In studying the effects of cytostatic drugs on intestinal function, the use of experimental animals is indispensable. Only they permit a detailed analysis of the entire organ in time, allowing each study of each phase of the disease. This would be both unethical and technically very difficult to perform in biopsies of human patients, especially in cancer patients who are already suffering from both disease and treatment. In our studies, the rat was chosen as a model, because of the similarities to humans in intestinal physiology and the availability of techniques and tools. In this thesis, attention was focussed on the absorptive and defensive functions of the intestine during damage and regeneration induced by the cytostatic drug methotrexate (MTX). MTX was chosen among the various cytostatic drugs available, because of the considerable knowledge about its pharmacology and its way of action in humans and animal species. As folic acid analogue, MTX directly seizes the proliferative machinery of the intestine, thereby disturbing the normal cell turnover of the epithelium.

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Erasmus University Rotterdam
H.A. Büller (Hans)
hdl.handle.net/1765/51332
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

Verburg, M. (2003, June 25). The intestine under stress : effects of chemotherapy on the intestinal epithelium. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/51332