Serum Level Change of Follicle Stimulating Hormone in Menopausal Women with Breast Cancer according to Age in Korea / 한국유방암학회지

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship of menopause and serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level and estradiol (E2) in Korean women with breast cancer. METHODS: We reviewed 1,404 women aged from 20- to 82-year-old (median 47 years) with breast cancer who had got surgery at Asan Medical Center in 2008. All patients were checked serum FSH before the operation. Three hundred fifty-three patients were in postmenopause state at the time of surgery. Their ages were from 40- to 60-year-old (median 50.3 years). RESULTS: The proportion of postmenopausal status in each age-group were 5.1% (45- to 49-year-old), 41% (50- to 54-year-old), 86.1% (55- to 59-year-old), and 100% over the age of 60, respectively. And the proportion of the patients with FSH over 30 mUI/mL were 68.6% (45- to 49-year-old), 87.5% (55- to 59-year-old), 75.0% (55- to 59-year-old) and 30.0% (over the age of 60), respectively. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that even though patients had been in amenorrhea over 1 year, not all patients have their FSH level over 30 mUI/mL. And this finding is more prominent in age group from 45- to 49-year-old.

The Outcome of Renal Transplantation Using Exchange Donor Program / 대한이식학회지

PURPOSE: The availability of living donors is the major limiting factor in living related kidney transplantion. In 1997, Ross et al. proposed that the living unrelated kidney transplantation through exchange arrangement of ABO-incompatible donors-recipient pairs to expand donor pool is ethically acceptable as living related kidney transplantation. We analyzed exchange donor program whether this could expand the kidney donor pool in living donor renal transplantation. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of the 121 exchange donor renal transplantations performed from 1991 to 2005 in our center. Recipient's and donor's mean age were 38.8 (15~64) and 40.4 (21~60) year-old, respectively. Mean follow up period is 81 months (1~170). The reasons of exchanging donor were ABO incompatibility (92/121, 76%), positive HLA cross matching (20/121, 16%) and patients who received kidneys from unknown volunteer donors (9/121, 7%). We compared graft survival and acute rejection rate of exchange donor group and living related donor group. RESULTS: The graft survival rate (1, 5, 10 year) of exchange donor group (92%, 80.6%, 72%) was similar to living related donor groups (95%, 77%, 66%). The acute rejection rate were 34% (42/121 ) and 24%, respectively. We have observed acute rejections during the same time in both groups from 1991 to 2005. Although acute rejection rate of exchange donor group is higher, we see the similar survival rate of transplanted kidneys in exchange donor group. CONCLUSION: We suggest that exchange donor program could expand the donor pool in living donor renal transplantation, when recipient cannot receive kidney from healthy donor because of ABO incompatibility or positive HLA cross matching.

The Outcome and Risk Factors of Renal Retransplantation / 대한이식학회지

PURPOSE: The aims of this study are to compare the results of renal retransplantation and the first renal transplantation in our center, and to analyze the risk factor affecting second graft survival rate. METHODS: We analyzed 37 cases of second or third renal transplantations performed in our center from 1981 to 2005, retrospectively. We compared the second graft survival rate with the first graft survival rate. And risk factors affecting long-term second graft survival were also analyzed. RESULTS: 37 cases of retransplantation out of 277 cases of first graft loss were performed in our center (5%). Second graft survival rates (1, 5, 10 year) were 83.7, 66.5, 49.9%, while first graft survival rates were 90.0, 74.8, 59.1%, repectively. Risk factors which shows significance were high HLA-AB matching, living donor and absence of DGF. CONCLUSION: The graft survival rates of second renal transplantation were similar to that of first renal transplantantation.