Selective uptake of hematoporphyrin derivative into human cerebral glioma

Abstract

The uptake of hematoporphyrin derivative (HpD) into human cerebral glioma was measured using a porphyrin extraction technique. Patients with cerebral glioma were injected with HpD at a dose of 5 mg/kg body weight 24 hours before surgery and photoradiation therapy (PRT). Biopsies of tumor, and where possible, adjacent brain and normal brain were taken for analysis of HpD uptake. HpD was selectively localized into all grades of glioma, and there was a direct correlation between the grade of glioma and HpD level in the tumor. The levels were highest in glioblastoma multiforme (mean uptake of 5.9 μg of HpD/g of tumor wet weight) and lower in the intermediate-grade anaplastic astrocytoma (mean up..