Woo-Sun Kim

Assessment of a HER2 scoring system for gastric cancer: results from a validation study

Aims:u2002 Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression/amplification is implicated in the development of various solid tumour types. Validated methods and scoring systems for evaluating HER2 status exist in breast cancer, but not in gastric cancer. The aim was to establish a HER2 scoring system for gastric cancer to identify suitable patients for enrolment in a trial of trastuzumab (Herceptin®) in advanced metastatic gastric cancer.

EGFR in gastric carcinomas: prognostic significance of protein overexpression and high gene copy number

Aims:u2002 Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression has been observed in a variety of solid tumours with the potential of new targeted therapeutic agents. The aim was to evaluate the EGFR status of gastric carcinoma (GC) using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

Changes in clinicopathological features and survival after gastrectomy for gastric cancer over a 20-year period.

The pattern of gastric cancer in the Western world is changing, with an increased proportion of tumours in the upper stomach. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in clinicopathological features and survival of patients with resected gastric cancer at a single institution, in an area of high incidence in the Far East.

Epstein–Barr virus in gastric carcinomas with lymphoid stroma

Aims

Duplex Doppler US in patients with medical renal disease: resistive index vs serum creatinine level.

The relationship between resistive index of arterial Doppler waveform of the native kidney and serum creatinine level has been studied using duplex Doppler sonography in 40 patients with medical renal disease and 28 normal controls. The resistive index of the normal control group and the medical renal disease group was 0.627 +/- 0.042 and 0.823 +/- 0.237, respectively, with statistically significant difference. In the group with medical renal disease, there was a statistically significant correlation between the resistive index and the level of serum creatinine. The study suggests that duplex Doppler sonography may be helpful in evaluation of renal functional status in patients with medical renal disease.

Alteration of E-cadherin-mediated adhesion protein is common, but microsatellite instability is uncommon in young age gastric cancers.

Aims:u2002 Gastric adenocarcinoma in young patients has been considered to differ in many ways from gastric carcinoma in older patients. This study was designed to determine the clinicopathological features and molecular mechanisms.

Complex bronchopulmonary foregut malformation: extralobar pulmonary sequestration associated with a duplication cyst of mixed bronchogenic and oesophageal type.

Abstract We report a 13-year-old girl with an unusual, complex bronchopulmonary foregut malformation. The malformation included extralobar pulmonary sequestration and a duplication cyst of mixed bronchogenic and oesophageal type. Preoperative CT and MRI demonstrated the cystic and solid portions of the mass and indicated an aberrant vascular supply, suggesting the possibility of bronchopulmonary foregut malformation and several other differential diagnoses. A direct communication between the cyst and the bronchus of the sequestrated lung was found on pathological examination. This unusual combination of an extralobar pulmonary sequestration and a foregut cyst points to a common embryological pathogenesis.

Primary colon lymphoma in Korea: A KASID (Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal Diseases) study

Although almost all primary colorectal lymphomas are of B-cell lineage in Western countries, primary colorectal T-cell lymphomas are not uncommon in the East. The aim of this study was to review the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of primary colorectal lymphomas, with special emphasis on the differences between T-cell and B-cell lymphomas. Ninety-five cases of primary colorectal lymphomas that satisfied Dawsons criteria were identified from the clinical databases of 13 university hospitals in Korea. The mean age at the time of presentation was 51.1 years and the male:female ratio was 64:31. The clinical information, including endoscopic and histological characteristics, was retrospectively analyzed. Of the primary colorectal lymphomas, 78 cases (82.1%) were of B-lineage and 17 cases (17.9%) were of T-cell lineage. Patients with T-cell lymphomas presented at a younger age than patients with B-cell lymphomas (42.8 vs 52.9 years, respectively; P= 0.016). The most common presenting symptom was abdominal pain (87.1%) for B-cell lymphomas, whereas hematochezia or night fever was more common for T-cell lymphomas (52.9% and 35.3%, respectively). The most common endoscopic type was fungating mass (54.0%) for B-cell lymphomas and ulcerative/ulcero-infiltrative lesions (80.0%) for T-cell lymphomas. Intussusception was more common in B-cell lymphomas than in T-cell lymphomas (30.8% vs 5.9%, respectively; P= 0.035), but perforation was more common in T-cell lymphomas than in B-cell lymphomas (23.5% vs 3.8%, respectively; P= 0.005). The prognosis was significantly worse for T-cell lymphomas than for B-cell lymphomas (P= 0.002). Primary colorectal T-cell lymphomas are characterized by multifocal ulcerative lesions in relatively young patients, a high rate of hematochezia, fever, or perforation, and a poor prognosis even for cases of localized disease.

Expression and prognostic implications of cell cycle regulatory molecules, p16, p21, p27, p14 and p53 in germinal centre and non‐germinal centre B‐like diffuse large B‐cell lymphomas

Aims :u2002To evaluate the different expression patterns and the prognostic significance of cell cycle regulatory molecules in diffuse large B‐cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) of germinal centre (GC) and non‐GC phenotypes.

Expression of Lewis antigens and their precursors in gastric mucosa: relationship with Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric carcinogenesis

Lewis (Le)‐associated antigens are carbohydrates that are related biochemically to the ABO blood groups, and may have a role in Helicobacter pylori adherence. To evaluate their relationship to clinicopathological outcomes, gastric Le expression, including type 1 precursor, type 1 H, Lea, Leb, Lex, Ley and sialylated Lea (CA19‐9), was evaluated immunohistochemically in 233 gastric biopsy specimens obtained at routine gastroscopy. Expression was also investigated in gastric tissues showing chronic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and carcinoma from 42 patients with gastric cancer. A polymerase chain reaction was performed for H. pylori and the bacterial babA2 gene. We identified type 1 precursor expression in 34.3%, type 1 H in 55.8%, Lea in 44.2%, Leb in 82.0%, Lex in 44.2%, Ley 56.7%, and CA19‐9 in 16.3% of the 233 gastric biopsy specimens. Expression of type 1 H, Leb, and CA19‐9 was significantly associated with H. pylori infection and histological features (p < 0.05), and expression of type 1 H was an independent predictive factor for H. pylori infection by multivariate logistic regression (p = 0.020). Positivity for the babA2 genotype correlated significantly with H. pylori infection and type 1 H expression in gastric biopsy specimens (p < 0.05). The babA2 genotype was more frequent in gastric mucosa from the gastric cancer patients than in gastric biopsy specimens from routine gastroscopy (p = 0.009). In the 42 gastric cancer patients, the frequency of type 1 precursor, Lea, and Lex expression was significantly higher in intestinal metaplasia and carcinoma than in chronic gastritis (p < 0.05), but the frequency of type 1 H and Leb expression was significantly lower in intestinal metaplasia and carcinoma (p < 0.05). In conclusion, Le expression, especially that of type 1 H, was significantly associated with clinicopathological features. In gastric cancer patients, Le expression was altered in intestinal metaplasia and carcinoma in comparison with chronic gastritis. Copyright