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Cancer incidence varies significantly depending on Sasang constitution of Traditional Korean Medicine
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J Tradit Chin Med 2013 June 15; 33(3): 312-315 ISSN 0255-2922 © 2013 JTCM. All rights reserved.
CLINICAL STUDY TOPIC
Cancer incidence varies significantly depending on Sasang constitution of Traditional Korean Medicine
Jonghoon Lee, Weechang Kang, Junghyo Cho, Chongkwan Cho, Hwaseung Yoo, Changgue Son aa Jonghoon Lee, Junghyo Cho, Changgue Son, Liver and Immunology Research Center, Daejeon Oriental Hospital of Daejeon University, Daejeon 302-724, Republic of Korea Weechang Kang, Department of Information and Statistics, Daejeon University, Daejeon 300-716, Republic of Korea Chongkwan Cho, Hwaseung Yoo, East-West Cancer Center, Dunsan Oriental Hospital of Daejon University, Daejeon 301-724, Republic of Korea Supported by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) grant funded by the Korea government (MEST, No. 20120009001, 2006-2005173) Correspondence to: Prof. Changgue Son, Liver and Immunology Research Center, Daejeon Oriental Hospital of Daejeon University, Daejeon 302-724, Republic of Korea. [email protected] Telephone: +82-42-229-6723 Accepted: March 12, 2013
from that for healthy subjects: 22.8% vs 46.9% for Taeumin, 35.5% vs 24.0% for Soumin, and 41.7% vs 29.1% for Soyangin. Our results assumed that the lowest cancer incidence would be in Taeumin (around 2-fold in both sex) while the highest cancer incidence in Soumin males (2.8-fold) and Soyangin females (2.1-fold). CONCLUSION: This study identified a trend involving the frequency of cancer and the Sasang constitutional classification. We hope that this finding will provide new ideas for the study of cancer incidence and its preventive management. © 2013 JTCM. All rights reserved. Key words: Neoplasms; Medicine, Chinese traditional; Medicine, Korean traditional; Sasang constitution
Abstract OBJECTIVE: Sasang constitutional medicine is a component of Traditional Korean Medicine that stresses the hereditary makeup of disease incidences or therapeutic responses. This study investigated the relationship between the incidence of cancer and Sasang constitution classification.
INTRODUCTION Along with advancements in genetic science and prolonged life spans, the inherited genome is clearly defined as one of the critical factors affecting the complex process of health and disease as well as the therapeutic response of every individual.1-3 Cancer is a set of typical diseases with which genomic or constitutional components are most involved.3-6 Sasang constitutional medicine (SCM) is a major branch of Traditional Korean Medicine which originated from Traditional Chinese Medicine. SCM stresses the importance of an individual's hereditary constitution rather than the disease itself and has been adapted to diagnostic and therapeutic tools over the past 100 years.7 Several studies have shown that Sasang constitutional classification shares similar views to the
METHODS: Five hundred and one cancer patients were classified as having one of the four types of Sasang constitutions (Taeumin, Soumin, Soyangin, Taeyangin) using Questionnaire for Sasang Constitution Classification II, then compared with data from 1423 healthy subjects. RESULTS: The Sasang constitutional distribution for the cancer patients was significantly different JTCM | www. journaltcm. com
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genome-derived typology of Western Medicine such as the association of Pro12Ala polymorphism with the susceptibility to ischemic stroke in Taeumin subjects.8 SCM classifies people into four groups: Taeyangin, Soyangin, Taeumin and Soumin, according to the presence of psychological and physical traits, inborn combinations of internal organ function, and closely associated personality traits.9 SCM tends to determine an individual's susceptibility to a disease or likely incidence of organ-related disorders and provide a recommended treatment strategy for each body type. Furthermore, Sasang constitutional classification may be applicable to people worldwide.10,11 In this study, we analyzed the Sasang constitutions of 501 cancer patients from Korea to explore the relationship between the incidence of cancer and Sasang constitution classification.
psychological (54 items), behavioral (36 items), and physical characteristics (11 items) as well as health and disease questions (20 items).12 These cancer patients were compared to 1423 previously evaluated Korean adult control subjects (704 males and 719 females) who had been randomly recruited.13 The control group was generally healthy subjects and classified using the same QSCC II method. Statistical analysis Statistical analysis of the data was performed with SAS statistical software (SAS Rel. 8.02, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Pearson's chi-square test was used to compare the distribution of the Sasang constitution types of the cancer patients with that of the healthy controls and evaluate the distribution of the Sasang type for each organ system in the cancer patients. P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant.
METHODS
RESULTS
Subjects Five hundred and one cancer patients who visited Daejeon Oriental Hospital (from 1998 to 2000) were involved and informed consent was obtained from each subject. They were defined as having one organ or tissue system with cancer by diagnostic radiologist or histopathologist in conventional cancer centers. Patients who were experiencing multi-organ cancerous diseases were excluded to clarify the data on organ-related cancer incidence and Sasang classification. Informed consent was obtained from each subject, and the Ethical Committee of Daejeon University Hospital approved the study protocol (Authorization number: H2006-11).
Patient composition Totally 501 cancer patients were finally involved in this study. Cancers from 28 different organs or tissue systems were identified in the subjects. The patients, 218 males and 283 females, aged 11-89, 50.5 years on average, came from all around South Korea. Subjects had one cancer among 28 different organ or tissue systems under radiologic and histopathological diagnosis. Major cancer-originating organs included, in descending order, stomach, lung, breast, colon, liver, thyroid, pancreas, uterine, gall bladder (data not shown). Distribution of Sasang constitution in cancer patients Among the 501 cancer patients, the portion of Soyangin, Soumin and Taeumin was 41.7% , 35.5% and 22.8% respectively. When analyzed on the basis of sex, male patients showed 40.8% , 39.4% and 19.7% whereas female patients did 42.4% , 32.5% and 25.1% for Soyangin, Soumin and Taeumin respectively (Table 1). This Sasang distribution of
Discrimination of Sasang constitution Every patient was classified as having one of the four types of Sasang constitutions (Teaeumin, Taeyangin, Soyangin or Soumin) using Questionnaire for Sasang Constitution Classification II (QSCC II). QSCC II was developed and adopted in Korea to classify subjects into the four constitutional body types using a questionnaire with 121 items, encompassing
Table 1 Distribution of cancer patients according to Sasang type [n(%)] Healthy and cancer patients (%)
Healthy subjects
Cancer patients
n
Soyangin
Soumin
Taeumin
Total subjects
1423
414 (29.1)
342 (24.0)
667 (46.9)
Males
704
267 (37.9)
98 (13.9)
339 (48.2)
Females
719
147 (20.4)
244 (33.9)
328 (45.6)
Total patientsa
501
209 (41.7)
178 (35.5)
114 (22.8)
Malesa
218
89 (40.8)
86 (39.4)
43 (19.7)
Femalesa
283
120 (42.4)
92 (32.5)
71 (25.1)
Note: P<0.0001, Pearson's Chi-square test was used for comparing the distributions of the Sasang classified cancer patients and the healthy subjects. a
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cancer patients was significantly different from data of control group consisting of 1423 healthy subjects (Figure 1, P<0.0001).
seldom for Taeyangin.12 Taeumin among the cancer patients accounted for 22.8% , two times lower than that among the healthy controls (46.9% at the highest). This pattern held when analyzed on the basis of sex. In contrast, Soumin (35.5% ) and Soyangin (41.7% ) were much higher in cancer patients than in the healthy population (24.0% and 29.1% respectively). Interestingly, Soumin males (39.4%) and Soyangin females (42.4% ) were 2.8 and 2.1-fold frequent within the cancer patients than in the healthy controls (13.9% and 20.4% respectively). This result suggests that the lowest cancer incidence occurs among Taeumin individuals, while the highest cancer incidence occurs in Soumin males and Soyangin females. Drastic difference of cancer incidence between male and female in Soumin and Soyangin should be confirmed in further data. The data from several studies supports the provability of sex-dependent gap in cancer incidence even within the same constitutional type.16-18 Cancer is known to occur after multistage sequential processes that are strongly influenced by genetic features as well as environmental and cultural factors.19-21 Of these factors, genetic elements associated with ethnic diversity and individual mind-physical characteristics might affect the incidence of cancer and have subsequently been important issues in cancer research.16,22 Despite the general idea that the Korean population consists of single ethnic group, Koreans do not have a solitary genetic background.23,24 These differences are assumed to be relevant to macro-level genetic distinctions involving the classification of Sasang constitution. Taken together, we could conclude that the Sasang constitutional classification of an individual is related to the frequency of cancer development; nevertheless, further studies in larger study populations are necessary to clarify the underlying mechanisms and genetic factors involved.
DISCUSSION Traditional Chinese Medicine including Korean medicine emphasizes the unbalanced inter-organ functions for disease development and treatment. The Sasang classification is mainly determined by the functional balance between two internal organs, with one being deficient and the other being excessive. Taeyangin individuals are characterized by having excessive lung function and deficient liver function, while Taeumin have excessive liver function and deficient lung function. Soyangin individuals have excessive spleen function and deficient kidney function, while Soumin have excessive kidney function and deficient spleen function.11 Accordingly, it is thought that each type of Sasang constitution shows disease-associated unique features such as different disease susceptibilities, organ-related vulnerabilities, or responses to herbal drugs.10,14,15 For example, Taeumin individuals are thought to have a higher risk for hypertension, hyperlipidemia and stroke than other types, while Soumin individuals have more disorder of the digestive system.11,15 Soyangin individuals are thought to show adverse effects against ginseng, a typical herbal drug, while Soumin individuals always show a good response to ginseng.10,14 In this study, we explored the incidence of cancer in relation to the Sasang constitutions. We analyzed the Sasang classification of 501 cancer patients and compared the findings with those of 1423 healthy subjects. The rate of cancer development was different in each of the Sasang constitutions. As shown in Table 1 and Figure 1, our results indicated a significant difference in the distribution between cancer patients and the healthy population regarding the Sasang constitution; the cancer incidence was low in Taeumin subjects, while it was high in Soumin and Soyangin subjects (P<0.0001). Generally, the distribution of the Sasang constitution in Korea is around 46% for Taeumin, 30% for Soyangin, 24% for Soumin and Soyangin 50 --- Healthy 29.1 B 40 ― Cancer 41.7
A
--- Healthy 24.0 ― Cancer 35.5
REFERENCES 1
Burn J. Relevance of the human genome project to inherited metabolic disease. J Inherit Metab Dis 1994; 17 Soyangin Soyangin 50 --- Healthy 20.4 50 --- Healthy 37.9 C 40 ― Cancer 40.8 40 ― Cancer 42.4
30
30
30
20
20
20
10
10
10
0
--- Healthy 13.9 ― Cancer 39.4
0
--- Healthy 33.9 ― Cancer 32.5
0
--- Healthy 48.2 --- Healthy 45.6 --- Healthy 46.9 Taeumin Soumin Taeumin ― Cancer 19.7 Taeumin Soumin ― Cancer 25.1 ― Cancer 22.8 Figure 1 Sasang constitutional distributions between cancer patients and healthy subjects These diagrams present the distributions of the Sasang-classified cancer patients and the healthy subjects from total subjects (A), males only (B) and females only (C). Soumin
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
(4): 421-429. McLeod HL, Yu J. Cancer pharmacogenomics: SNPs, chips, and the individual patient. Cancer Invest 2003; 21 (4): 630-640. Gabriel S. Variation in the human genome and the inherited basis of common disease. Semin Oncol 2006; 33 (6): S46-S49. Agarwal SK, Schröck E, Kester MB, et al. Comparative genomic hybridization analysis of human parathyroid tumors. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 1998; 106(1): 30-36. MacInnis RJ, English DR, Gertig DM, Hopper JL, Giles GG. Body size and composition and prostate cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev 2003; 12(12): 1417-1421. Hu DN, Yu GP, McCormick SA, Schneider S, Finger PT. Population-based incidence of uveal melanoma in various races and ethnic groups. Am J Ophthalmol 2005; 140(4): 612-617. Yoo JH, Kim JW, Kim KK, Kim JY, Koh BH, Lee EJ. Sasangin diagnosis questionnaire: test of reliability. J Altern Complment Med 2007; 13(1): 111-122. Lee BC, Doo HK, Ahn SY, et al. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma Pro12Ala polymorphism is associated with the susceptibility to ischemic stroke in Taeeumin classified by Sasang medicine. Neurol Res 2007; 29(Suppl 1): S32-S37. Chae H, Lyoo IK, Lee SJ, et al. An alternative way to individualized medicine: psychological and physical traits of Sasang typology. J Altern Complement Med 2003; 9 (1): 519-528. Lee JM. Longevity and life preservation in oriental medicine. Choi SH, editor. Seoul: Kyung Hee University Press, 1996: 10-35. Um JY, Joo JC, Kim KY, An NH, Lee KM, Kim HM. Angiotensin converting enzyme gene polymorphism and traditional Sasang classification in Koreans with cerebral infarction. Hereditas 2003; 138(3): 166-171. Joseph KK. Compass of health: using the art of Sasang medicine to maximize your health. Franklin Lakes: NJ Career Press, 2001: 19-35.
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15
16
17
18 19
20
21
22
23
24
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Lee TG, Hwang MW, Ham TI, et al. A study on distribution rate of Sasangin in Korea. J Sasang Const Med 2005; 17(3): 12-21. Kim SH, Lee SR, Do JH, Lee KS. Effects of Korean red ginseng and western ginseng on body temperature, pulse rate, clinical symptoms and the hematological changes in humans. Korean J Ginseng Sci 1995; 19(1): 1-16. Hwang MW, Lee TG., Lee SK, Song IB, Choe BK, Koh BH. The case-control study of ischemic stroke according to Sasang constitution. J Korean Orient Med 2006; 27(1): 118-129. Bosch FX, Ribes J, Diaz M, Cleries R. Primary liver cancer: worldwide incidence and trends. Gastroenterology 2004; 127(5): S5-S16. Sipponen P, Correa P. Delayed rise in incidence of gastric cancer in females results in unique sex ratio (M/ F) pattern: etiologic hypothesis. Gastric Cancer 2002; 5 (4): 213-219. Benigni R. Social sexual inequality and sex difference in cancer incidence. Environ Res 2007; 104(1): 128-134. Bray F, McCarron P, Parkin DM. The changing global patterns of female breast cancer incidence and mortality. Breast Cancer Res 2004; 6(6): 229-239. Sung JJ, Lau JY, Goh KL, Leung WK. Increasing incidence of colorectal cancer in Asia: implications for screening. Lancet Oncol 2005; 6(11): 871-876. Buka I, Koranteng S, Osornio Vargas AR. Trends in childhood cancer incidence: review of environmental linkages. Pediatr Clin North Am 2007; 54(1): 177-203. Moolgavkar SH, Luebeck EG. Multistage carcinogenesis and the incidence of human cancer. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2003; 38(4): 302-306. Harihara S, Saitou N, Hirai M, Gojobori T, Park KS, Misawa S. Mitochondrial DNA polymorphism among five Asian populations. Am J Hum Genet 1988; 43(2): 134-143. Horai S, Murayama K, Hayasaka K, Matsubayashi S, Hattori Y, Fucharoen G. MtDNA polymorphism in East Asian populations, with special reference to the people of Japan. Am J Hum Genet 1996; 59(3): 579-590.
June 15, 2013 | Volume 33 | Issue 3 |
J Tradit Chin Med 2013 June 15; 33(3): 312-315 ISSN 0255-2922 © 2013 JTCM. All rights reserved.
CLINICAL STUDY TOPIC
Cancer incidence varies significantly depending on Sasang constitution of Traditional Korean Medicine
Jonghoon Lee, Weechang Kang, Junghyo Cho, Chongkwan Cho, Hwaseung Yoo, Changgue Son aa Jonghoon Lee, Junghyo Cho, Changgue Son, Liver and Immunology Research Center, Daejeon Oriental Hospital of Daejeon University, Daejeon 302-724, Republic of Korea Weechang Kang, Department of Information and Statistics, Daejeon University, Daejeon 300-716, Republic of Korea Chongkwan Cho, Hwaseung Yoo, East-West Cancer Center, Dunsan Oriental Hospital of Daejon University, Daejeon 301-724, Republic of Korea Supported by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) grant funded by the Korea government (MEST, No. 20120009001, 2006-2005173) Correspondence to: Prof. Changgue Son, Liver and Immunology Research Center, Daejeon Oriental Hospital of Daejeon University, Daejeon 302-724, Republic of Korea. [email protected] Telephone: +82-42-229-6723 Accepted: March 12, 2013
from that for healthy subjects: 22.8% vs 46.9% for Taeumin, 35.5% vs 24.0% for Soumin, and 41.7% vs 29.1% for Soyangin. Our results assumed that the lowest cancer incidence would be in Taeumin (around 2-fold in both sex) while the highest cancer incidence in Soumin males (2.8-fold) and Soyangin females (2.1-fold). CONCLUSION: This study identified a trend involving the frequency of cancer and the Sasang constitutional classification. We hope that this finding will provide new ideas for the study of cancer incidence and its preventive management. © 2013 JTCM. All rights reserved. Key words: Neoplasms; Medicine, Chinese traditional; Medicine, Korean traditional; Sasang constitution
Abstract OBJECTIVE: Sasang constitutional medicine is a component of Traditional Korean Medicine that stresses the hereditary makeup of disease incidences or therapeutic responses. This study investigated the relationship between the incidence of cancer and Sasang constitution classification.
INTRODUCTION Along with advancements in genetic science and prolonged life spans, the inherited genome is clearly defined as one of the critical factors affecting the complex process of health and disease as well as the therapeutic response of every individual.1-3 Cancer is a set of typical diseases with which genomic or constitutional components are most involved.3-6 Sasang constitutional medicine (SCM) is a major branch of Traditional Korean Medicine which originated from Traditional Chinese Medicine. SCM stresses the importance of an individual's hereditary constitution rather than the disease itself and has been adapted to diagnostic and therapeutic tools over the past 100 years.7 Several studies have shown that Sasang constitutional classification shares similar views to the
METHODS: Five hundred and one cancer patients were classified as having one of the four types of Sasang constitutions (Taeumin, Soumin, Soyangin, Taeyangin) using Questionnaire for Sasang Constitution Classification II, then compared with data from 1423 healthy subjects. RESULTS: The Sasang constitutional distribution for the cancer patients was significantly different JTCM | www. journaltcm. com
312
June 15, 2013 | Volume 33 | Issue 3 |
Lee JH et al. / Clinical Study
genome-derived typology of Western Medicine such as the association of Pro12Ala polymorphism with the susceptibility to ischemic stroke in Taeumin subjects.8 SCM classifies people into four groups: Taeyangin, Soyangin, Taeumin and Soumin, according to the presence of psychological and physical traits, inborn combinations of internal organ function, and closely associated personality traits.9 SCM tends to determine an individual's susceptibility to a disease or likely incidence of organ-related disorders and provide a recommended treatment strategy for each body type. Furthermore, Sasang constitutional classification may be applicable to people worldwide.10,11 In this study, we analyzed the Sasang constitutions of 501 cancer patients from Korea to explore the relationship between the incidence of cancer and Sasang constitution classification.
psychological (54 items), behavioral (36 items), and physical characteristics (11 items) as well as health and disease questions (20 items).12 These cancer patients were compared to 1423 previously evaluated Korean adult control subjects (704 males and 719 females) who had been randomly recruited.13 The control group was generally healthy subjects and classified using the same QSCC II method. Statistical analysis Statistical analysis of the data was performed with SAS statistical software (SAS Rel. 8.02, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Pearson's chi-square test was used to compare the distribution of the Sasang constitution types of the cancer patients with that of the healthy controls and evaluate the distribution of the Sasang type for each organ system in the cancer patients. P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant.
METHODS
RESULTS
Subjects Five hundred and one cancer patients who visited Daejeon Oriental Hospital (from 1998 to 2000) were involved and informed consent was obtained from each subject. They were defined as having one organ or tissue system with cancer by diagnostic radiologist or histopathologist in conventional cancer centers. Patients who were experiencing multi-organ cancerous diseases were excluded to clarify the data on organ-related cancer incidence and Sasang classification. Informed consent was obtained from each subject, and the Ethical Committee of Daejeon University Hospital approved the study protocol (Authorization number: H2006-11).
Patient composition Totally 501 cancer patients were finally involved in this study. Cancers from 28 different organs or tissue systems were identified in the subjects. The patients, 218 males and 283 females, aged 11-89, 50.5 years on average, came from all around South Korea. Subjects had one cancer among 28 different organ or tissue systems under radiologic and histopathological diagnosis. Major cancer-originating organs included, in descending order, stomach, lung, breast, colon, liver, thyroid, pancreas, uterine, gall bladder (data not shown). Distribution of Sasang constitution in cancer patients Among the 501 cancer patients, the portion of Soyangin, Soumin and Taeumin was 41.7% , 35.5% and 22.8% respectively. When analyzed on the basis of sex, male patients showed 40.8% , 39.4% and 19.7% whereas female patients did 42.4% , 32.5% and 25.1% for Soyangin, Soumin and Taeumin respectively (Table 1). This Sasang distribution of
Discrimination of Sasang constitution Every patient was classified as having one of the four types of Sasang constitutions (Teaeumin, Taeyangin, Soyangin or Soumin) using Questionnaire for Sasang Constitution Classification II (QSCC II). QSCC II was developed and adopted in Korea to classify subjects into the four constitutional body types using a questionnaire with 121 items, encompassing
Table 1 Distribution of cancer patients according to Sasang type [n(%)] Healthy and cancer patients (%)
Healthy subjects
Cancer patients
n
Soyangin
Soumin
Taeumin
Total subjects
1423
414 (29.1)
342 (24.0)
667 (46.9)
Males
704
267 (37.9)
98 (13.9)
339 (48.2)
Females
719
147 (20.4)
244 (33.9)
328 (45.6)
Total patientsa
501
209 (41.7)
178 (35.5)
114 (22.8)
Malesa
218
89 (40.8)
86 (39.4)
43 (19.7)
Femalesa
283
120 (42.4)
92 (32.5)
71 (25.1)
Note: P<0.0001, Pearson's Chi-square test was used for comparing the distributions of the Sasang classified cancer patients and the healthy subjects. a
JTCM | www. journaltcm. com
313
June 15, 2013 | Volume 33 | Issue 3 |
Lee JH et al. / Clinical Study
cancer patients was significantly different from data of control group consisting of 1423 healthy subjects (Figure 1, P<0.0001).
seldom for Taeyangin.12 Taeumin among the cancer patients accounted for 22.8% , two times lower than that among the healthy controls (46.9% at the highest). This pattern held when analyzed on the basis of sex. In contrast, Soumin (35.5% ) and Soyangin (41.7% ) were much higher in cancer patients than in the healthy population (24.0% and 29.1% respectively). Interestingly, Soumin males (39.4%) and Soyangin females (42.4% ) were 2.8 and 2.1-fold frequent within the cancer patients than in the healthy controls (13.9% and 20.4% respectively). This result suggests that the lowest cancer incidence occurs among Taeumin individuals, while the highest cancer incidence occurs in Soumin males and Soyangin females. Drastic difference of cancer incidence between male and female in Soumin and Soyangin should be confirmed in further data. The data from several studies supports the provability of sex-dependent gap in cancer incidence even within the same constitutional type.16-18 Cancer is known to occur after multistage sequential processes that are strongly influenced by genetic features as well as environmental and cultural factors.19-21 Of these factors, genetic elements associated with ethnic diversity and individual mind-physical characteristics might affect the incidence of cancer and have subsequently been important issues in cancer research.16,22 Despite the general idea that the Korean population consists of single ethnic group, Koreans do not have a solitary genetic background.23,24 These differences are assumed to be relevant to macro-level genetic distinctions involving the classification of Sasang constitution. Taken together, we could conclude that the Sasang constitutional classification of an individual is related to the frequency of cancer development; nevertheless, further studies in larger study populations are necessary to clarify the underlying mechanisms and genetic factors involved.
DISCUSSION Traditional Chinese Medicine including Korean medicine emphasizes the unbalanced inter-organ functions for disease development and treatment. The Sasang classification is mainly determined by the functional balance between two internal organs, with one being deficient and the other being excessive. Taeyangin individuals are characterized by having excessive lung function and deficient liver function, while Taeumin have excessive liver function and deficient lung function. Soyangin individuals have excessive spleen function and deficient kidney function, while Soumin have excessive kidney function and deficient spleen function.11 Accordingly, it is thought that each type of Sasang constitution shows disease-associated unique features such as different disease susceptibilities, organ-related vulnerabilities, or responses to herbal drugs.10,14,15 For example, Taeumin individuals are thought to have a higher risk for hypertension, hyperlipidemia and stroke than other types, while Soumin individuals have more disorder of the digestive system.11,15 Soyangin individuals are thought to show adverse effects against ginseng, a typical herbal drug, while Soumin individuals always show a good response to ginseng.10,14 In this study, we explored the incidence of cancer in relation to the Sasang constitutions. We analyzed the Sasang classification of 501 cancer patients and compared the findings with those of 1423 healthy subjects. The rate of cancer development was different in each of the Sasang constitutions. As shown in Table 1 and Figure 1, our results indicated a significant difference in the distribution between cancer patients and the healthy population regarding the Sasang constitution; the cancer incidence was low in Taeumin subjects, while it was high in Soumin and Soyangin subjects (P<0.0001). Generally, the distribution of the Sasang constitution in Korea is around 46% for Taeumin, 30% for Soyangin, 24% for Soumin and Soyangin 50 --- Healthy 29.1 B 40 ― Cancer 41.7
A
--- Healthy 24.0 ― Cancer 35.5
REFERENCES 1
Burn J. Relevance of the human genome project to inherited metabolic disease. J Inherit Metab Dis 1994; 17 Soyangin Soyangin 50 --- Healthy 20.4 50 --- Healthy 37.9 C 40 ― Cancer 40.8 40 ― Cancer 42.4
30
30
30
20
20
20
10
10
10
0
--- Healthy 13.9 ― Cancer 39.4
0
--- Healthy 33.9 ― Cancer 32.5
0
--- Healthy 48.2 --- Healthy 45.6 --- Healthy 46.9 Taeumin Soumin Taeumin ― Cancer 19.7 Taeumin Soumin ― Cancer 25.1 ― Cancer 22.8 Figure 1 Sasang constitutional distributions between cancer patients and healthy subjects These diagrams present the distributions of the Sasang-classified cancer patients and the healthy subjects from total subjects (A), males only (B) and females only (C). Soumin
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
(4): 421-429. McLeod HL, Yu J. Cancer pharmacogenomics: SNPs, chips, and the individual patient. Cancer Invest 2003; 21 (4): 630-640. Gabriel S. Variation in the human genome and the inherited basis of common disease. Semin Oncol 2006; 33 (6): S46-S49. Agarwal SK, Schröck E, Kester MB, et al. Comparative genomic hybridization analysis of human parathyroid tumors. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 1998; 106(1): 30-36. MacInnis RJ, English DR, Gertig DM, Hopper JL, Giles GG. Body size and composition and prostate cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev 2003; 12(12): 1417-1421. Hu DN, Yu GP, McCormick SA, Schneider S, Finger PT. Population-based incidence of uveal melanoma in various races and ethnic groups. Am J Ophthalmol 2005; 140(4): 612-617. Yoo JH, Kim JW, Kim KK, Kim JY, Koh BH, Lee EJ. Sasangin diagnosis questionnaire: test of reliability. J Altern Complment Med 2007; 13(1): 111-122. Lee BC, Doo HK, Ahn SY, et al. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma Pro12Ala polymorphism is associated with the susceptibility to ischemic stroke in Taeeumin classified by Sasang medicine. Neurol Res 2007; 29(Suppl 1): S32-S37. Chae H, Lyoo IK, Lee SJ, et al. An alternative way to individualized medicine: psychological and physical traits of Sasang typology. J Altern Complement Med 2003; 9 (1): 519-528. Lee JM. Longevity and life preservation in oriental medicine. Choi SH, editor. Seoul: Kyung Hee University Press, 1996: 10-35. Um JY, Joo JC, Kim KY, An NH, Lee KM, Kim HM. Angiotensin converting enzyme gene polymorphism and traditional Sasang classification in Koreans with cerebral infarction. Hereditas 2003; 138(3): 166-171. Joseph KK. Compass of health: using the art of Sasang medicine to maximize your health. Franklin Lakes: NJ Career Press, 2001: 19-35.
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15
16
17
18 19
20
21
22
23
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June 15, 2013 | Volume 33 | Issue 3 |