PurposeThe Korean Gastric Cancer Association (KGCA) has conducted nationwide surveys every 5 years, targeting patients who received surgical treatment for gastric cancer. We report the results of the 2014 nationwide survey and compare them to those of the 1995, 1999, 2004, and 2009 surveys.Materials and MethodsFrom March 2015 to January 2016, a standardized case report form was sent to every member of the KGCA via e-mail. The survey consisted of 29 questions, regarding patient demographics as well as tumor-, and surgery-related factors. The completed data forms were analyzed by the KGCA information committee.ResultsData on 15,613 patients were collected from 69 institutions. The mean age was 60.9±12.1 years, and the proportion of patients more than 70 years of age increased from 9.1% in 1995 to 25.3% in 2014. Proximal cancer incidence steadily increased from 11.2% in 1995 to 16.0% in 2014. Early gastric cancer incidence consistently increased and accounted for 61.0% of all cases in 2014. The surgical approach was diversified in 2014, and 7,818 cases (50.1%) were treated with a minimally invasive approach. The most common anastomosis was Billroth I (50.2%) after distal gastrectomy, and the proportion of Roux-en-Y anastomoses performed increased to 8.6%.ConclusionsThe results of this survey are expected to be important data for future studies and to be useful for generating a national cancer control program.

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The inhibitory effects of Boswellia serrata (BW) extracts on degenerative osteoarthritis were investigated in primary-cultured rat cartilage cells and a monosodium-iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis rat model. To identify the protective effects of BW extract against H2O2 (800 μM, 2 hr) in vitro, cell survival was measured by MTT assay. Cell survival after H2O2 treatment was elevated by BW extract at a concentration of 20 μg/mL. In addition, BW extract treatment significantly reduced and normalized the productions of pro-inflammatory factors, nuclear transcription factor κB, cyclooxygenase-2, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-6 at a concentration of 20 μg/mL. Treatment of chondrocytes with BW extract significantly reduced 5-lipoxygenase activity and production of prostaglandin E2, especially at a concentration of 10∼20 μg/mL. For the in vivo animal study, osteoarthritis was induced by intra-articular injection of MIA into knee joints of rats. Consumption of a diet containing BW extract (100 and 200 mg/kg) for 35 days significantly inhibited the development and severity of osteoarthritis in rats. To determine the genetic expression of arthritic factors in articular cartilage, real-time PCR was applied to measure matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-3, MMP-9, and MMP-13), collagen type I, collagen type II, and aggrecan, and BW extract had protective effects at a concentration of 200 mg/kg. In conclusion, BW extract was able to inhibit articular cartilage degeneration by preventing extracellular matrix degradation and chondrocyte injury. One can consider that BW extract may be a potential therapeutic treatment for degenerative osteoarthritis.

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