A Comparative Study on the Characteristics of Cancer Patients and Cancer Survivors

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to identify and compare the characteristics of cancer patients and cancer survivors. METHODS: This study used data from the Korea National and Health Nutrition Examination Survey (2010~2015), conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This study included 455 cancer patients and 567 cancer survivors. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-tests, and χ2. RESULTS: Cancer survivors were less compliant compared to cancer patients in drinking frequency (χ2=13.12, p ≤.001), drinking volume (χ2=13.35, p=.001) and cancer screening tests (χ2=4.79, p=.029). Cancer patients showed higher body weight change compared to cancer survivors (χ2=7.37, p=.025). There was no difference in quality of life (QoL) between the two groups (t=1.38, p=.169). CONCLUSION: This study indicates that cancer survivors have poor living habits and no improvement in QoL compared to cancer patients. Oncology nurses should pay attention to cancer survivors compliance of living habits to prevent secondary cancer and to improve their QoL.

Associated Factors with Pin-fixing & Pin removal Pain among Patients Undergoing Gamma Knife Radiosurgery

PURPOSE: Gamma knife radiosurgery (GKR) requires frame positioning because the treatment target should be as close as possible to the center of the frame. The purpose of this study was to identify the level of pin-fixing (PFP) and removal pain (PRP), and the associated factors with the pain undergoing GKR. METHODS: A total of 116 patients who underwent GKR for their brain tumor were recruited from C University hospital located in H city, J province. The level of pain was measured by the 10 cm VAS. RESULTS: The level of PFP and PRP were 6.36 and 3.26 points, respectively. Step-wise multiple regressions found that the group who have not perceived numbness after applying 5% EMLA cream was the highest associated factor with PFP, following the time from lidocaine injection to pin-fixation, which explained 21% of total variance of the level of PFP. On the other hand, a group who did not perceive numbness after applying 10% lidocaine spray was the highest factor with PRP, among female patients, which explained 27% of total variance of the level of PRP. CONCLUSION: Both of PFP and PRP of the stereotactic frame were moderate so that nurses should consider diverse strategies to reduce pain among patients undergoing gamma knife radiosurgery.

Chemotherapeutic Candidate Inducing Immunological Death of Human Tumor Cell Lines

The immunological death induction by EY-6 on the human tumor cell lines was screened. Human colon carcinoma (HCT15, HCT116), gastric carcinoma (MKN74, SNU668), and myeloma (KMS20, KMS26, KMS34) cells were died by EY-6 treatment with dose-dependent manner. CRT expression, a typical marker for the immunological death, was increased on the EY-6-treated colorectal and gastric cancer cells. Interestingly, the effects on the myeloma cell lines were complicated showing cell line dependent differential modulation. Cytokine secretion from the EY-6 treated tumor cells were dose and cell-dependent. IFN-gamma and IL-12 secretion was increased in the treated cells (200% to over 1000% of non-treated control), except HCT116, SNU668 and KMS26 cells which their secretion was declined by EY-6. Data suggest the potential of EY-6 as a new type of immuno-chemotherapeutics inducing tumor-specific cell death. Further studies are planned to confirm the efficacy of EY-6 including in vivo study.

Cellular Mechanism of Newly Synthesized Indoledione Derivative-induced Immunological Death of Tumor Cell

BACKGROUND: EY-6 is one of the newly synthesized indoledione derivatives to induce tumor cell-specific cell death. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of immunological death induced by EY-6 at mouse colon cancer cell as well as at the normal immune cell represented by dendritic cell. METHODS: C57BL/6 mouse syngeneic colon cancer cell MC38 was treated with EY-6, and analyzed by MTT for viability test, flow cytometry for confirming surface expressing molecules and ELISA for detection of cytokine secretion. Normal myeloid-dendritic cell (DC) was ex vivo cultured from bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells of C57BL/6 mice with GM-CSF and IL-4 to analyze the DC uptake of dead tumor cells and to observe the effect of EY-6 on the normal DC. RESULTS: EY-6 killed the MC38 tumor cells in a dose dependent manner (25, 50 and 100 microM) with carleticulin induction. And EY-6 induced the secretion of IFN-gamma but not of TNF-alpha from the MC38 tumor cells. EY-6 did not kill the ex-vivo cultured DCs at the dose killing tumor cells and did slightly but not significantly induced the DC maturation. The OVA-specific cross-presentation ability of DC was not induced by chemical treatment (both MHC II and MHC I-restricted antigen presentation). CONCLUSION: Data indicate that the EY-6 induced tumor cell specific and immunological cell death by modulation of tumor cell phenotype and cytokine secretion favoring induction of specific immunity eliminating tumor cells.

Serum immunoreactivity to S-100 in children with cerebral palsy and delayed development and in their healthy parents

The passive immunization of pregnant female rats to S-100 protein often leads to ultra-structural abnormalities in the brain glial structures of the offspring of these rats and induces signs of delayed development in the fetal brain. Additionally passive immunization of pregnant animals with certain antigens induces permanent Ag-specific changes in the immune response of their offspring. The purpose of this study was to investigate serum immunoreactiviy (SIR) to S-100 in cerebral-palsied and developmentally-delayed children as well as in their healthy parents and to evaluate its significance related to radiologic findings of brain MRI and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The subjects were children with cerebral palsy and delayed development that had abnormal findings on brain MRI or Brain SPECT. SIR to S-100 protein was measured by ELISA method in the patients, their healthy parents, 20 normal adult controls and 22 normally developed children. The SIR to S-100 protein was significantly higher in the cerebral-palsied and developmentally-delayed children when compared to that of the normal control group children. Increased SIRs were detected in healthy mothers but not in their fathers. There was no difference of SIR between the cerebral-palsied and developmentally-delayed children or any significant difference of SIRs according to the findings of the brain MRI or to developmental quotients. But, the SIRs to S-100 protein were higher in the group of more abnormal findings on brain SPECT.