Critical evaluation of the tetracycline fluorescence test in the diagnosis of gastric carcinoma.

Exfoliative cytology is a useful tool in the differential diagnosis of gastric lesions. The simplified method developed by Klinger and Katz(4) using tetracycline fluorescence was subjected to a critical evaluation. Five cases of gastric carcinoma, two of esophageal carcinoma, 21 of benign peptic ulcer, one case of carcinoma eroding into the bile duct, one case of carcinoma of the pancreas penetrating into the stomach, five normal controls on no medication and two normal controls taking vitamin B(2) were studied. The most apparent drawback of this technique is the number of false negatives encountered in cases of gastric carcinoma (three negative results in five cases of carcinoma). One false-positive test was recorded among 21 patients with benign ulcer. Vitamin B(2) if taken a half hour prior to the test will also produce a false-positive test. It is concluded, therefore, that the tetracycline fluorescence test is inferior to accurate studies of exfoliative cytology.