title: Urinary neopterin concentration and toxicity of radiotherapy in patients with head and neck carcinoma during external beam radiation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Increased serum or urinary concentrations of neopterin are predictive of poor prognosis in patients with tumors across a spectrum of primary locations. Less information is available about the significance of changes of urinary neopterin concentrations during therapy. The aim of the present study was to examine the association between urinary neopterin and toxicity of radiotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed changes of urinary neopterin and toxicity of therapy in 12 patients with head and neck carcinoma during external-beam radiation. Urinary neopterin was determined daily by high-performance liquid chromatography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In addition to a trend for increased neopterin concentrations during radiation therapy, a significant association between changes of neopterin and toxicity and vice versa was observed with a rise of neopterin predicting a later manifestation of toxicity as well as manifestion of toxicity predicting a later rise of neopterin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Urinary neopterin is predictive of toxicity in patients with head and neck carcinoma. An association between toxicity and subsequent rise of urinary neopterin concentrations was also observed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Palacký University Medical School, I.P. Pavlova 6, 775 20 Olomouc, Czech Republic. dolezelm@email.cz.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Holečková
authors.forename: Lenka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Krčmová
authors.forename: Jiří
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Létal
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Svobodník
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kalábová
authors.forename: Markéta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kašparová
authors.forename: Jiří
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Plíšek
authors.forename: Miloslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pála
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vítek
authors.forename: Dagmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Solichová
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zezulová
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Študentová
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Doležel
authors.forename: Bohuslav
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Melichar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000652:urine*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019798:Neopterin / Q000652:urine*; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D019798:Neopterin
keywords: Head and neck carcinoma; neopterin; radiotherapy; toxicity