DEB-DOX results, with high rates of 5-year survival for patients, not amenable to curative treatments. Number of lesions, lesion vascularity, and local response were significant independent determinants of 5-year survival.

The blood–brain barrier is a major obstacle for the chemotherapeutic drugs to effectively reach primary or secondary brain tumours. Stealth® liposomal drugs are highly accumulated in tumoural tissues. In the present study we investigated the relative accumulation of99mTc-DTPA radiolabelled stealth® liposomal doxorubicin (Caelyx®) in 10 patients with metastatic brain tumours and five patients with brain glioblastoma undergoing radiotherapy. Patients with metastatic brain lesions were treated with 10 consecutive fractions of radiotherapy (whole brain, 3 Gy/fraction, day 1–12) followed by a booster dose of 9 Gy (3 Gy/fraction, day 21–23). Caelyx®, at a dose of 25 mg mg–2was given on day 1 and on day 21. Radiolabelled Caelyx® accumulation was 13–19 times higher in the glioblastomas and 7–13 times higher in the metastatic lesions, as compared to the normal brain. The drug accumulation in the tumoural areas was 40–60% of the accumulation in the bone marrow of the skull bones. The normal brain radioactivity was <4% of the bone marrow, confirming an important shielding effect of the blood–brain barrier in the normal but not in the tumoural tissue. Four of 10 patients with metastatic lesions showed a complete response in CT-scan performed 2 months following therapy. There was no severe toxicity related to radiotherapy or to chemotherapy noted. It is concluded that stealth® liposomal drugs selectively overcome the blood–brain barrier in the tumoural areas. The clinical importance of this observation is now under investigation. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign

HASTE (Half fourier Single-shot Turbo spin-Echo) is a single-section T2-weighted sequence that acquires images in less than 1 second. Images are breathing independent and possess a variety of other features useful for imaging the abdomen. The design of this technique is described. Clinical studies of 38 consecutive patients were performed using this technique. HASTE images were considered good in 28 and fair in 10 patients, including five patients who could not suspend respiration. Definition of liver and bowel was particularly clear.

Purpose:To evaluate the usefulness of a time-efficient MRI method for the quantitative determination of tissue iron in the liver and heart of ␤-thalassemic patients using spinspin relaxation rate, R2, measurements. Materials and Methods:Images were obtained at 1.5 T from aqueous Gd-DTPA solutions (0.106 -8 mM) and from the liver and heart of 46 ␤-thalassemic patients and 10 controls. The imaging sequence used was a respiratorytriggered 16-echo Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) spinecho (SE) pulse sequence (TR ϭ 2000 msec, TE min ϭ 5 msec, echo spacing (ES) ϭ 5 msec, matrix ϭ 192 ϫ 256, slice thickness ϭ 10 mm). Liver iron concentration (LIC) measurements were obtained for 22 patients through biopsy specimens excised from the relevant liver segment. Biopsy specimens were also evaluated regarding iron grade and fibrosis. Serum ferritin (SF) measurements were obtained in all patients.Results: A statistically significant difference was found between patients and healthy controls in mean liver (P Ͻ 0.004) and myocardium (P Ͻ 0.004) R2 values. The R2 values correlated well with Gd DTPA concentration (r ϭ 0.996, P Ͻ 0.0001) and LIC (r ϭ 0.874, P Ͻ 0.0001). A less significant relationship (r ϭ 0.791, P Ͻ 0.0001) was found between LIC measurements and SF levels. R2 measurements appear to be significantly affected (P ϭ 0.04) by different degrees of hepatic fibrosis. The patients' liver R2 values did not correlate with myocardial R2 values (r ϭ 0.038, P Ͻ 0.21). Conclusion:Tissue iron deposition in ␤-thalassemic patients may be adequately quantified using R2 measurements obtained with a 16-echo MRI sequence with short ES (5 msec), even in patients with a relatively increased iron burden.

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