MONITORING SUBSTRATE UPTAKE AND DISTRIBUTION BY TUMORS USING PERCUTANEOUS CATHETERS AND SOLID NUCLEAR TRACK DETECTORS

RATIONALE AND OBJECTlVES. This study was designed to test a new techni que for measuring intratumoral drug and substrate concentrations using a modified percutaneous catheter and solid nuclear track detectors. M ATERIAL AND METHODS. A nephrostomy catheter was modified to allow expo sure of the lumen of the catheter to adjacent tissue and placed percut aneously in a 4047 colon cancer growing in the flank of a Fischer 344 rat. Measurement of metabolite distribution was obtained using carbon- 14-labeled deoxy-d-glucose and multiple strips of CR-39 (a solid nucle ar track detector) placed sequentially in the catheter to measure the low energy beta emissions from the carbon-14. RESULTS. The administere d deoxy-d-glucose initially distributed to the vascularized rim of the tumor, but rapidly defused down concentration gradients into the necr otic core. CONCLUSION. The preliminary data suggest that this techniqu e is feasible. Further validation studies may show that this technique may allow for monitoring of temporal and spatial variations in the di stribution of drugs and metabolites within tumors.