Effect of mitomycin‐C on the bioavailability of the radiopharmaceutical 99mtechnetium–phytic acid in mice: a model to evaluate the toxicological effect of a chemical drug

The many desirable characteristics of technetium-99m (99mTc) have stimulated the development of labelling techniques for different molecular and cellular structures. It is generally accepted that a variety of factors can alter the biodistribution of radiopharmaceuticals and one such factor is drug therapy. Because patients on chemotherapeutic treatment receive a radiopharmaceutical in a nuclear medicine procedure, we have studied in Balb/c mice the effect of mitomycin-C on the biodistribution of the radiopharmaceutical 99mTc-phytic acid (99mTc-PHY) used in hepatic scintigraphy. Mitomycin-C is an antineoplastic agent obtained from Streptomyces caesptosus and is used on the treatment of disseminated adenocarcinoma of the stomach or pancreas. Three doses of mitomycin-C were administered via the ocular plexus into Balb/c mice. One hour after the last dose, 99mTc-PHY was administered and the animals were sacrificed. The organs were isolated, the radioactivity was determined in a well counter and the percentages of radioactivity in the organs were calculated. The results have shown that the percentage radioactivity has been increased in stomach, spleen, lung, thyroid and bone, decreased in pancreas and thymus and not altered in ovary, uterus, kidney, heart, liver and brain. The changes in the distribution of 99mTc-PHY may be the result of metabolic processes and/or therapeutic actions produced by the administration of mitomycin-C. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.