Founded in 1993
  Year: 2000 | Volume: 8 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 161-163
  Original Article
  A NOVEL METHOD FOR MONITORING PATIENTS WITH SUPERFICIAL BLADDER TUMORS WHICH ARE UNDER INTRAVESICAL IFNalfa-2b INSTALATION
John VAKALIKOS, Dimitrios RADOPOULOS, Alexander H. KORTSARIS, Grammati GALAKTIDOU, Vasiliki VALLA, Nikolaos DIMASIS, Athanasios KALINDERIS
  DOI:
  Abstract:
  Background: Transitional cell bladder tumors are common and they have rising incidence. Most of them appear, at the beginning, as superficial ones. Superficial bladder tumors, despite the favorable prognosis will recur in 70% of the cases within 36 months after the transurethral resection (TUR) if no additional treatment with intravesical instillation is administered. Recurrences increase the risk of disease progression and the appearance of infiltratory tumors. Among the various instillation protocols active worldwide, interferon-alfa-2b (INTRON) has been used and many studies report encouraging results, thus establishing it as a potent agent for intravesical instillation therapy.
Materials and Methods: The measurement of 2'5'oligo(A)synthetase was estimated by following the conversion of 3H-labelled ATP to adenosine oligomers as previously described by the authors. Frozen tissues from bladder biopsies were used as source obtained from more than thirty patients who were enrolled in the protocol.
Results: The most important finding of our observations is the excellent correlation between the induction of 2'5'oligo(A)synthetase and the response to the therapy. Ninety percent of the responders have increased level of the enzyme. No difference was observed in comparison to patients that received combined therapy with IFNalfa-2b, plus epirubicin. The control values of the enzyme are increased in comparison with the levels of the enzyme in other tissues.
Conclusion: The results of the induction of 2'5'oligo(A)synthetase could be used as a novel reliable marker for monitoring patients with superficial bladder tumors which are under a protocol with IFNalfa-2b instillation.
  Key words: 2'5'oligo(A)synthetase; Bladder cancer; IFNalfa
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Founder and owner: Oncology Institute of Vojvodina, Serbia
Publisher: Oncology Institute of Vojvodina
Co-publisher: Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad
Online since 1997 (Abstracts only); 2000 (Abstracts and Full text)
ISSN: 0354-7310 eISSN: 1450-9520