triiodothyronine--reverse and Sarcoma--Ewing

The concentrations of thyroid function determinants may change during severe illness. Our goal was to quantify their changes in children with cancer during chemotherapy, and to correlate them to clinical condition and type of drugs.. During a 3-month period all patients admitted for chemotherapy to the paediatric oncology ward were evaluated for inclusion. Patients with brain tumours, neuroblastoma (cranio)spinal irradiation and use of dexamethasone before the first blood sample were excluded.. Plasma concentrations of T4, T3, rT3, thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG), thyroglobulin (Tg), TSH, IGF-1, cortisol, PRL and physical well-being by means of questionnaires were measured before and during chemotherapy.. In 19 children, 46 courses of chemotherapy and 123 plasma samples were analysed. During chemotherapy, mean concentrations of TSH, T3, Tg and cortisol decreased to 53, 67, 69 and 15% of the baseline value, respectively. Mean plasma rT3 increased to 217% of baseline. In 87% of all courses, one or more thyroid parameter(s) was aberrant. Furthermore, in 23 samples (19%) from 10 patients (53%), the concentration of IGF-1 was below the reference value (adjusted for sex and age). Small changes were seen in scores for clinical condition but none was related to a change in thyroid function determinant. Most changes in thyroid hormones could be attributed to using dexamethasone.. These results demonstrate that, in children, thyroid hormone state changes significantly during chemotherapy, apparently not related to physical well-being but to the drugs administered. Future investigations should focus on the impact for patient care and possibilities of (preventive) intervention.

Topics: Adolescent; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Bone Neoplasms; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Glioma; Health Status; Humans; Hydrocortisone; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; Leukemia; Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell; Male; Neoplasms; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Prolactin; Rhabdomyosarcoma; Sarcoma, Ewing; Spinal Cord Neoplasms; Thyroglobulin; Thyroid Hormones; Thyrotropin; Thyroxine; Thyroxine-Binding Proteins; Triiodothyronine; Triiodothyronine, Reverse

Fetal thyroid hormone (RT3) is considered metabolically inactive and is present in high concentration in fetuses and in some patients with end-stage malignant disease. In a virus-induced erythroleukemia cell model, RT3 was found to stimulate the growth of the erythroleukemia cells in culture. The focus of this research was to test the effect of RT3, at several concentrations, on the growth of naturally occurring human sarcomas in cell culture. Cloned cell lines of Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and osteogenic sarcoma were grown in multiple flasks of serum-free medium containing varying concentrations of RT3, ranging from 10(-8)-10(-5) M. Cells grown in serum-free medium containing no RT3 were used as a control. RT3 significantly increased the growth (total protein) of the rhabdomyosarcoma cell line in culture at concentrations between 10(-8) and 10(-6) M, with the maximum effect at 10(-7) M. The growth of one cell line of Ewing sarcoma was not affected by RT3 for any of the concentrations tested. The growth of two Ewing sarcomas and one osteogenic sarcoma was significantly stimulated by RT3 but only at the highest concentration of 10(-5) M. The growth of the other osteogenic sarcoma cell line was significantly increased at concentrations of 10(-6) and 10(-7) M. The stimulatory effect of RT3 on several sarcoma cell lines in culture suggests the presence of a specific receptor in the neoplastic cells and the possibility that RT3 may be useful as a model for new chemotherapeutic agents.

Topics: Fetus; Humans; Osteosarcoma; Radioimmunoassay; Rhabdomyosarcoma; Sarcoma; Sarcoma, Ewing; Triiodothyronine, Reverse; Tumor Cells, Cultured