HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Goodwin, D. A. Articles by Fawcett, H. D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Goodwin, D. A. Articles by Fawcett, H. D.

Clinical Studies with In-111 BLEDTA, a Tumor-Imaging Conjugate of Bleomycin with a Bifunctional Chelating Agent

Veterans Administration Medical Center and Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California
University of California, Davis, California

Correspondence: For reprints contact: David A. Goodwin, MD, Nuclear Medicine Service, VA Med. Ctr., 3801 Miranda Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94304.

ABSTRACT

Indium-111 BLEDTA, a bleomycin analog containing an EDTA group, was used for tumor imaging in 110 patients with cancer. Scans with in-111 BLEDTA agreed with biopsy results in 75 of 95 patients (79 % accuracy). A positive scan was obtained in 71 of 88 patients with a positive biopsy (81% sensitivity). In 21 of 95 patients (22% ), the scan revealed tumor sites that had not been detected. The main limitation to visualization was the size of the tumor (1.5–2.0 cm diameter was the smallest size seen). Background radioactivity in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow also made tumor detection in these areas more difficult. The cause of this background, and of false-positive uptake in sites of inflammation, is correlated with specific radiolabeling of polymorphonuclear leukocytes by in-111 BLEDTA. Means of eliminating this background are discussed.