Cancer research and treatment : official journal of Korean Cancer Association
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Life-sustaining treatment (LST) decisions for patients and caregivers at the end-of-life (EOL) process are supported by the "Act on Hospice and Palliative Care and Decisions on LST for Patients at the EOL," enforced in February 2018. It remains unclear whether the act changes EOL decisions and LST implementation in clinical practice. For this study, we investigated patients' decision-making regarding LSTs during the EOL process since the act's enforcement. ⋯ After the act's enforcement, withdrawing LSTs became lawful and self-determination rates increased. Family members still make 71% of decisions regarding LSTs, but these are often inconsistent with the patients' wishes; thus, further efforts are needed to integrate the new act into clinical practice.
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of soluble Axl (sAxl) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in comparison with serum α-fetoprotein (AFP). ⋯ sAxl outperforms AFP in detecting HCC, especially in early HCC and in AFP-negative HCC. Combination sAxl with AFP improved the specificity for early HCC diagnosis. In summary, sAxl is a candidate serum marker for diagnosing HCC.