Cancer Research and Treatment

Original Articles

Gastrointestinal cancer

One-Week versus Two-Week Chemoradiotherapy Followed by Curative Surgery in Rectal Cancer: Long-Term Comparative Pooled Analysis of Two Prospective Multicenter Phase II Trials: Soo-Yoon Sung, Dae Yong Kim, Hong Seok Jang, Tae Hyun Kim, Hee Chul Park, Eui Kyu Chie, Taek-Keun Nam, Sung Hwan Kim, Jong Hoon Lee; Cancer Res Treat. 2023;55(3):918-926. Published online February 27, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2022.1646

Abstract PDF PubReader ePub: Purpose
The optimal short-course chemotherapeutic regimen for rectal cancer has not been clearly defined until now. KROG 10-01 and KROG 11-02 prospective trials investigated the efficacy and safety of 1- and 2-week chemoradiotherapy (CRT), respectively.
Materials and Methods
Patients eligible for KROG 10-01 and KROG 11-02 involved those with clinical T3-4N0-2M0 rectal cancers. They received preoperative CRT and total mesorectal excision. Patients in KROG 10-01 received radiation of 25 Gy in 5 fractions during 1 week with 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin. Patients in KROG 11-02 received radiation of 33 Gy in 10 fractions for 2 weeks with oral capecitabine.
Results
A total of 150 patients consisting of 70 patients from KROG 10-01 and 80 patients from KROG 11-02 were collectively analyzed. With a median follow-up time of 89.2 months, the 5-year overall survival rate was 86.5% in 1-week CRT and 85.3% in 2-week CRT (p=0.841). The 5-year recurrence-free survival rate was 83.5% in 1-week CRT and 77.1% in 2-week CRT (p=0.448). One patient (1.4%) in 1-week CRT and 11 patients (13.8%) in 2-week CRT exhibited pathologic complete regression (ypT0N0M0) after radiotherapy (p=0.006). One-week CRT had significantly higher acute hematologic (12.8% vs. 3.8%, p=0.040) and nonhematologic (38.6% vs. 16.3%, p=0.002) toxicity than 2-week CRT.
Conclusion
Both 1- and 2-week schedules of CRT showed favorable survival outcomes after 7 years of follow-up. But, 2-week course achieved more increased tumor response and decreased acute toxicity than 1-week course.

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Breast cancer

Quality Assessment and Trend for Breast Cancer Treatment Practice across South Korea Based on Nationwide Analysis of Korean Health Insurance Data during 2013-2017: Kyu Hye Choi, Soo-Yoon Sung, Sea-Won Lee, Ye Won Jeon, Sung Hwan Kim, Jong Hoon Lee; Cancer Res Treat. 2023;55(2):570-579. Published online December 5, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2022.882

Abstract PDF PubReader ePub

Purpose
Quality assessment of breast cancer treatment in South Korea showed the upward standardization of the grade since 2013, but treatment disparities still have existed. This study analyzed the five year trend between 2013 and 2017 in the assessment of breast cancer treatment practice using the Korean health insurance data.
Materials and Methods
All the medical records including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy for 7,354 patients a year on average were evaluated. Twenty indices were consisted of one structural, 17 process-related, and 2 result-related factors. We calculated the coefficient of variation (CV) annually to determine the variation in adherence rate of evaluation indices according to the type of institution (advanced vs. general hospital vs. clinic).
Results
Based on the initial assessment in 2013, 10 out of 20 indicators showed significant variation among the types of institutions with a CV of less than 0.1%. Six of them had a CV decline of less than 0.1%. The CV was still 0.1% or higher in the four indicators, including the composition of professional staff, the implementation of target therapy, the average length of hospital stay, and the hospitalization cost. Regarding the first-grade of assessment, there was a statistically significant relationship between the institution type (p=0.029) and region (metropolitan vs. province, p<0.001).
Conclusion
There were disparities in the structural and systemic treatment factors depending on the institutional type. The quality improvement of the regional institutions and multidisciplinary experts for breast cancer is necessary.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Exploring the experiences of cancer patients: What drives them to seek treatment outside their residential area and what are the experiences resulting from that decision? A qualitative study
Jeehee Pyo, Mina Lee, Haneul Lee, Minsu Ock, Ali Haider Mohammed
PLOS ONE.2025; 20(3): e0319650. CrossRef
Contrasting income-based inequalities in incidence and mortality of breast cancer in Korea, 2006-2015
Jinwook Bahk, Hee-Yeon Kang, Young-Ho Khang, Kyunghee Jung-Choi
Epidemiology and Health.2024; 46: e2024074. CrossRef

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3 Web of Science
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