germanium and Lung-Neoplasms

One hundred forty-four patients with non-small cell lung cancer, the majority (72%) of whom had received previous chemotherapy, were evaluable in this randomized phase II study of N-methylformamide (N-MF), spirogermanium, and 4-demethoxydaunorubicin. There were two partial responses, one each with spirogermanium and 4-demethoxydaunorubicin. There were eight life-threatening complications (mostly hematologic) and two lethal complications (N-MF, hematologic; 4-demethoxydaunorubicin, gastrointestinal). The overall survival ranged from 9 days to 533 days with a median of 17.6 weeks. The following factors were associated with poor survival: Poor initial performance status, prior weight loss, presence of liver or subcutaneous metastases.

Topics: Aged; Antineoplastic Agents; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; Drug Evaluation; Female; Formamides; Germanium; Humans; Idarubicin; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Middle Aged; Organometallic Compounds; Prognosis; Random Allocation; Remission Induction; Spiro Compounds

Germanium is present in all living plant and animal matter in micro-trace quantities. Its therapeutic attributes include immuno-enhancement, oxygen enrichment, free radical scavenging, analgesia and heavy metal detoxification. Toxicological studies document Germanium's rapid absorption and elimination from the body, and its safety. Clinical trials and use in private practices for more than a decade have demonstrated Germanium's efficacy in treating a wide range of serious afflictions, including cancer, arthritis and senile osteoporosis. Germanium's anti-viral and immunological properties, including the induction of interferon, macrophages, T-suppressor cells and augmentation of natural killer cell activity, suggest its possible efficacy in treating and/or preventing AIDS.

Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Arthritis; Clinical Trials as Topic; Female; Germanium; Humans; Leukemia, Experimental; Lung Neoplasms; Lymphoproliferative Disorders; Malaria; Organometallic Compounds; Osteoporosis; Ovarian Neoplasms; Spiro Compounds

The assessment of dose and ultimately the health risk from intakes of radioactive materials begins with estimating the amount actually taken into the body. An accurate estimate provides the basis to best assess the distribution in the body, the resulting dose and ultimately the health risk. This study continues the time-honoured practice of evaluating the accuracy of results obtained using in vivo measurement methods and techniques. Results from the radiochemical analyses of the (241)Am activity content of tissues and organs from four donors to the United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR) were compared with the results from direct measurements of radioactive material in the body performed in vivo and post-mortem. Two were whole-body donations and two were partial-body donations. The (241)Am lung activity estimates ranged from 1 to 30 Bq in the four cases. The (241)Am activity in the lungs determined from the direct measurements were within 40% of the radiochemistry results in three cases and within a factor of 2 for the other case. However, in one case the post-mortem direct measurement estimate was a factor of 10 higher than the radiochemistry result for lung activity, most probably due to underestimating the skeletal contribution to the measured count rate over the lungs. The direct measurement estimates of liver activity ranged from 2 to 60 Bq and were consistently lower than the radiochemistry results. The skeleton was the organ with the highest deposition of (241)Am activity in all four cases. The skeletal activity estimates ranged from 30 to 300 Bq. The skeletal activity obtained from measurements over the forehead were within 20% of the radiochemistry results in three cases and differed by 78% in the other case. The results from this study suggest that the measurement methods, data analysis methods and calibration techniques used at the In Vivo Radiobioassay and Research Facility can be used to quantify the activity in the lungs, skeleton and liver when (241)Am activity is present in all three organs. The adjustment method used to account for the contribution from activity in other organs improved the agreement between the direct measurement results and the radiochemistry results for activity in the lungs and skeleton. The method appeared to overestimate the contribution from the other organs to the liver activity measurements, although the low activity levels complicated the analysis. The unadjusted liver activity estimates from t

Topics: Acute Disease; Adult; Aged, 80 and over; Americium; Autopsy; Body Burden; Bone and Bones; Cadaver; Germanium; Humans; Liver; Lung; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Mitral Valve; Myocardial Infarction; Plutonium; Prostatic Neoplasms; Radiochemistry; Tissue Distribution; Tissue Donors; Young Adult

Transmission (Tx) scans are used in PET for attenuation correction (AC). For standalone PET this is typically done using Ge-68/Ga-68 sources, for PET-CT using CT. Therefore, standalone PET suffers from emission contamination during Tx scans, PET-CT does not. Here, we studied the effects of AC across the two systems. With a cylindrical phantom (Jaszczak Phantom, Data Spectrum Corp.) with hollow spheres (diameter 10-60 mm) two studies were performed. In the first study the hollow spheres were filled with 150 kBq/ml FDG and the background with 15 kBq/ml. In the second study we used 120 kBq/ml in the spheres and 50 kBq/ml in the background. Both a low and a high object-to-background ratio are studied this way. Multiple scans were acquired on a standalone PET and a PET-CT until 1% of the initial concentration remained. Activity concentration in the spheres and background was measured from the reconstructed images and compared to the actual concentration. For standalone PET, emission scans were reconstructed using hot Tx (emission contaminated) and cold Tx (not contaminated). Uniformity within the spheres was investigated by profile analysis. For PET-CT, the concentration in the big spheres (> 16 mm) was recovered. For the smaller spheres, recovery was insufficient due to partial volume effects. For standalone PET the recoveries of the spheres (> 16 mm) were 20% (first study) and 13% (second study) lower than the actual concentration. Using hot Tx, underestimation of activity concentration was up to > 50%. Nonuniformities within the biggest spheres were up to 35%, 12%, and 5% (first study), using standalone PET with hot Tx, cold Tx, and using PET-CT, respectively. Due to contamination of AC by emission photons, standalone PET results in a bias in the activity concentration and uniformity. Especially when patients get follow-up PET scans on both standalone PET and PET-CT, this may lead to misinterpretation.

Topics: Algorithms; Germanium; Humans; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Phantoms, Imaging; Photons; Positron-Emission Tomography; Radioisotopes; Time Factors; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Complementary Therapies; Germanium; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Self Medication

Spindle cell carcinoma (SCC) is a rare form of lung cancer representing 0.2 to 0.3% of all primary pulmonary malignancies. Even with combined surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, these tumors are associated with a poor prognosis and only 10% of patients survive 2 years after diagnosis. We describe a patient with an unresectable SCC who, following no response to conventional treatment with combined modality therapy, chose to medicate herself with daily doses of germanium obtained in a health food store. She noted prompt symptomatic improvement and remains clinically and radiographically free of disease 42 months after starting her alternative therapy.

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Carcinoma; Complementary Therapies; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Germanium; Humans; Lung; Lung Neoplasms; Middle Aged; Self Medication; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

We tried to correct the partial volume effect for pulmonary mass lesions using a 68Ga/68Ge transmission scan. Initially, a fundamental study was done using spherical phantoms and good results were obtained. Next, a clinical evaluation was performed on 28 pulmonary mass lesions ranging in diameter from 0.8 cm to 8.0 cm. The tissue fractions of the mass lesions were obtained by a 68Ga/68Ge transmission scan, where the tissue fraction in the back muscles was assumed to have a value of 1. The tissue fraction of the surrounding lung field was subtracted from that of each mass lesions, and the net tissue fraction was thereby obtained. When no correction was required, the tumor/muscle count ratio (TMR) became higher in proportion with an increase in the mass size. After performing a correction, however, no correlation was observed between them. This method was both easy to perform and reliable, and it is thus considered to be useful for overcoming the partial volume effect in pulmonary mass lesions, although an underestimation may still occur in cases with mass lesions either near the great vessels or the chest wall.

Topics: Gallium Radioisotopes; Germanium; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Models, Structural; Radioisotopes; Tomography, Emission-Computed

The antitumor effect of combination immunochemotherapy with Ge-132 and antitumor agent was studied using C57BL/6 mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL). Ge-132 was administered orally at a daily dose of 100 mg/kg. Antitumor agents were administered intraperitoneally once a week. Initially, the effect of combination immunochemotherapy with Ge-132 and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was studied on 3LL local tumor growth, pulmonary metastases, survival, delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) and body weight in tumor-bearing mice, and the following results were obtained: Inhibition of tumor growth in the combined group; Enhanced anti-metastatic effect; Prolonged survival time, and; Recovery of loss of both DTH and body weight as a result of combination therapy. These antitumor effects were also obtained by adoptive transfer of Ge-132-stimulated splenocytes in 5-FU-treated mice bearing 3LL. These results therefore suggest that the effects of Ge-132 were expressed through modification of immunocytes. Furthermore, Ge-132 enhanced the antitumor activity of bleomycin as well as that of 5-FU. These facts suggested that Ge-132 is useful for antitumor combination immunochemotherapy.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Bleomycin; Fluorouracil; Germanium; Hypersensitivity, Delayed; Lung Neoplasms; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Organometallic Compounds; Propionates

Topics: Adenocarcinoma; Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Agents; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Drug Evaluation; Female; Germanium; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Organometallic Compounds; Spiro Compounds

The effects of two novel organic germanium compounds, 1-phenyl-2-carbamoylethylgermanium sesquisulfide (PCAGeS) and 1-phenyl-2-carbamoylethylgermanium sequioxide (PCAGeO), on transplantable murine tumors and immune responses were studied. Both drugs showed low toxicity for mice. In culture, neither substance displayed significant cytotoxicity against murine tumor cells L1210 leukemia, L5178Y lymphoma, or IMC carcinoma. Growth of subcutaneously transplanted IMC carcinoma or Meth-A fibrosarcoma was markedly reduced by oral administration of PCAGeS. PCAGeO exhibited a similar but smaller effect on the tumor growth. Pulmonary metastasis of Lewis lung carcinoma was inhibited by oral or intraperitoneal treatment with PCAGeS. The activity of cyclophosphamide or Adriamycin against L1210 leukemia was significantly potentiated by oral administration of PCAGeS. PCAGeS enhanced the delayed-type hypersensitivity response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) of mice or restored the response suppressed by ascitic IMC carcinoma, but did not significantly affect the formation of antibody to SRBC. PCAGeO similarly stimulated the DTH reaction. Phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages was enhanced by oral treatment of mice with PCAGeS. The results suggest that PCAGeS and PCAGeO display tumor-inhibitory activity by modification of the immune mechanism.

Topics: Animals; Antibody Formation; Antineoplastic Agents; Cyclophosphamide; Doxorubicin; Drug Synergism; Female; Fibrosarcoma; Germanium; Hypersensitivity, Delayed; Leukemia L1210; Lung Neoplasms; Macrophages; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred DBA; Mice, Inbred ICR; Neoplasms, Experimental; Organometallic Compounds; Phagocytosis; Propionates

Effects of the organogermanium compound Ge-132 (i.p.) were examined on the 3LL local tumor (1 X 10(5)/mouse, s.c.) and its pulmonary metastases in B6 mice. A characteristic feature of its action was the preferential antimetastatic effect under strictly defined conditions. Either inhibition or facilitation was observed depending on the treatment schedules; 7 daily doses of 100 mg/kg yielded the inhibition ratio 49% when started from day 1, whereas the treatment from day 8 resulted in the ratio -99%. The maximum inhibition was obtained at 100 mg/kg. The postsurgical-adjuvant treatment with Ge-132 was of no beneficial effect. The local tumor growth was affected only marginally and temporarily. When inoculum size was minimized (1 X 10(4)), a single dose of 300 mg/kg on day 1, but not on day 8, was effective in prolonging the latency before tumor take. The antitumor action of Ge-132 was discussed with reference to its interferon (IFN)-inducing activity.

Topics: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Germanium; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neoplasm Transplantation; Neoplasms, Experimental; Organometallic Compounds; Propionates

The natural killer (NK) activity of peripheral blood lymphocytes from 18 cancer patients was studied prior to and after multiple administration of organo-germanium compound (Ge-132). In successive oral administration of Ge-132 at a dose of 1000 mg/day for 10 days, NK-activity of patients was augmented at 3 days, but by 10 days, depression of NK activity was observed in all cases. In intermittent oral administration of Ge-132, however, more than half of the patients with augmented NK activity at day 3 maintained the high activity level at day 10. This result suggests the superiority of intermittent administration of Ge-132 for clinical use.

Topics: Colonic Neoplasms; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; Germanium; Humans; Killer Cells, Natural; Lung Neoplasms; Organometallic Compounds; Propionates; Stomach Neoplasms

Topics: Adrenal Gland Neoplasms; Animals; Antimony; Arsenic; Cadmium; Chromates; Diet; Female; Fluorine; Germanium; Lead; Liver Neoplasms; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental; Neoplasms, Experimental; Niobium; Rats; Time Factors; Tin; Trace Elements; Zirconium