Relationship between excretion of 51Cr-EDTA and mucositis in patients with 5-FU based chemotherapy

Choi, Kwon; Choi, Hyo Sun; Kim, Young Choon; Kim, Jeong Wook; Oh, Suk Joong; Jeon, Woo Kyu; Kim, Eun Jeong; Shin, Myong Suk; Lee, Seung Sei

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Administration of anticancer drugs may damage gastrointestinal epithelium, thereby increasing the permeability of the gastrointestinal mucosa. It is known that intestinal permeability test using 51Cr-EDTA is a useful test to assess the damage of intestine. The aim of this study was to evaluate intestinal permeability in patients who were treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) based chemotherapy and to evaluate the relationship between the excretion of 51Cr-EDTA and the grading of mucositis.
METHODS
Twenty eight patients who were treated with 5-FU based chemotherapy were chosen as study cases while 18 healthy volunteers as controls. Intestinal permeability was assessed by measurement of the urinary excretion of 51Cr-EDTA after oral challenge, and the National Cancer Institute common toxicity criteria were used for assessing oral mucositis.
RESULTS
All except 3 patients in the chemotherapy group experienced grade 1~3 stomatitis. The median value of intestinal permeability test was significantly higher in the chemotherapy group than in control group (7.61%, range 2.10-22.92 vs 2.17%, range 1.16-2.76, respectively, p<0.001). The grading of oral mucositis did correlate with the urinary excretion of 51Cr-EDTA (p<0.001, r=0.867).
CONCLUSIONS
The measurement of 51Cr-EDTA excretion after oral challenge may be a useful test for evaluating the intestinal permeability by chemotherapy induced intestinal mucosal damage. Testing of intestinal permeability using 51Cr-EDTA may be applicable to evaluate the effect of therapeutic trials in patients with chemotherapy induced mucositis.