Overexpression of pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase enhances the sensitivity to 5'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine in tumour cells in vitro and in vivo.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and 5'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (5'-DFUR), a prodrug of 5-FU, are representative of the chemotherapeutic agents for colorectal adenocarcinomas. Pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase (PyNPase) catalyses the conversion of 5'-DFUR to 5-FU, the activated form. Murine adenocarcinoma CT26 cells were transfected with human PyNPase cDNA. The engineered transfectants producing PyNPase augmented the response to 5'-DFUR in vitro and in vivo. Animals were administered by means of intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection, and not orally, in order to obtain a better efficiency of absorption. The tumours of the transfected cells nearly all disappeared, even following treatment with quite a small amount of the anticancer agent. The animals injected with the tranfected cells were protected against subsequent challenge with the parental tumour cell line. These findings demonstrate that PyNPase gene transfection increases the sensitivity to 5'-DFUR, and thereby decreases the toxicity of the agent.

Clinical evaluation of hepatic arterial infusion of low dose-CDDP and 5-FU with hyperthermotherapy: a preliminary study for liver metastases from esophageal and gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prognosis for gastric and esophageal cancer patients with liver metastases remains very poor. In most cases, liver metastasis is unresectable because of its number, size and location and therefore, other approaches need to be considered. METHODOLOGY: In this study we examined 4 patients. We showed the therapeutic benefits of employing hepatic arterial infusion of low-dose CDDP and 5-FU combined with hyperthermia for the treatment of liver metastases of gastric and esophageal cancer. RESULTS: All patients showed partial response, and bone marrow toxicities and gastrointestinal toxicities were extremely slight while liver toxicities were not observed at all. Moreover, 3 of the patients excluding patient 3 who had metastatic lesions other than liver metastases have still been alive for more than 17 months (17-28 months) maintaining a good quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, it is suggested that the merits of both low dose-FP and hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy contribute to ideal clinical effects, and that hyperthermotherapy could enhance clinical responses without potentiating any toxicities. However, this is just a preliminary study, and therefore, a prospective randomized control study is necessary to evaluate the efficiency of this therapy.

Nodular lymphoid hyperplasia of the terminal ileum: report of a case and the findings of an immunological analysis.

The immunological and immunohistochemical characteristics of a patient with nodular lymphoid hyperplasia (NLH) of the terminal ileum were investigated pre- and post-operatively. The patient presented with diarrhea, lower abdominal pain, and weight loss, and an abdominal X-ray following barium enema revealed multiple small nodules in the terminal ileum which were subsequently confirmed to be NLH by histological examination. Preoperatively, although the serum immunoglobulin levels were normal, the T-cell responses in the peripheral blood, including the phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-blastogenesis and the T4/T8 ratio, were impaired. However, following an ileocecal resection, the PHA-blastogenesis became augmented and the T4/T8 ratio recovered to within the normal range. The immunohistochemical findings revealed a more marked accumulation of T cells in the interstitium around the hyperplastic follicles than in the interstitium of the normal intestine.

Clinical evaluation of chemotherapy under angiotensin II-induced hypertension in patients with advanced cancer.

The clinical efficacy and indications for Angiotensin II (AT II)-induced hypertension chemotherapy were evaluated as a drug delivery system in 101 patients with advanced carcinoma. The sites of primary tumor studied included stomach (44), pancreas (18), colon (16), esophagus (6), bile duct (4), liver (3), breast (7) and 3 other single organs. Seventy four cases had distant metastases (lymph node (25), liver (29), peritoneum (16), and lung (4)). Additionally, the protocol was used 12 cases as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and 15 cases following exploratory laparotomy. The blood pressure was elevated to a level 1.5 times base-line. The regimens used consisted of MMC + ADR (55), FAM (38) and CDDP (8). The dosages administered were MMC 7 mg/m2, ADR 14 mg/m2 and 5-FU 350 mg/m2. The cancer chemotherapy protocol with AT II was repeated for an average of 2.6 cycles with a 2-3 week interval. The drug concentration in tumor tissues was increased 1.7 fold by AT II treatment. The response rate was 15.8% (CR 7 and PR 9), and in those patients with lymph node, liver and peritoneal metastases was 48.0, 6.9 and 6.3%, respectively. The serum levels of tumor markers decreased in 9 patients. Subjective symptoms, such as hoarseness, edema and pain, were improved. The mean survival in patients with distant metastasis who responded was 343 days, and in nonresponders was only 168 days (p less than 0.05). The side effects of this therapy were slight, typically being grade 1 and 2. Thus, the chemotherapeutic agents studied in conjunction with AT II were effective in patients with lymph node metastasis. Additionally, this regimen could be performed safely with minimal side effects.