Sun-Young Ra

The small GTP-binding protein Rab25 is associated with tumor formation and progression. However, recent studies have shown discordant effects of Rab25 on cancer cell progression depending on cell lineage. In the present study, we elucidate the underlying mechanisms by which Rab25 induces cellular invasion. We demonstrate that Rab25 increases β1 integrin levels and subsequent activation of EGFR and upregulation of VEGF-A expression, leading to increased Snail expression, epithelial-tomesenchymal

Purpose : The retrospective study was performed to assess the efficacy and toxicity profiles of sunitinib in Korean patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Materials and Methods : Between January 2005 and December 2008, 76 Korean patients with recurrent/metastatic RCC who received sunitinib were retrospectively reviewed. The primary end point was progression-free survival and the secondary end points were overall survival and response rate. We also assessed the toxicities associated

Purpose: We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of the Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) with the ExAblate Conformal Bone System for the palliation of painful bone metastases. Materials and Methods: Our InstitutionalReview Board approved this study, and all patients gave informed consent prior to enrollment. A total of six painful metastatic bone lesions in five patients were treated using MRgFUS with the ExAblate Conformal Bone System for pain palliation. The follow-up se

Purpose : Ezrin is a membrane cytoskeletal linker protein and it is known to be associated with metastasis of primary osteosarcoma. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between an ezrin expression and several key clinical parameters and to elucidate its potential prognostic value for patients with osteosarcoma. Materials and Methods : Seventy patients with histologically confirmed osteosarcoma and who had no distant metastasis were enrolled between 1995 and 2005 at Yonsei Cance

Purpose: Mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have been confirmed as predictors of the efficacy of treatment with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). We investigated whether polymorphisms of the EGFR gene were associated with clinical outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with EGFR-TKI. Materials and Methods: A polymorphic dinucleotide repeat in intron 1 [CA simple sequence repeat in intron 1(CA-SSR1)] in intron 1 and single nucleotide polymorphi

Background: Genetic alterations have been identified inmelanomas according to different levels of sun exposure. Whereas the conventional morphology-based classificationprovides a clue for tumor growth and prognosis, the newclassification by genetic alterations offers a basis for targetedtherapy. Objective: The purpose of this study is to demonstratethe biological behavior of melanoma subtypes andcompare the two classifications in the Korean population. Methods: A retrospective chart review was p

Purpose: Dysregulation of the Wnt pathway is a crucial step in the tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed todetermine whether DNA methylation of Wnt pathway genes helps predict treatment response and survival in patients with metastaticor recurrent CRC. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively collected primary tumor tissues from 194 patients with metastatic or recurrent CRC. Pyrosequencing was used to examine the methylation of 10 CpG island loci in DNA extracted from forma

Purpose: The prognostic and predictive value of pretreatment serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cytokeratin-19 fragments (CYFRA 21-1) were assessed in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with gefitinib or erlotinib. Materials and Methods: Pretreatment CEA and CYFRA 21-1 were measured in 123 advanced NSCLC patients receiving gefitinib or erlotinib. High CEA levels (h-CEA) were significantly associated with females, patients with adenocarcinoma, and non-smo

Purpose: The current study aimed to investigate the synergistic antitumor effect of combined treatment with 17-DMAG (HSP90 inhibitor) and NVP-BEZ235 (PI3K/mTOR dual inhibitor) on cisplatin-resistant human bladder cancer cells. Materials and Methods: Human bladder cancer cells exhibiting cisplatin resistance (T24R2) were exposed to escalating doses of 17-DMAG (2.5–20 nM) with or without NVP-BEZ236 (0.5–4 μM) in combination with cisplatin. Antitumor effects were assessed by CCK-8 analysis. Based o

Purpose: This study was designed to determine the relationship of cigarette smoking to the frequency and qualitative differences among KRAS mutations in lung adenocarcinomas from Korean patients. Materials and Methods: Detailed smoking histories were obtained from 200 consecutively enrolled patients with lung adenocarcinoma according to a standard protocol. EGFR (exons 18 to 21) and KRAS (codons 12/13) mutations were determined via direct-sequencing. Results:The incidence of KRAS mutations was 8

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the prognostic value of new quantitative parameters of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positronemission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT), including metabolic tumor volume (MTV), in patients with locallyadvanced and metastatic gallbladder cancer (GBC). Materials and Methods: In total, 83 patients initially diagnosed with locally advanced and metastatic GBC and who underwent18F-FDG PET/CT at the time of initial diagnosis were retrospectively reviewed. T

Purpose: To examine the usefulness of various receptor tyrosine kinase expressions as prognostic markers and therapeutic targetsin muscle invasive urothelial cancer (UC) patients. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 98 patients with muscle invasive UC who underwent radical cystectomybetween 2005 and 2010 in Yonsei Cancer Center. Using formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues of primary tumors, immunohistochemicalstaining was done for human epidermal growth factor recep

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the association between polymorphisms of the target genes of pemetrexed and clinical outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with pemetrexed. Materials and Methods: We assessed polymorphisms at 8 sites in 4 genes [thymidylate synthase (TS), dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR; 1610, 680, 317, intron 1), methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR; 677, 1298), glycinamide ribonucleotide formyl transferase (GARFT; 2255)] as

Purpose This is an ad hoc analysis of two phase II studies which compared the efficacy and safety of two taxanes (paclitaxel and docetaxel) combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin (LV) in advanced gastric cancer. Materials and Methods Patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma who were untreated or had only received first-line chemotherapy, were treated with either paclitaxel (PFL; 175 mg/m2) or docetaxel (DFL; 75 mg/m2) on day 1, followed by a bolus of LV (20 mg/m2 days 1∼3) and

Ifosfamide-induced Fanconi syndrome is a rare complication that typically occursin young patients due to a cumulative dose of ifosfamide > 40–60 g/m2, a reductionin kidney mass, or concurrent cisplatin treatment. It is usually characterizedby severe and fatal progression accompanied by type II proximal renal tubulardysfunction, as evidenced by glycosuria, proteinuria, electrolyte loss, and metabolicacidosis. Diabetes insipidus is also a rare complication of ifosfamide-inducedrenal disease. We he