Clinical evaluation of radio-labelled bleomycin for tumor detection.
Investigations with bleomycin labelled with radionuclides other than 57Co in patients with cancer and in tumor-bearing animals are described. In patients 57Co-bleo appears to be a better tumor-seeking radiopharmaceutical than 111In-bleo, 99mTc-bleo or 197Hg-bleo. This can be explained by a higher stability in vivo and a better tumor-seeking property of 57Co-bleo and less disturbing activity in the cardiac pool and in bone and other normal tissues when assessing the scintigram. Results with 111In-bleo labelled in acidic solution are not essentially different from those with 111In-bleo labelled in neutral solution. Results of 197Hg-bleo are almost identical with those of 197HgCl2 regarding the tumor-seeking effect as well as the distribution in normal tissues and organs. Probably the complex of 197Hg to bleomycin is not stable in vivo. The superiority of 57Co-bleo over 99mTc-bleo, 197Hg-bleo and also over 67Cu-bleo is confirmed by experiments on tumor bearing animals. We may conclude that the indication for use of bleomycin as a tumor-seeking pharmaceutical labelled with 111In, 99mTc, 197Hg or 67Cu seems to be very limited.
D000818:Animals; D001761:Bleomycin; D003037:Cobalt Radioisotopes; D003300:Copper; D006801:Humans; D007204:Indium; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008631:Mercury Radioisotopes; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012516:Osteosarcoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011868:Radioisotopes; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012208:Rhabdomyosarcoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013667:Technetium
D003037:Cobalt Radioisotopes; D008631:Mercury Radioisotopes; D011868:Radioisotopes; D007204:Indium; D001761:Bleomycin; D013667:Technetium; D003300:Copper