has not yet been. However the number of BDDs have been increasing year by year. The purpose of this study is to analyze the social and clinical status of organ donation from BDDs. METHODS: We analyzed retrospectively the status of BDDs registerd for organ transplant program in Asan Medical Center from January, 1992 to March, 1997. RESULTS: The male to female ratio was 3:1, and the age distribution was the highest in twenties. Occupation distribution was the highest in students and distribution of religion was the highest in these who were non-believers. The distribution of cause of brain death was the highest in motor vehicle accidents. The blood type distribution was the highest in type A+, type B+, O+, and AB+ in order. The distribution of days stayed in ICU before organ donation was the highest in 3D, 2D, and 4D in order. The failure of organ donation was mainly very poor organ condition. CONCLUSIONS: We wish that these results were made use of bases of status of organ donation from BDDs.