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Tumour uptake of 11C-thymidine labeled in the methyl position was assessed after intravenous injection in 13 patients with head and neck tumours. This activity was compared to other tracers such as C15O, 13NH3 and C15O2. In every single case a 'positive' tumour image after injection of 11C-thymidine was obtained. Time-activity curves showed the initial activity to be followed by a rapid decrease over the first 10-15 min with an apparent plateau thereafter. A similar level of uptake was found in normal salivary gland regions and myocardium, while higher activities were noted in liver and kidney parenchyma. It is suggested that both blood flow and cellular metabolism can influence 11C-thymidine imaging in this class of human tumours.

By immunohistochemical staining C-erbB-2 (neu) oncogene was found on the cell membrane in 19 out of 44 primary breast cancers from a pathology archive. No obvious relation was found between neu oncogene, age, and lymph node status and tumor size. There was a tendency towards smaller primary tumors and more estrogen receptor-negative tumors in the oncogene-positive group. No case of distant metastasis during follow-up was found among the oncogene-negative patients, while 6 oncogene-positive patients developed such metastases. This suggests that the neu oncogene is an independent prognostic factor, which might predict the development of distant metastasis. Further studies including more patients and long-term survival analysis are, however, needed in order to evaluate the prognostic significance of the neu oncogene.