Direct and fast determination of paclitaxel, morphine and codeine in urine by micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

A micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method was developed for the determination of paclitaxel, morphine and codeine in human urine from patients under cancer treatment. The background electrolyte consisted of a borate buffer (pH 9.2; 20 mM) with sodium dodecyl sulfate (60 mM) and 5% MeOH. The applied voltage was 25 kV, temperature was 20 °C and the sample injection was performed in the hydrodynamic mode. All analyses were carried out in a fused silica capillary with an internal diameter of 75 µm and a total length of 57 cm. The detection of target compounds was performed at 212 nm. Under these conditions, a complete separation of paclitaxel, morphine and codeine was achieved in less than 15 min. According to the validation study, the developed method was proved to be accurate, precise, sensitive, specific, rugged and robust. This method was applied to the analysis of six urines samples from different cancer patients undergoing treatment with paclitaxel or/and codeine. In all the urine paclitaxel determination were done.

Uterine leiomyomas: cytogenetic and histologic profile.

OBJECTIVE: The main purpose of this study was to determine whether there is any correlation between the cytogenetic abnormalities and histology in uterine leiomyomas. METHODS: A total of 93 benign uterine leiomyomas were included in the study. The majority (88 of 93) were classified as typical benign leiomyomas, four as cellular, and one as atypical symplastic. RESULTS: A normal chromosome complement (46,XX) was observed in approximately 50% of the cases (41 of 93). Seventeen leiomyomas did not grow sufficiently in culture to yield cells for chromosome analyses. Of the 35 cases with clonal abnormalities, 28 could be divided into four major subgroups, each representing one of the most common abnormalities observed, such as those of chromosomes 1, 7, and 13, and t(12;14). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that approximately 50% of leiomyomas show clonal abnormalities, which can be subdivided into four different major categories; four of five (80%) of the atypical leiomyomas showed clonal chromosome abnormalities, which in one case were complex. The results indicate that different specific chromosome abnormalities may characterize the same tumor type.

Oncogene amplification in breast cancer.

To refine the analysis of gene amplification in breast cancer, the authors have developed sensitive methods that can be used to screen nucleic acid prepared from a variety of sources. In their analysis, Southern hybridization and DNA dot-blot analysis were used to screen 49 breast cancer DNAs for Myc, Neu, and Int-2 gene amplification. The analysis detected minimal one extra gene copy) as well as expanded (two or more extra gene copies) gene amplifications, and in addition, distinguished between gene amplification and aneuploidy as the cause of extra gene copies. These quantitative methods were adapted to patient specimens routinely available in the anatomic pathology laboratory, including fresh tumor tissue, tumor nuclei discarded during estrogen receptor analysis, and paraffin blocks. One minimal gene amplification was found in three cases of intraductal cancer. Of 25 cases of nonmetastatic invasive cancer, 28% had at least one extra Myc gene, whereas 24% had Neu, and 21% had Int-2 gene amplification. Of 21 cases of metastatic invasive cancer, 43% had Myc, 43% had Neu, and 40% had Int-2 gene amplification. Among the nonmetastatic cancers, 47% had one, 12% had two, and 4% had three amplified genes. Within the metastatic cancers, 48% had one, 28% had two, and 5% had three amplified genes. Our data suggest relationships between tumor progression and both incidence and size of Myc, Neu, and Int-2 gene amplification.