Immunization decision-making in the Republic of Korea: The structure and functioning of the Korea Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

AbstractThe Korea Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (KACIP), established by law in the early 1990s, makes recommendations on a range of issues related to the National Immunization Program. The Committee consists of 15 members and always includes the two government officials who belong to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Korea Food and Drug Administration. Other members usually come from affiliated organizations and serve for 2-year terms. The KACIP depends on special-topics sub-committees or temporary advisory committees to gather and analyze data and to make recommendations which are normally reached by consensus and implemented by public sector health providers and private providers

Genomic profile of metastatic breast cancer patient-derived xenografts established using percutaneous biopsy.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic breast cancer (mBC) is a complex and life-threatening disease and although it is difficult to cure, patients can benefit from sequential anticancer treatment, including endocrine therapy, targeted therapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy. The patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model is suggested as a practical tool to predict the clinical outcome of this disease as well as to screen novel drugs. This study aimed to establish PDX models in Korean patients and analyze their genomic profiles and utility for translational research. METHODS: Percutaneous core needle biopsy or punch biopsy samples were used for xenotransplantation. Whole exome sequencing and transcriptome analysis were performed to assess the genomic and RNA expression profiles, respectively. Copy number variation and mutational burden were analyzed and compared with other metastatic breast cancer genomic results. Mutational signatures were also analyzed. The antitumor effect of an ATR inhibitor was tested in the relevant PDX model. RESULTS: Of the 151 cases studied, 40 (26%) PDX models were established. Notably, the take rate of all subtypes, including the hormone receptor-positive (HR +) subtype, exceeded 20%. The PDX model had genomic fidelity and copy number variation that represented the pattern of its donor sample. TP53, PIK3CA, ESR1, and GATA3 mutations were frequently found in our samples, with TP53 being the most frequently mutated, and the somatic mutations in these genes strengthened their frequency in the PDX model. The ESR1 mutation, CCND1 amplification, and the APOBEC signature were significant features in our HR + HER2- PDX model. Fulvestrant in combination with palbociclib showed a partial response to the relevant patient\u27s tumor harboring the ESR1 mutation, and CCND1 amplification was found in the PDX model. AZD6738, an ATR inhibitor, delayed tumor growth in a relevant PDX model. CONCLUSIONS: Our PDX model was established using core needle biopsy samples from primary and metastatic tissues. Genomic profiles of the samples reflected their original tissue characteristics and could be used for the interpretation of clinical outcomes

Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

Comparative Study of Dietary Patterns by Living Arrangements: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2013–2015

This study aimed to identify the dietary patterns of Koreans, comparing them according to their living arrangements, and to determine factors associated with the patterns. We analyzed nutritional data of 6719 Korean adults aged 19–64 years from the 2013–2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey using the exploratory factor and hierarchical and k-means cluster analyses. We used multinominal logistic regression to compare factors associated with each dietary pattern. We identified three dietary patterns based on meal preference and dessert type: “traditional meal with healthy dessert”, “meal only”, and “unhealthy dessert” (Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin = 0.90, Bartlett’s test of sphericity p < 0.001). The “unhealthy dessert” dietary pattern was more frequent in people living alone (51.7%) than in those living with others (41.8%). Weight control, dining out, eating breakfast, and sleep were significantly associated with the “meal only”; eating breakfast was associated with the “unhealthy dessert” dietary pattern among those living alone. Lifestyle factors were associated with unhealthy dietary patterns in Korean adults living alone, warranting the need for a healthy diet and promotion of modifiable health behaviors for this subgroup. Thus, clinicians must provide comprehensive assessments and multidimensional interventions while considering lifestyle factors and unhealthy dietary patterns to improve the health status of them

Prevalence of Traumatic Experiences in South Korean Adults

Although a variety of traumatic experiences can impact health over the lifetime, little is known about the prevalence of such experiences in South Korea. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequencies of traumatic experiences and their differences by gender and age. South Korean adults (N = 3000) aged 19–65 years completed a self-report survey assessing childhood and adulthood trauma and sociodemographic characteristics. Overall, 79.5% of the participants reported at least one traumatic experience in adulthood. Unemployment or job loss and academic or work difficulties were commonly reported. The most distressing adulthood trauma was the unexpected death of a loved one, followed by diseases in loved ones. Childhood trauma was higher in males than in females. In males, childhood trauma was higher at a younger age, but in females, it was higher at an older age. Adulthood trauma was higher in females than in males and at older ages for both males and females. The current findings demonstrate the differences in traumatic experiences by gender and age in the South Korean general population. These results could help improve assessment of and targeted intervention for psychological trauma through trauma-informed strategies in public health practice

Evaluation of Internet-Based Training in Trauma Care for Nurses in Mental Health Welfare Centers: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: This study evaluates the efficacy of Internet-Based Training in Trauma Care for Nurses (IBTTCN) to improve nurses’ trauma intervention self-efficacy, professional quality of life, and attitudes and knowledge about post-traumatic stress disorder. Methods: Forty-one nurses participated from May to July 2021. The assessment points were at baseline (T1), immediately after program completion (4 weeks; T2), and 1 month after T2 (T3). Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis and generalized estimating equations. Results: In the intervention group, trauma intervention self-efficacy increased significantly after the IBTTCN, and the effect of such self-efficacy over time was significant. Conclusions: The IBTTCN improved nurses’ trauma intervention self-efficacy