Any significant change in the pharmacokinetics of an anticancer drug would have a bearing on its therapeutic efficacy and toxicity. Nutritional deficiencies have been shown to affect the pharmacokinetics of a drug. Since malnutrition and undernutrition are widely prevalent in India, the effect of initial nutritional status on the overall kinetics of methotrexate (MTX) administered to cancer patients appeared to be of practical importance. A study of 6 Indian children with malignancies was made to examine the pharmacokinetics of low dose MTX and its relationship to the nutritional status. The results indicate that the relative weight correlates well with the anthropometric parameters, nutritional parameters and dietary intake and may be used as a marker of nutritional status.
Sun-dried Mangalore betel nut extracts in water and in DMSO, and sun-cured Vadakkan tobacco extract in DMSO, were tested for their carcinogenic potency. Inbred Swiss and C17 mice and golden hamsters were used for the experiments. Control animals treated with either DMSO or water did not show any changes at the sites of administration. On subcutaneous administration of betel nut extract, 60% of Swiss mice developed transplantable fibrosarcomas at the site of injection. Skin application of DMSO extracts of tobacco and of betel nut separately did not result in skin lesions in C17 mice; but when a mixed DMSO extract of tobacco and betel nut was used, skin papilloma and epidermoid carcinoma developed in some animals. Similarly, hamster cheek pouches painted with a DMSO extract of tobacco alone did not develop malignant atypia whereas those painted with a DMSO extract of betel nut showed early malignant changes. DMSO extract of a mixture of tobacco and betel nut positively increased the incidence of early malignant changes in the hamster cheek pouch, indicating the enhancing effect of betel nut in carcinogenesis.
The toxicity of folic acid (PGA) was studied in different inbred strains of mice. LD50 values of PGA by the i.p. route showed a unique toxicity pattern. In some strains, convulsions, ataxia and weakness were observed. Histopathological study in strains S/RVCri, BDF1, DBA/2 and DBA/2fNCri showed acute renal tubular necrosis.
The results of the present study indicate that cancer and its treatment did not have any long-lasting effect on serum albumin, total cholesterol, retinol, zinc and hemoglobin. Majority of subjects had low serum retinol suggestive of depleted liver reserves. The deficient serum retinol levels (< than 0.6989 micromol/l, or 20 microg/dl) in at least 75% of the patients and controls probably reflect poor dietary intake. A higher percentage of patients with low serum retinol levels may also be attributed to the possibility of urinary losses of retinol that occur during episodes of infection while on immunosuppressive anti-cancer drug therapy.
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