The Role and Significance of Preoperative Breast MRI in the Setting of Breast Cancer / 한국유방암학회지

PURPOSE: Accurate preoperative assessment of breast cancer is important to determine the extent of disease and the plan for surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of preoperative breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in breast cancer patients. METHODS: Between January 2001 and October 2007, 457 consecutive patients who had undergone surgical treatment for breast cancer were retrospectively studied. We compared 303 patients from the non-preoperative MRI group (group A) to 154 patients from the preoperative MRI group (group B). The impact of preoperative MRI was evaluated for each patient with regard to changes in therapeutic intervention. RESULTS: MRI alone revealed 17 new lesions. The results of the MRI led to a change in 9.1% of the planned surgical procedures. Tumor size was more accurately defined in patients undergoing MRI than in those undergoing ultrasound imaging. CONCLUSION: Breast MRI could be recommended as a preoperative diagnostic procedure in patients allocated to receive breast conservation surgery, because MRI may reveal unsuspected multifocal or multicentric tumors or carcinoma infiltrations and may result in changes in therapy.

The Effect of alpha-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone on Renal Ischemia Reperfusion Injury / 대한이식학회지

PURPOSE: In ischemia-reperfusion induced renal injuries, cytokines, chemoattractant chemokines, adhesion molecules and nitric oxide play an important role. alpha-Melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) is a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine so the therapeutic effect of alpha-MSH on an ischemia-reperfusion induced acute renal failure is to be evaluated. METHODS: 40 male Spraque-Dawley rats were prepared for the experiment, they were classified into three classes (Sham, ischemic control and alpha-MSH injection). Both renal pedicles were clamped for 45 minutes. alpha-MSH (50 microgram) was injected intravenously three times, immediately before ischemia and reperfusion and 18 hour after reperfusion. Serum creatinine and histologic changes were analyzed between groups (Sham (n=6), ischemic control group (n=15), and alpha-MSH group (n=19)). RESULTS: Serum creatinine level decreased significantly at 24 hours after reperfusion in alpha-MSH treated animals (SCr24 0.78+/-0.23 mg/dL, 4.21+/-1.14 mg/dL, 3.01+/-1.19 mg/dL, repectively (P=0.008)), especially serum creatinine level at 48 hours after reperfusion much more dicreased in alpha-MSH group (SCr48 0.67+/-0.16 mg/dL, 4.21+/-2.03 mg/dL, 1.15+/-1.11 mg/dL, repectively (P=0.004)). Tubular neccrosis and neutrophil infiltration decreased signigicantly in alpha-MSH treated group (P=0.001). Mortality was noted 33.3% only at ischemic conrol group. CONCLUSION: we demonstrate the fact that alpha-MSH has protective role on ischemic renal injury and improves survival rates.