Proximal Junctional Failure after Corrective Surgery: Focusing on Elderly Patients with Severe Sagittal Imbalance

Background@#Previous reports with proximal junctional failure (PJF) included relatively young patients or deformity without sagittal imbalance. The present study focused on the two well-known risk factors for PJF, old age and severe sagittal imbalance. With these high-risk patients, the present study aimed to identify a strategy that could prevent PJF and to investigate whether the degree of correction would really affect the PJF occurrence. @*Methods@#Patients who were ≥ 60 years of age and underwent long fusion (≥ 4) to the sacrum for severe sagittal imbalance (defined as pelvic incidence minus lumbar lordosis [PI–LL] ≥ 30°) were included. PJF was defined as a vertebral fracture at the uppermost instrumented vertebra (UIV) or UIV+1, failure of UIV fixation, myelopathy, or any need for proximal extension of fusion. Presumed risk factors were compared between the patients with and without PJF. @*Results@#Total 146 patients (mean age, 68.4 years) with preoperative mean PI–LL of 46.8° were included. PJF developed in 39 patients (26.7%) at a mean of 18.1 months after surgery. Multivariate analysis showed that osteoporosis (odds ratio [OR], 2.812; p = 0.019) and UIV located below T10 (OR, 3.773; p = 0.010) were significant risk factors for developing PJF. However, the degree of correction did not affect PJF occurrence. @*Conclusions@#The present study indicates that osteoporosis should be well corrected preoperatively and extending the fusion above T10 should be considered for severe imbalance in old patients. However, the amount of correction was not associated with PJF development.

Radiographic Factors of Proximal Junctional Failure According to Age Groups in Adult Spinal Deformity

Background@#Patient age has been associated with the development of proximal junctional failure (PJF). The characteristics of adult spinal deformity (ASD) are considered different between younger and older age groups. We hypothesized that the radiographic risk factors of PJF would be different according to age groups. This study aimed to evaluate different radiographic risk factors of PJF between two age groups undergoing thoracolumbar fusion for ASD. @*Methods@#ASD patients aged ≥ 60 years who underwent thoracolumbar fusion from the low thoracic level (T9–T12) to the sacrum were included. The minimum follow-up duration was 2 years. PJF was defined as proximal junctional angle (PJA) ≥ 20°, fixation failure, fracture, myelopathy, or necessity of revision surgery. Using various radiographic risk factors including age-adjusted ideal pelvic incidence (PI)-lumbar lordosis (LL), univariate and multivariate analyses were performed separately in two age groups: < 70 years and ≥ 70 years. @*Results@#A total of 186 patients (90.3% women) with a mean age of 69 years were enrolled. The mean follow-up duration was 67.4 months. PJF developed in 97 patients (52.2%). There were fractures in 53 patients, PJA ≥ 20° in 26, fixation failure in 12, and myelopathy in 6. PJF developed more frequently in patients 70 years or older than in those younger than 70 years. In patients aged less than 70 years, preoperative LL, PI-LL, and a change in LL were significant risk factors in univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis showed only a change in LL was significant for PJF development (odds ratio [OR], 1.025; p = 0.021). On the other hand, in patients 70 years or older, postoperative LL, postoperative PI-LL, and overcorrection relative to the conventional PI-LL target (within ± 10°) and age-adjusted ideal PI-LL target were significant risk factors. On multivariate analysis, only overcorrection of PI-LL relative to the age-adjusted ideal target was a single significant risk factor of PJF (OR, 5.250; p = 0.024). @*Conclusions@#In patients younger than 70 years, a greater change in LL was associated with PJF development regardless of PIrelated values. However, in older patients, overcorrection of PI-LL relative to the age-adjusted PI-LL target was a significant risk factor of PJF.

Relationship between Sagittal Alignment and Anterior Bony Resorption of Cervical Vertebral Body in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis

Methods@#This retrospective study included 238 patients with AS who underwent surgical correction for thoracolumbar kyphosis. Of these, 80 patients with complete subaxial ankylosis were selected and divided into two groups: groups 1 (consisting of 28 patients with anterior bony resorption) and 2 (consisting of 52 patients without anterior resorption). Cervical sagittal parameters were analyzed and compared between the two groups. @*Results@#The average lateral diameter measured in patients with C5 anterior resorption was 84.2%±7.8% (62.4%–96.8%). Cervical lordosis was 8.7°±13.4° and 10.9°±11.5° in groups 1 and 2 (p=0.556), respectively. No significant differences were noted between the two groups on spinopelvic alignment in the T1 slope (52.2°±11.1° and 53.3°±9.9° in groups 1 and 2, respectively; p=0.742), C2–C7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA; 6.2±1.7 cm and 6.2±1.8 cm in groups 1 and 2, respectively; p=0.978), C7 SVA (14.3±4.9 cm and 14.6±6.2 cm in groups 1 and 2, respectively; p=0.823), or T1 pelvic angle (27.1°±8.9° and 31.6°±11.2° in groups 1 and 2, respectively; p=0.382). Correlation analyses were significant between the extent of anterior resorption and sagittal parameters, C2–C7 lordosis (R2=−0.428, p=0.021), and T1–T4 kyphosis (R2=−0.375, p=0.045). @*Conclusions@#Anterior bony resorption could develop by stress concentration. However, the development was not related to the sagittal alignment. The particular segments involved in developing anterior resorption varied, possibly because of their dependence on the preceding pattern of ankylosis.

Updated clinical guideline for human papillomavirus vaccine: the Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology guidelines / 부인종양

Since the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine guidelines were developed by the Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology (KSGO) in 2011, 2016, and 2019, several recent studies on the efficacy and safety of HPV vaccines in middle-aged women and men have been reported. Furthermore, there has been an ongoing debate regarding the efficacy of the HPV vaccine in women with prior HPV infection or who have undergone conization for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). We searched and reviewed studies on the efficacy and safety of the HPV vaccine in middle-aged women and men and the efficacy of the HPV vaccine in patients infected with HPV and those who underwent conization for CIN. The KSGO updated their guidelines based on the results of the studies included in this review.

Incidence and clinical course of septic shock in neutropenic patients during chemotherapy for gynecological cancers / 부인종양

Objective@#To identify the incidence and clinical course of septic shock combined with neutropenia during chemotherapy in gynecological cancer patients. @*Methods@#We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all gynecological cancer patients who received intravenous chemotherapy between March 2009 and March 2018.Patients diagnosed with neutropenic septic shock (NSS) during the course of chemotherapy were identified. We calculated the overall incidence and mortality rate of NSS, and analyzed risk factors and clinical course. @*Results@#A total of 1,009 patients received 10,239 cycles of chemotherapy during the study period. Among these, 30 (3.0%) patients had 32 NSS events, of which 12 (1.2%) died. With respect to patient age during the first course of chemotherapy, the incidence of NSS after the age of 50 was significantly higher than that in patients under 50 (3.9% vs. 1.4%, p=0.034).As the number of chemotherapy courses increased, the incidence of NSS increased, and linear-by-linear association analysis showed a positive correlation (p=0.004). NSS events occurred on average 7.8 days after the last cycle of chemotherapy, and the median duration of vasopressor administration was 23.3 hours. The median age (64.0 vs. 56.5, p=0.017) and peak heart rate (149.5 min −1 vs. 123.5 min −1 , p=0.015) were significantly higher in the group of patients who subsequently died of NSS than in those who survived. @*Conclusion@#The overall incidence of NSS in gynecological cancer patients receiving chemotherapy was 3.0%, which is higher than previously estimated. Peak heart rate during NSS events may be an indicator for predicting survival.

Incidence and clinical course of septic shock in neutropenic patients during chemotherapy for gynecological cancers / 부인종양

Objective@#To identify the incidence and clinical course of septic shock combined with neutropenia during chemotherapy in gynecological cancer patients. @*Methods@#We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all gynecological cancer patients who received intravenous chemotherapy between March 2009 and March 2018.Patients diagnosed with neutropenic septic shock (NSS) during the course of chemotherapy were identified. We calculated the overall incidence and mortality rate of NSS, and analyzed risk factors and clinical course. @*Results@#A total of 1,009 patients received 10,239 cycles of chemotherapy during the study period. Among these, 30 (3.0%) patients had 32 NSS events, of which 12 (1.2%) died. With respect to patient age during the first course of chemotherapy, the incidence of NSS after the age of 50 was significantly higher than that in patients under 50 (3.9% vs. 1.4%, p=0.034).As the number of chemotherapy courses increased, the incidence of NSS increased, and linear-by-linear association analysis showed a positive correlation (p=0.004). NSS events occurred on average 7.8 days after the last cycle of chemotherapy, and the median duration of vasopressor administration was 23.3 hours. The median age (64.0 vs. 56.5, p=0.017) and peak heart rate (149.5 min −1 vs. 123.5 min −1 , p=0.015) were significantly higher in the group of patients who subsequently died of NSS than in those who survived. @*Conclusion@#The overall incidence of NSS in gynecological cancer patients receiving chemotherapy was 3.0%, which is higher than previously estimated. Peak heart rate during NSS events may be an indicator for predicting survival.

Real world effectiveness and safety of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian, fallopian, or primary peritoneal cancer: a Korean multicenter retrospective cohort study / 부인종양

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the combination of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin with carboplatin (CD) compared with those of carboplatin and paclitaxel (CP) for platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian, fallopian, or primary peritoneal cancer in a real-world setting in Korea.METHODS: We enrolled relevant patients from 9 institutions. All patients received CD or CP as the second- or third-line chemotherapy in routine clinical practice during 2013–2018. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and toxicity. The secondary endpoint included the objective response rate (ORR).RESULTS: Overall, 432 patients (224 and 208 in the CD and CP groups, respectively) were included. With a median follow-up of 18.9 months, the median PFS was not different between the groups (12.7 vs. 13.6 months; hazard ratio, 1.161; 95% confidence interval, 0.923–1.460; p=0.202). The ORR was 74.6% and 80.1% in the CD and CP group, respectively (p=0.556). Age and surgery at relapse were independent prognostic factors. More patients in the CD group significantly experienced a grade 3 to 4 hematologic toxicity and hand-foot syndrome (13.8% vs. 6.3%), whereas grade 2 or more alopecia (6.2% vs. 36.1%), peripheral neuropathy (4.4% vs. 11.4%), and allergic/hypersensitivity reaction (0.4% vs. 8.5%) developed more often in the CP group.CONCLUSIONS: The safety and effectiveness of chemotherapy with CD in a real-world setting were consistent with the results from a randomized controlled study. The different toxicity profiles between the 2 chemotherapy (CD and CP) regimens should be considered in the clinical practice.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03562533

Real world effectiveness and safety of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian, fallopian, or primary peritoneal cancer: a Korean multicenter retrospective cohort study / 부인종양

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the combination of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin with carboplatin (CD) compared with those of carboplatin and paclitaxel (CP) for platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian, fallopian, or primary peritoneal cancer in a real-world setting in Korea.@*METHODS@#We enrolled relevant patients from 9 institutions. All patients received CD or CP as the second- or third-line chemotherapy in routine clinical practice during 2013–2018. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and toxicity. The secondary endpoint included the objective response rate (ORR).@*RESULTS@#Overall, 432 patients (224 and 208 in the CD and CP groups, respectively) were included. With a median follow-up of 18.9 months, the median PFS was not different between the groups (12.7 vs. 13.6 months; hazard ratio, 1.161; 95% confidence interval, 0.923–1.460; p=0.202). The ORR was 74.6% and 80.1% in the CD and CP group, respectively (p=0.556). Age and surgery at relapse were independent prognostic factors. More patients in the CD group significantly experienced a grade 3 to 4 hematologic toxicity and hand-foot syndrome (13.8% vs. 6.3%), whereas grade 2 or more alopecia (6.2% vs. 36.1%), peripheral neuropathy (4.4% vs. 11.4%), and allergic/hypersensitivity reaction (0.4% vs. 8.5%) developed more often in the CP group.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The safety and effectiveness of chemotherapy with CD in a real-world setting were consistent with the results from a randomized controlled study. The different toxicity profiles between the 2 chemotherapy (CD and CP) regimens should be considered in the clinical practice.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03562533

Clinical guideline for 9-valent HPV vaccine: Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology Guideline / 부인종양

In 2016, 9-valent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been newly introduced in Korea, thus the need to develop recommendations for the vaccine has raised. Until we decide to develop a guideline, no further studies on the bi-valent or quadri-valent HPV vaccine have been announced. We searched and reviewed the literatures focused on the efficacy of 9-valent HPV vaccine, the ideal age of 3-dose schedule vaccination, the efficacy of 9-valent HPV vaccine in middle-aged women, the efficacy of the 2-dose schedule vaccination, the safety of 9-valent HPV vaccine, the possibility of additional 9-valent HPV vaccination, and cross-vaccination of 9-valent HPV vaccine. So, Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology (KSGO) developed a guideline only for 9-valent HPV vaccine.

Minimally invasive surgery for radical hysterectomy in women with cervical cancer: Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology, Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Korean Society of Gynecologic Endoscopy and Minimally Invasive Surgery position statement / 부인종양

On the basis of emerging data and the current understanding of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for radical hysterectomy (RH) in women with cervical cancer, the Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology, Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Korean Society of Gynecologic Endoscopy and Minimally Invasive Surgery support the following recommendations: • According to the recently published phase III Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer (LACC) trial—a prospective randomized clinical trial—disease-free survival and overall survival rates of MIS RH are significantly lower than those of open RH. • Gynecologic oncologists should be aware of the emerging data on MIS RH for early-stage cervical cancer. • The results of the LACC trial, together with institutional data, should be discussed with patients before choosing MIS RH. • MIS RH should be performed for optimal candidates according to the current practice guidelines by gynecologic oncologists who are skilled at performing MIS.

Therapeutic Potential of 3D Printing Pen in Stroke Rehabilitation: Case Reports

Medical applications for 3-dimensional (3D) printing are rapidly expanding and are expected to revolutionize health care. Two patients with chronic stroke participated in a training program with the 3D printing pen (3Doodler 2.0; WobbleWorks, Inc.). This training program consisted of 12 sessions for 4 weeks. The training program consisted of a 4-step protocol. In 2 patients with chronic stroke who showed impaired visuospatial function and hand function, each function improved without any serious adverse effects after completing training. This case study suggests the therapeutic potential of the 3D printing pen to improve visual-perceptual and hand functions in stroke patients.

Practice guidelines for management of uterine corpus cancer in Korea: a Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology Consensus Statement / 부인종양

Clinical practice guidelines for gynecologic cancers have been developed by many organizations. Although these guidelines have much in common in terms of the practice of standard of care for uterine corpus cancer, practice guidelines that reflect the characteristics of patients and healthcare and insurance systems are needed for each country. The Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology (KSGO) published the first edition of practice guidelines for gynecologic cancer treatment in late 2006; the second edition was released in July 2010 as an evidence-based recommendation. The Guidelines Revision Committee was established in 2015 and decided to produce the third edition of the guidelines as an advanced form based on evidence-based medicine, considering up-to-date clinical trials and abundant qualified Korean data. These guidelines cover screening, surgery, adjuvant treatment, and advanced and recurrent disease with respect to endometrial carcinoma and uterine sarcoma. The committee members and many gynecologic oncologists derived key questions from the discussion, and a number of relevant scientific literatures were reviewed in advance. Recommendations for each specific question were developed by the consensus conference, and they are summarized here, together with other details. The objective of these practice guidelines is to establish standard policies on issues in clinical areas related to the management of uterine corpus cancer based on the findings in published papers to date and the consensus of experts as a KSGO Consensus Statement.

Ultrasonographic findings of low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma of the uterus with a focus on cystic degeneration

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to perform a retrospective analysis of the ultrasonographic findings associated with low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma. METHODS: Ten pathologically confirmed cases of low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma at our institution from January 2007 to April 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent a preoperative transvaginal ultrasound. Two radiologists came to a consensus regarding the location, size, margin, and echogenicity of the tumor, as well as the presence of intratumoral cystic degeneration and its extent and configuration. RESULTS: Low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma manifested as an intramural mass protruding into the endometrial cavity (n=6) or as a purely intramural mass (n=4). The maximal diameter of the lesion ranged from 4 to 9.1 cm (mean, 6.2 cm). The imaging features of low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma were variable: six cases involved predominantly solid masses containing cystic degeneration, one was a predominantly unilocular cystic mass, two were ill-defined infiltrative solid masses, and one was a well-defined solid mass. Among the seven cases with internal cystic degeneration, five patients showed a multiseptated cystic area or a cystic area with multiple small clusters, while a unilocular cystic area within the tumor was found in two patients. CONCLUSION: Low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma is associated with variable ultrasonographic findings with regard to the location, margin, and configuration of the lesion. Multiseptated cystic areas and multiple small areas of cystic degeneration are common.

A Clinicopathological Review of Pulmonary Metastasis from Uterine Cervical Cancer / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological features of pulmonary metastasis from cervical cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 56 patients with cervical cancer who developed pulmonary metastasis after radical hysterectomy, postoperative concurrent chemoradiation or systemic chemotherapy between January 1990 and March 2014. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients were diagnosed with pulmonary metastasis from cervical cancer. The prevalence of pulmonary metastasis was 3.6%. The mean event-free duration was 12 months. Twelve patients underwent surgical removal of metastatic lesions. The overall survival (OS) of patients with 4 lesions (25 months, p=0.034). The OS of patients who underwent surgical resection was 53.8 months, longer than that of those who did not (p=0.006). In addition, the OS of patients with adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy was 32.6 months (p=0.027). CONCLUSION: In this study, we found that the number of metastatic nodules, surgical resection, and postoperative platinum-based chemotherapy can influence clinical outcome. Further studies on prognostic factors and successful treatment modalities are warranted.

Preventive vaccination against cervical cancer: Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology Guideline / 부인종양

After human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine guidelines published by Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology (KSGO) in 2011, new studies have been published, leading to additional data regarding efficacy, safety, number of vaccination rounds, and ideal age of vaccine administration. We searched and reviewed the literatures focused on the efficacy of 2-dose schedule vaccination, the efficacy of 3-dose schedule vaccination in middle-aged women, the ideal age of 3-dose schedule vaccination, the safety of HPV preventive vaccine, and the ability of cross-protection of each HPV preventive vaccine. The KSGO has revised the previous guideline based on the results of the above studies.

Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology International Workshop 2014 / 부인종양

The Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology International Workshop 2014 on gynecologic oncology was held in Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea on the 23rd to 24th August 2014. A total of 179 participants from 17 countries participated in the workshop, and the up-to-date findings on the management of gynecologic cancers were presented and discussed. This meeting focused on the new trends in the management of cervical cancer, fertility-sparing management of gynecologic cancers, surgical management of gynecologic cancers, and recent advances in translational research on gynecologic cancers.

Endoscopy-Guided Balloon Dilation of Benign Anastomotic Strictures after Radical Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of endoscopic dilation for benign anastomotic stricture after radical gastrectomy in gastric cancer patients. METHODS: Gastric cancer patients who underwent endoscopic balloon dilation for benign anastomosis stricture after radical gastrectomy during a 6-year period were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients developed benign strictures at the site of anastomosis. The majority of strictures occurred within 1 year after surgery (95.2%). The median duration to stenosis after surgery was 1.70 months (range, 0.17 to 23.97 months). The success rate of the first endoscopic dilation was 61.9%. Between the restenosis group (n=8) and the no restenosis group (n=13), there were no significant differences in the body mass index (22.82 kg/m2 vs 22.46 kg/m2), interval to symptom onset (73.9 days vs 109.3 days), interval to treatment (84.6 days vs 115.6 days), maximal balloon diameter (14.12 mm vs 15.62 mm), number of balloon dilation sessions (1.75 vs 1.31), location of gastric cancer or type of surgery. One patient required surgery because of stricture refractory to repeated dilation. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic dilation is a highly effective treatment for benign anastomotic strictures after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer and should be considered a primary intervention prior to proceeding with surgical revision.

Expression and Characterization of Genes by Expressed Sequence Tag Analysis in the Rat Thymus during Regeneration following Acute Thymic Involution Induced by Cyclophosphamide / 체질인류학회지

The thymus is the central lymphoid organ for the development of bone marrow-derived precursor cells into mature T-cells. Understanding the molecular mechanism of thymic involution and regeneration is critical to develop methods to normalize or improve host immunity from the decreased immune function caused by thymic involution. In this study, the regenerating thymus cDNA library was constructed in the rat from a model of thymic involution and regeneration induced by cyclophosphamide. Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were obtained by partial sequencing of 700 randomly selected insert-containing clones. A total of 630 ESTs were analyzed, of which 486 ESTs (78%) matched to known genes and 125 ESTs (19%) matched to other ESTs (unknown genes). The 19 ESTs (3%) did not match with any known sequences. The ESTs were grouped into six main functional categories: metabolism (44%), signaling components (20%), membrane transport (7%), cytoskeleton (2%), cell division (2%) and defense (2%). As a result of RT-PCR analysis, expression of putative gene 01, putative E2IG2 gene, musculin and osteoactivin significantly increased in rat thymus during regeneration. The putative gene 01 showed complete homology with mitochondrial ribosomal protein S4 by homology search and multiple alignment of amino acid. These results provide the extensive molecular information on thymus regeneration and will be useful source to identify various genes which may play an important role in the thymus regeneration as well as to clone novel genes. Furthermore, the availability of these data will serve as a basis for further research to understand the molecular mechanism of thymus regeneration.

Clinical Outcome of IM-Guided Total Knee Arthroplasty with Inappropriate Femoral Resection in Coronal Plane

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical results and accuracy of femoral cutting in the coronal plane in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) using a fixed length intramedullary guide. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2005 to 2008, 101 patients (154 knees) underwent TKA (NexGen LPS implant). The minimal follow-up period was 3 years (mean, 4.4 years). The patients were divided into two groups (group 1, 94alpha, 98 or =2degrees MAD was 65 in group 1 and 24 in group 2. The mean PTA, KSKS, and KSFS were 10.17degrees, 96.0, and 96.6, respectively, in group 1 and 11.58degrees, 84.5, and 85.5, respectively, in group 2. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of coronal alignment outliers was relatively high (34 in 154 cases, 22%) after TKA using a fixed length intramedullary guide. However, there was no statistically significant intergroup difference in clinical results (KSKS, p=0.67; KSFS, p=0.56).

Regulation of paclitaxel-induced programmed cell death by autophagic induction: A model for cervical cancer

OBJECTIVE: Autophagy plays a vital role in homeostasis by combining organelles and cellular proteins with lysosome under starvation conditions. In addition, autophagy provides tumor cells with a source of energy. Continued autophagy will induce cells death. Here we aim to see if autophagic induction has an effect on conventional chemotherapeutic agents. METHODS: Rapamycin, or mammalian target of rapamycin and paclitaxel, apoptosis-inducing agents were used autophagy in HeLa cervical cancer cells. RESULTS: Growth inhibition of cells was not observed after the application of 0, 10, 20 nM of paclitaxel with or without rapamycin. Using a 5 nM concentration of paclitaxel, rapamycin administration inhibited cell growth significantly compared to no treatment. This implies the synergic antitumor effect of paclitaxel and rapamycin. Paclitaxel itself did not show any autophagic effect on cells but did show cell apoptosis by flow cytometry. Light chain 3, a microtubule-associated protein, which reflect autophagy, was increased with 5 nM of paclitaxel after pretreatment with 10 nM of rapamycin. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the autophagic inducer, rapamycin, can potentiate autophagic cell death when added as an apoptosis-inducing chemotherapeutic agent. In conclusion, the control of autophagy may be a future target for chemotherapy.