Hark Min Lee
Seoul National University · Medicine
About the Lab
Professor Hark Min Lee's research lab specializes in urological oncology, with a primary focus on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and prostate cancer. The lab investigates perioperative outcomes, surgical techniques—particularly laparoscopic and robotic approaches—and the impact of preoperative biomarkers such as the De Ritis ratio on long-term survival. It also explores the role of advanced imaging, including diffusion-weighted MRI, in improving cancer detection and surgical planning. The lab emphasizes personalized medicine through 3D renal modeling and aims to optimize patient outcomes via evidence-based surgical strategies and renal function preservation.
Research Overview
Research Output Trend
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Selected Papers
15OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the associations of preoperative De Ritis ratio (aspartate transaminase [AST]/alanine transaminase [ALT]) with postoperative clinical outcomes after surgical treatment of localized RCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data from 2 965 patients surgically treated for non-metastatic RCC. Propensity scores for high AST/ALT ratio were calculated and 430 patients with a high AST/ALT ratio were matched to 1 117 patients with a low AST/ALT ratio. The association
The personalized 3D renal model was revealed to significantly enhance the understanding of correct renal anatomy in patients with renal tumors in both urologist and student groups. These models can be useful for establishing the perioperative planning and also education program for medical students.
The laparoscopic and robotic approaches yielded better perioperative outcomes, such as less intraoperative bleeding, shorter hospital stays, less analgesic usage, and non-inferior oncological outcomes, compared with the open approach. Further prospective studies are needed to compare these surgical techniques.
BACKGROUND: The prognosis of patients with pathologic stage T3a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) that is up-staged from a small renal tumor remains controversial. We evaluated the prognosis of patients with RCC who were up-staged from clinical stage T1 to pathologic stage T3a. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 3431 patients who were surgically treated for clinical stage T1 RCC. The survival outcomes were compared using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional analyses. RESULTS: Among the clini
Objectives To analyse the effect of prolonged warm ischaemia time ( WIT ) on long‐term renal function after partial nephrectomy ( PN ), as controversy still exists as to whether prolonged WIT adversely affects the incidence of chronic kidney disease ( CKD ) after PN . Patients and Methods We reviewed data from 1816 patients who underwent PN for a clinical T1 renal tumour. The propensity scores for prolonged WIT were calculated with the shorter WIT group (<30 min) matched to the longer WIT gro
DWI detects tumors in PZ of prostate more accurately than those in TZ. Such accuracy of DWI was shown to be more evident with higher DWI grade. Meanwhile, a negative DWI did not guarantee absence of high grade PCa.
Recently, deep learning technology has achieved various successes in medical image analysis studies including computer-aided diagnosis (CADx). However, current CADx approaches based on deep learning have a limitation in interpreting diagnostic decisions. The limited interpretability is a major challenge for practical use of current deep learning approaches. In this paper, a novel visually interpretable deep network framework is proposed to provide diagnostic decisions with visual interpretation.
Poor glycemic control was significantly associated with BCR after RP. Meanwhile, metformin use was not associated with biochemical outcome after RP. Further investigation would be needed to identify exact mechanism underlying the impact of glycemic control on PCa treatment outcome.
Diabetes mellitus is an independent predictor of cancer specific and overall survival in patients who undergo surgery for renal cell carcinoma. Also, in patients with diabetes mellitus poor glycemic control is associated with a higher risk of progression.
Research Areas
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