Can tumour marker assays be a guide in the prescription of bone scan for breast and lung cancers?

Considering the current need to improve cost-effectiveness in cancer patient management, a prospective study was undertaken in order to define the optimal combination of bone scan and tumour marker assays in breast and lung cancer strategies, as has been done in the case of prostate cancer. All patients with breast or lung cancer referred to the Nuclear Medicine Department of the Grenoble Teaching Hospital between December 1995 and April 1997 were included. A blood sample was drawn in each case for marker assay (CA15-3 or CEA and CYFRA 21-1) on the same day as the bone scan. Two hundred and seventy-five patients were included: 118 with lung cancer and 157 with breast cancer. With regard to lung cancer, no information useful for guiding bone scan prescription was obtained through CEA and CYFRA 21-1 assays. For breast cancer, the results suggest that in asymptomatic patients, a CA15-3 level of less than 25 U/ml (upper normal value chosen as the threshold) is strongly predictive of a negative bone scan; by contrast, high tumour marker levels are predictive of neoplastic bone involvement. When a doubtful bone scan is obtained in a patient with breast cancer, a normal marker level makes it highly probable that bone scan abnormalities are not related to malignancy.

[Determination of tumor marker CA 125 in the cancer of the ovary: comparison of immunoenzyme and immunoradiometry methods]. / Dosage du marqueur tumoral CA 125 dans les cancers de l'ovaire: comparaison des méthodes immunoenzymatique et immunoradiométrique.

CA 125, tumor marker newly appeared, is used in ovarian carcinomas. Its determination in serum is an important progress, not only in diagnosis but above all at the time of monitoring of clinical course during the treatment. The determination is possible with immunoradiometric assay (IRA) or enzyme immunoassay (EIA). The comparative study show a good correlation between these two methods. Both give comparable results. The choice for either method depends on equipment of laboratory.

[Rapid method for the determination of urinary oxalic acid by gas liquid chromatography (author's transl)]. / Méthode rapide de dosage de l'acide oxalique urinaire par chromatographie en phase gazeuse.

A rapid method for the determination of urinary oxalic acid by gas-liquid chromatography is described. The procedure involves extraction of oxalate from urine by tetrahydrofuran followed by evaporation to dryness and subsequent with diesterification with the boron-trifluoride propanol. The derivative is extracted with hexane and is detected by FID gas chromatography. Malonic acid is used as internal standard. Analytical recovery ranged from 94 to 105%. The coefficient of variation in replicate aliquots over the entire range is less than 6%. The expected range for our method is calculated to be 44 to 577 mumol of oxalate per 24-h urine.

[Treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma in mice C3H/He by Co 60 and hyperbaric oxygen (author's transl)]. / Traitement du rhabdomyosarcome chez la souris C3H/He par cobalthérapie sous oxygène hyperbare.

UNLABELLED: Experimental study of rhabdomyosarcoma with successive transplantation upon C3H/He mice, treated by irradiation (Co 60) and combined irradiation-hyperbaric oxygen (HBO), dating from 3, 14 and 15 days after transplantation. The data (tumor volume evolution, histological modifications, pulmonary metastases) are compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS: curative radiotherapy depends on starting treatment as soon as possible with or without HBO. After the 14th day, sensitisation to combined HBO and C60 is seen. The extension of pulmonary metastases is a function of tumor growth. Paradoxically metastases were less frequent after HBO only and more frequent after HBO-Co 60.

[Study of benzimidazole and its derivatives. III. Radioprotective structure-activity relationship of various 2-alkyl (or 2-aryl) benzimidazoles]. / Etude du benzimidazole et de ses dérivés. III--Relation structure-activité radioprotectrice de quelques alkyl-2 (ou aryl-2) benzimidazoles.

Benzimidazoles show important radioprotecting activity. Structure-activity relationships (radioprotective activity and toxicity) are given for benzimidazole-2 derivatives.

Derivatives of methyl vinyl sulfone. Distribution and elimination of methyl (2,2-diphenyl)-vinyl sulfone labelled with 14carbon in mice.

The investigation of methyl (2,2-diphenyl)-vinyl sulfone (14C-MDVS) administered i.p. in mice shows that this product appears rapidly in the general circularoty system. The blood concentration of MDVS reaches a maximum 1 h after injection. Part of the MDVS is bound to the plasma proteins. Infrared spectrometry analysis of radioactive products eliminated by the urine confirms that the product is not split, but also reveals the presence of hydroxyl and carbonyl groups in the metabolic conversion products.