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Objectives: To investigate the presentation of germ cell tumors (GCT) in terms of histology and stage, to better clarify the epidemiology of this disease in eastern Asia., Methods: Six hundred ninety-eight patients diagnosed with GCT between 1995 and 2004 were analyzed. Clinical parameters at the time of initial diagnosis were classified in terms of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) tumor, nodes, metastasis staging (TNMS) system, the International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Classification (IGCCC), for high-risk stage I nonseminomatous GCT (NSGCT) of testis., Results: The anatomic distributions for the primary sites of the observed tumors were as follows: testis 471 cases (67%); central nervous system (CNS) 137 cases (20%); mediastinum 78 cases (11%), and retroperitoneum 12 cases (2%); 239 (51%) of 471 tumors with testicular primary were seminoma. High risk vs. non-high risk stage I NSGCT cases were 62 vs. 58. Of NSGCT of testis, 129 (58%), 73 (33%), and 21 (9%) of tumors presented with good, intermediate, and poor prognosis, respectively, based on IGCCC, whereas 231 (99%) patients were classified with a good prognosis and 3 (1%) with an intermediate prognosis amongst seminomas of testis; 193 (82%) cases presented as stage I testicular seminoma whereas 120 (54%) cases presented as stage I NSGCT., Conclusions: Extragonadal primary GCTs are very common in Korean. Incidence of high risk NSGCT of testis with stage I disease was lower than in the Western report. NSGCT presents itself as a more aggressive form whereas seminoma is a very indolent tumor when compared with cases in Western countries.

Aim: To present preliminary results on health-related quality of life (QoL), prostate-associated symptoms and therapeutic effects of targeted-cryosurgical ablation of the prostate (TCSAP) with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) patients., Methods: Thirty-four men with high-risk PCa features underwent TCSAP, and ADT was added to improve the treatment outcomes. High-risk parameters were defined as either prostate-specific antigen (PSA) = or > 100ng/mL, or Gleason score = or > 8, or both. The Genito-Urinary Group of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) with prostate-cancer-specific module (QLQ-PR25) was used for evaluating morbidities and PSA levels were recorded every 3 months. PSA failure was defined as the inability to reach a nadir of 0.4 ng/mL or less., Results: Although it was not statistically significant, the global health status scores increased after TCSAP with ADT. The scores for five functional scales also became higher after treatment. The most prominent symptom after treatment was sexual dysfunction, followed by treatment-related and irritative voiding symptoms., Conclusion: TCSAP with ADT appears to be minimally invasive with high QoL except for sexual dysfunction. Long-term follow-up of PSA data and survival is necessary before any conclusions can be made on the efficacy of this promising new therapeutic modality in the treatment of PCa.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of diabetes and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and their association with risk factors in the Korean population., Research Design and Methods: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey 2001 was a nationally representative survey with a stratified multistage sampling design. Data from a comprehensive questionnaire, a physical examination, and blood tests were obtained from 5,844 Korean adults (2,513 men and 3,331 women) aged >20 years., Results: The age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes in this Korean population was 7.6%, and the age-adjusted prevalences of previously diagnosed diabetes and newly diagnosed diabetes were 4.4 and 3.3%, respectively (fasting plasma glucose > or = 7.0 mmol/l). Overall, these results indicate that 8.1% or 1.4 million Korean men and 7.5% or 1.3 million Korean women have diabetes. The age-adjusted prevalence of IFG was 23.9%, using the new American Diabetes Association criteria (fasting plasma glucose 5.6-6.9 mmol/l). Diabetes prevalence increased with age and peaked in the oldest age-group; however, IFG prevalence did not show the same trend. Diabetes was found to be associated with age, BMI, blood pressure, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, education levels, alcohol consumption, exercise, and a family history of diabetes., Conclusions: This study shows that diabetes and IFG are common in Korea, and about one-half of diabetes cases remain undiagnosed. These results emphasize the need to develop an urgent public program to improve the detection, prevention, and treatment of diabetes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine further the association between low total serum cholesterol and suicidal behaviour., Method: We measured the serum cholesterol levels in 231 patients admitted to an emergency room following a suicide attempt, in 231 age-,sex- and diagnosis-matched non-suicidal psychiatric controls, and in 231 age- and sex-matched normal controls. The suicide attempt patients were divided into five grades according to the degree of injury., Results: The mean total cholesterol level of the suicide attempt patients was significantly lower than that of the psychiatric and normal controls. When the suicide attempt patients and non-suicidal psychiatric controls were divided by diagnosis, this significant relationship held true for major depressive disorders and personality disorders, but not for schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Cholesterol level and the severity of suicide attempt were inversely correlated., Conclusion: The results suggest that cholesterol level may serve as a marker for suicide risk. Possible explanations are discussed.