Basal Gastric Secretions

Abstract

YELLOW-ORANGE FLUORESCENCE of gastric lavage sediment under ultraviolet light, after the prior administration of tetracycline, has been reported to be a reliable indicator of the presence of gastric carcinoma. The accuracy of this test has been scrutinized in a clinical study extending over 8 months. As one phase of this study, basal gastric secretions from 48 patients were examined without the prior administration of tetracycline. Frequent false positives in this control group throw doubt on the validity of the procedure. Evolution of the Tetracycline Fluorescence Test Drugs of the tetracycline family fluoresce yellow-orange under ultraviolet light and are thus detectable in tissues after systemic administration. Rail and his co-workers 1 in 1957 noted that (1) all normal tissue (except bone) loses tetracycline-induced fluorescence 24 hours after the administration of the drug is discontinued, and (2) cancer tissue retains tetracycline fluorescence for longer periods. Implicit in the subsequent work of McLeay, 2 Phillips and his collaborators, 3 and Vassar and coworkers 4 was the hope that tetracycline fluorescence could serve to (1) differentiate a benign from