BACKGROUND Cisplatin is used in cancer therapy, but its side effects and acquired resistance to cisplatin have led to the synthesis and evaluation of new platinum compounds. Recently, the synthesized platinum compound trans-[PtCl2(3-Hmpy)2] (3-Hmpy = 3-hydroxymethylpyridine) (compound 2) showed a considerable cytotoxic and antitumour effectiveness. To improve compound 2 cytotoxicity in vitro an...

The effects of combination chemotherapy with 5FU and BCNU on rats with dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colon cancer were investigated in a long term survival study. Eighty Wistar rats received a colon cancer producing regimen on DMH (40 mg/kg body weight/week, subcutaneously for 10 weeks). After presenting with signs of colonic disease, all rats underwent diagnostic laparotomy and colonoscopy w...

There has been considerable debate about the relationship between epilepsy and cancer, in particular whether the incidence of cancer is increased in people with epilepsy and whether antiepileptic drugs promote or protect against cancer. We review available evidence from animal experiments, genotoxicity studies and clinico-epidemiological observations, and discuss proposed mechanisms underlying ...

OBJECTIVE Neuroblastoma has one of the lowest survival rates of all childhood cancers, despite the use of intensive treatment regimens. Preclinical models of neuroblastoma are essential for testing new multimodality protocols, including those that involve radiotherapy (RT). The aim of this study was to develop a robust method for RT planning and tumour response monitoring based on combined MRI ...

Ochratoxins are a group of mycotoxins produced by a variety of moulds. Ochratoxin A (OTA), the most prominent member of this toxin family, was first described by van der Merwe et al. in Nature in 1965. Dietary exposure to OTA represents a serious health issue and has been associated with several human and animal diseases including poultry ochratoxicosis, porcine nephropathy, human endemic nephr...

Radiation therapy for malignant tumours in the head and neck region are inevitably associated with significant long-term injury to the salivary glands, often resulting in salivary gland hypofunction. The subsequent lack of saliva production leads to many functional and quality-of-life problems for affected patients and there is no effective method to eliminating this problem caused by radiation...

Photodynamic sensitizers are drugs activated by light of a specific wavelength and are used in the photodynamic therapy (PDT) of certain diseases. Second- and third-generation photosensitizers with improved PDT properties are now under investigation. In this issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology, Leung et al. have described the synthesis and investigation of a second-generation photosens...

The main subject of the work presented in this thesis is the further development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a non-invasive method of investigating tumour microcirculation. Two different MR techniques were used: dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE)-MRI and Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD)-MRI. Intravital microscopy was used to help interpret BOLD-MRI results. The ultimate aims were to ...

The effects of combination chemotherapy with 5FU and BCNU on rats with dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colon cancer were investigated in a long term survival study. Eighty Wistar rats received a colon cancer producing regimen on DMH (40 mg/kg body weight/week, subcutaneously for 10 weeks). After presenting with signs of colonic disease, all rats underwent diagnostic laparotomy and colonoscopy w...

Chronic ingestion of bracken fern (Pteridium spp.) by cattle produces upper alimentary tract and urinary bladder tumours causing a syndrome called bovine enzootic haematuria (BEH). Previous studies demonstrated ptaquiloside-DNA adducts and mutations in the h-ras gene in ileal epithelial cells of bracken fern-fed calves. Systematic inspection of the bladder mucosa of grazing cattle (n=126) from ...