and Gynaecology, their main components (follicles, corpus luteum, and tumor) and, where possible, King's College School of Medicine and Deninto areas of high blood velocity according to the results of color Doppler imaging. tistry, London, United Kingdom.
The concentration of thymidine phosphorylase was measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
RESULTS.
Thirty-eight tissue aliquots (16 from normal ovaries and 22 from ovarian tumors) were obtained from 33 patients. Twenty-nine tissue samples (76%) came from areas of measurable (high) blood velocity. The concentration of thymidine phosphorylase was significantly higher in tissue associated with high blood velocity (median 17.9, range 1.8-78.3 units per mg of protein vs. median 6.8, range 1.3-24.7 units per mg of protein, respectively; P õ 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). All of 8 corpora lutea, 12 of 14 benign tumors, and 7 of 7 malignant tumors had measurable blood velocity. There was a significant correlation between the concentration of thymidine phosphorylase and the peak systolic velocity in benign tumors (correlation coefficient [r] Å 0.79, P õ 0.01) and malignant tumors (r Å 0.87, P õ 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS.
High intratumoral peak systolic velocity as determined by transvaginal color Doppler imaging and spectral analysis reflects high production of thymidine phosphorylase. This finding may aid the development of antivascular therapy for patients with ovarian carcinoma.