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Distribution of Radioactive and Nonradioactive Vitamin B₁₂ in Normal and Malignant Tissues of an Infant with Neuroblastoma¹

Hematology and Nutrition Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, New York, New York 10029

An infant with disseminated neuroblastoma was given radioactive vitamin B₁₂ 30, 21, and 9 days before he succumbed to the disease. The retention of radioactive vitamin B₁₂ was determined by scanning the external hepatic area for radioactivity. At autopsy, the organs and tumors were obtained, cleaned, and weighed, and either the whole organ or a section was taken for analysis. The normal and malignant tissues were assayed for radioactivity and microbiologically for vitamin B₁₂. Tumors associated with the liver, pancreas, and adrenals had considerably lower vitamin B₁₂ concentrations and radioactivity retention than did adjacent normal tissue. Two large mediastinal tumors were also uniformly low in vitamin B₁₂ concentration and radioactivity. Neuroblastoma cells can proliferate rapidly and presumably synthesize nucleic acids in the presence of low concentrations of vitamin B₁₂. Results of the assays also revealed that normal liver contained by far the highest vitamin B₁₂ concentration, the highest total vitamin B₁₂ content, and the greatest retention of radioactivity of the organs studied. The liver contained 82.6 and 80.8%, respectively, of the total vitamin B₁₂ and radioactivity recovered in the organs of the infant with neuroblastoma. The liver also contained 42% of the radioactive vitamin B₁₂ retained by the infant. The distribution of this vitamin among the organs of this child differed considerably from that in most laboratory animals.

¹ Supported by Grants AM-01778, NIAMD and HD-01162, NICHHD from the NIH, USPHS.

Received 2/25/71. Accepted 6/30/71.