Abstract
Background
Prior to surgery, UFT [combination of 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil (tegafur) and uracil in a 1∶4 molar ratio] was orally administered to 32 patients with cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. During the operation the amount of 5-fluorouracil (5FU) concentration in the RNA (F-RNA) was mesured in normal and tumor tissues. Simultaneously, the 5FU concentration and thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibition rates were determined.
Methods
F-RNA was measured using the gas chromatography-mass fragmentography (GCMF) method.
Results
The 5FU concentration in the tumor tissue was significantly higher than in the normal tissue [0.131 μg/g vs. 0.036 μg/g (colorectal cancer)]. The TS inhibition rate in the tumor tissues was significantly higher than in the normal tissues [47.9% vs. 36.1% (stomach cancer)]. The F-RNA in the normal and tumor tissue was 0.106 and 0.137 μg/mg RNA, respectively (stomach cancer). A positive correlation was noted between the 5FU concentration and F-RNA, but not between the TS inhibition rate and F-RNA (colorectal cancer).
Conclusion
As an index of the antitumor effect of 5FU agents the TS inhibition rate and F-RNA were independent factors in this study.
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Seo, Y., Matsuoka, H., Kohnoe, S. et al. The significance of measuring RNA 5-fluorouracil content in gastrointestinal tract tumors after oral administration of UFT. Int J Clin Oncol 1, 109–112 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02348276
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02348276