A significant number of patients with breast cancer have used CAM, and health care providers should be aware of the variety of CAM methods and their patients' CAM uses for the proper management of breast cancer.

PurposeTo evaluate the antiadhesive effects and safety of an oxidized regenerated cellulose (Interceed) after thyroidectomy.MethodsSeventy-six thyroidectomized patients were prospectively randomized into two groups with regard to the use of Interceed. We evaluated each group for their adhesive symptoms using four subjective and four objective items at the 2nd week, 3rd and 6th month after thyroidectomy. All patients were examined for vocal cord motility by indirect laryngoscope at each period.ResultsTotal adhesion scores at each postoperative follow-up period decreased with time, but were not significantly different in each group. The median score for swallowing discomfort for liquid was significantly lower in the Interceed group than in the control group 2 weeks after surgery. In addition, the severity of skin adhesion to the trachea was reduced in the Interceed group compared with the control group 6 months after surgery. During the study, there were no adverse effects or significant differences in postoperative complications between the groups.ConclusionInterceed appeared to be safe and effective in improving neck discomfort at early postoperative periods and preventing skin adhesion to the trachea 6 months after thyroidectomy.

Simultaneous laparoscopy-assisted resection for synchronous stomach and colon cancers has been reported frequently; however, robot-assisted gastrectomy and colectomy for these conditions are rarely reported. We report the successful use of robotic surgery for synchronous cancers of the stomach and colon. A 71-year-old woman with no specific medical history was diagnosed with early gastric cancer at the gastric angle and right colon cancer after undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonofiberoscopy. Abdomino-pelvic computed tomography revealed that the stomach and colon lesions were limited to the mucosa without any lymph nodes or distant metastasis, which suggested the clinical stage for both cancers as T1N0M0. We performed robot-assisted radical subtotal gastrectomy and simultaneous right hemicolectomy through six ports. All procedures were successful without any perioperative complications. A 36-month postoperative follow-up of the patient at the outpatient department revealed no evidence of recurrence. We consider that concurrent robot-assisted subtotal gastrectomy and colectomy are technically feasible and safe.

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Purpose: Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is an uncommon thyroid tumor and the clinical course is variable. Many prognostic factors for MTC have been studied, but the significance of some of these factors remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the prognosis of recurrent disease in patients suffering with MTC. Methods: Fifty three patients who were operated for MTC from 1987 to 2006 in Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) was retrospectively analyzed. Their medical records were reviewed for the demographic data, the laboratory data and the clinical course, the treatment and the long-term outcome. The median duration of follow-up was 66.5 months. Forty-two patients who were operated on primarily in this hospital were analyzed for their recurrence free survival. Results: The mean age atdiagnosis was 41.8 years. There were 28 femaleand 25 male patients. Eleven patients (22.9%) had multifocal disease. There were 32 sporadic MTC patients, 15 MEN2A patients, 3 familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC) patients and 1 MEN 2B patient. The 10-and 15-year overall survival rates were 91.9% and 76.5%, respectively; the 5-and 10-year recurrence-free survival rates were 70.6% and 45.5%, respectively. By univariate statistical analysis, the stage (stage I/II vs. III/IV, P= 0.025), extrathyroidal extension (P=0.039), cervical lymph node metastasis (P=0.044), and the postoperative calcitonin level (≥25 pg/ml) (P=0.003) were the significant factors that influenced recurrence.