Taguchi Optimization of Wetting, Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Sn-1.0wt.%Ag-0.5wt.%Cu Alloys Modified with Bi and Sb.

This study was conducted on SAC105 (Sn-1wt.%Ag-0.5wt.%Cu) lead-free solder modified with Bi and Sb. The wetting, melting point, and mechanical properties were analysed with the addition of 1~5 wt.%Bi and 1~5 wt.%Sb for SAC105 base alloy. The wetting characteristics were assessed by wetting time (zero cross time, ZCT) obtained from wetting balance tests. The mechanical properties were analysed by tensile tests. Considering two factors (Bi, Sb), a three-level (0, 1, 2 wt.%) design of experiment (DOE) method array was applied for Taguchi optimization. The results indicated that the solder wetting increased as Bi content increased, while it decreased with Sb. The ZCT decreased with increasing Bi content up to 4 wt.%, while it increased proportionally to Sb content. The melting point, measured using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), showed that the melting point tended to decrease according to Bi increase, while it increases depending on the Sb content. Increase in Bi and Sb levels resulted in enhanced tensile strength in the mechanical properties tests, with Bi having a more noticeable impact. The Taguchi optimized conditions for the Bi and Sb studies were found to be 2 wt.%Bi and 2 wt.%Sb. This led to an optimal set of 0.9 s of wetting time, a 222.55 °C melting point, a 55 MPa tensile strength, and a 50% elongation.

Is high-dose leuprorelin acetate effective and safe in asian men with prostate cancer? An open-label, non-comparative, multi-center clinical trial.

PURPOSE: Leuprorelin is a well known luteinizing hormone releasing hormone agonist. However, there are insufficient data on the efficacy and safety of high dose leuprorelin acetate, especially in Asian patients with prostate cancer. We aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of leuprorelin acetate 22.5 mg administered at three-month intervals in patients with prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In an open, prospective clinical trial enrolling 47 patients, we aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of leuprorelin acetate 22.5 mg in treating patients with histologically confirmed prostate cancer. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the leuprorelin acetate 22.5 mg in producing and maintaining castration levels of testosterone over a 6-month follow-up period and to determine its safety profile. RESULTS: All 42 patients achieved serum testosterone levels within the castration range by 4 weeks. A breakthrough response was observed in one of 36 patients by 8 weeks. However, this patient was medically castrated by 12 weeks. There were no significant prostate-specific antigen (PSA) or testosterone changes according to clinical stage or body mass index. Twenty adverse events (AEs) in 15 of 42 patients (35.7%) were observed during this study. The most common AEs were hot flushes (n=4, 20.0%) with mild intensity, pain (n=2, 10.0%), and infection (n=2, 10.0%). No patient withdrew from the study due to AEs. CONCLUSION: Leuprorelin acetate 22.5 mg was shown to be effective and safe in Asian patients with prostate cancer, even though sexual function decreased.

Preoperative clinical factors for diagnosis of incidental prostate cancer in the era of tissue-ablative surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia: a korean multi-center review.

PURPOSE: To identify potential predictive factors of incidental prostate cancer (IPca) in patients considering tissue-ablation treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From the 11 centers, 1,613 men who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) or open prostatectomy were included. Before surgery, prostate biopsy was performed in all patients with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ≥4.0 ng/ml or with abnormal digital rectal examination (DRE) findings. The patients with prostate cancer preoperatively or with PSA >20 ng/ml were excluded. As predictive factors of IPca, age, body mass index, PSA, DRE, and transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) findings, including total prostate volume (TPV), transition zone volume (TZV), and the presence of hypoechoic lesions, were reviewed. PSA density (PSAD) and PSAD in the transition zone (PSAD-TZV) were calculated. RESULTS: IPca was diagnosed in 78 patients (4.8%). DRE findings, PSA, and TZV were independent predictive factors in the multivariate analysis. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of PSA, PSAD, and PSAD-TZV, the area under the curve (AUC) was the largest for PSAD-TZV (AUC, 0.685). CONCLUSIONS: IPca was detected in 4.8% of the population studied. In addition to DRE findings, the combination of TZV and PSA can be useful predictive factors of IPca in patients considering tissue-ablation treatment as well as TURP.

The 5th Conference on Asian Trends in Prostate Cancer Hormone Therapy.

The Conference on Asian Trends in Prostate Cancer Hormone Therapy is an annual forum for Asian urologists now in its 5th year. The 2006 conference, held in Bali, Indonesia, was attended by 27 leading urologic oncologists from China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan and featured a packed program of presentations and discussions on a wide range of topics such as relationships among clinicians and the newly opened Asia Regional Office for Cancer Control of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), detection rates of prostate cancer by biopsy in each of the 6 Asian countries, and favored treatment modalities for hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) in each country. The first session of the conference kicked off with a keynote lecture entitled "Activities of the UICC ARO". UICC's new office will be the nerve center for its activities in the Asia region. Along with the Asian Pacific Organization for Cancer Prevention (APOCP), UICC aims to shift the focus of attention to cancer control. As such APOCP's long-running publication the APJCP is to be re-launched as the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Control. Although UICC is primarily concerned with cancer, several risk factors for cancer are common also to other non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and an important strategy is to implement measures to control these various pathologic conditions as a whole. Apart from contributing to an Asian prostate cancer registry the UICC-ARO will provide training courses, working groups, and assistance in collecting and processing data. The keynote lecture was followed by a roundtable discussion on possible ways in which clinicians from each Asian country can work with UICC. A number of suggestions were put forth including better registration, epidemiology research, possible implementation of UICC prostate cancer guidelines, early detection and screening, and roles of diet and phytotherapy. The underlying reasons for the large but dwindling difference in incidence rates of prostate cancer in various regions of Asia should be studied while the opportunity lasts. Session 2 was devoted to 6 presentations on detection rates by biopsy in each country. Although biopsy is the gold standard for detecting prostate cancer in most areas, indications for conducting biopsy are different in each country. For example, in Indonesia doctors may use PSAD 0.15 as the cutoff level. TRUS-guided biopsy is most widely used in Asian countries. Traditional sextant biopsy is often performed, although multiple-core biopsy is commonly available and associated with better detection rates, especially in men with large prostate volume. Positive DRE, high PSA, and older age were identified as factors associated with high biopsy detection rate, although elevated PSA has limited specificity. First biopsy in men with elevated PSA had a positive detection rate of approximately 30% in all countries. Community-based screening in some countries has an overall detection rate of approximately 1%. The favorable treatment modality for HRPC was the subject of the final session. First priority for doctors in all 6 countries is to maintain serum testosterone at castration level. Many therapeutic options are available, from cytotoxic drugs to traditional herbal medicines Chemotherapeutic agents such as estramustine, docetaxel, cyclophosphamide, and mitoxantrone are often given to patients with HRPC although not all are available in every country. Prednisone and dexamethasone are used for secondary hormonal therapy. External beam radiotherapy, radioisotopic drugs such as strontium 89, and bisphosphonates are common choices to control bone pain.

Prostate cancer in Korean men exhibits poor differentiation and is adversely related to prognosis after radical prostatectomy.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical and pathologic characteristics of prostate cancer in Korean men to determine how ethnic differences affect clinical outcome. METHODS: The clinical and pathologic data of 604 Korean men who underwent radical prostatectomy from 1994 to 2003 were reviewed. Biochemical failure was defined as a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of 0.2 ng/mL or greater on two consecutive occasions after having achieved an undetectable PSA level. Patient distribution with respect to the clinical and pathologic parameters and biochemical failure rates were compared with those of contemporary Western series. RESULTS: The mean preoperative PSA level was 9.9 ng/mL (range 0.4 to 38.8) and the median biopsy Gleason score was 7. The Gleason score was 7 in 186 patients (30.8%) and greater than 7 in 169 (28.0%). Gleason scores stratified with respect to clinical stage and PSA range revealed the proportion of patients with high Gleason scores (7 or greater) to be more than 50% of each subgroup throughout the clinical stages and PSA ranges. At a median follow-up of 57.9 months (range 22 to 131), biochemical failure occurred in 24.2% of all patients and in 14.3% of those with an initial serum PSA level of 10.0 ng/mL or lower. On multivariate Cox regression analysis, the Gleason score showed the strongest statistical significance for biochemical failure (P = 0.001, hazard ratio 1.376, 95% confidence interval 1.056 to 1.792) for patients with a serum PSA level of 10.0 ng/mL or lower. CONCLUSIONS: A significant proportion of prostate cancers arising in Korean men exhibit poor differentiation, regardless of the initial serum PSA level or clinical stage at presentation, and adversely affect prognosis, causing a greater rate of PSA failure.

The 3rd Conference on Asian Trends in Prostate Cancer Hormone Therapy.

From its inception in 2001, the Conference on Asian Trends in Prostate Cancer Hormone Therapy has served as an annual forum for Asian urologists to compare data on prostate cancer and to discuss issues regarding the use of hormone therapy. The 3rd conference, held in Tokyo in December 2003, began with participants from China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan presenting QOL data deriving from a survey of patients with prostate cancer. For this purpose, each country translated the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P) questionnaire into its own language. Although the surveys conducted in each country included a heterogeneous cohort of patients and gave very mixed results, the trial of FACT-P in Asian countries seemed propitious and in future may provide insights that could prove beneficial to patients. Day 2 of the conference included 2 discussions, focusing on the most appropriate number of biopsy cores and the implementation of prospective trials involving the collaboration of Asian countries, respectively. In the latter discussion, although a varied assortment of proposals were put forth, the participants generally agreed that any collaborative study must be a prospective outcome study conducted in a relatively short time not exceeding 2-3 years, and that patient registration should be done using the Internet.

The 2nd conference on Asian trends in prostate cancer hormone therapy.

Among the aims of the 2nd Conference on Asian Trends in Prostate Cancer Hormone Therapy, Hong Kong, December 7-8, 2002, was to lay the groundwork for eventually having cooperative or collaborative studies of prostate cancer specifically in Asian patients. The conference was divided into 2 sessions. In the first session, entitled "Current Status of Therapy for Prostate Cancer in Asian Countries," the results of analysis of 100 patients with prostate cancer enrolled in the Patients Registration System is each of the 6 participating Asian countries were discussed. The Patients Registration System is a database template established by the Japanese Urological Association that allows physicians to compare prostate cancer therapy in the different Asian countries. Session 2 was devoted to a "Roundtable Discussion on the Establishment of Asian Guidelines for Prostate Cancer." This session included 2 lively discussions, on whether Asian physicians can apply Western clinical data to Asian patients, and the need for Asian clinical data and developing clinical trials in the region, respectively.

Asian trends in prostate cancer hormone therapy.

The first Conference on Asian Trends in Prostate Cancer Hormone Therapy was held in September 2001 to serve as a forum for Asian urologists to compare data on prostate cancer and discuss issues regarding the use of hormone therapy. The conference revealed that due to various cultural and philosophical factors, differences exist in prostate cancer management among the Asian countries. In addition, a lack of databases on hormone therapy was exposed in some countries. It was noted that many decisions in the treatment of prostate cancer are influenced by the strategies adopted in Western countries, and that attempts to formulate uniform guidelines for the Asian region have hitherto been unsuccessful. The main findings of the conference are reported in this review.