Chromosome aberrations in lymphocytes from patients exposed to thorium dioxide

Thorotrast granuloma of the neck with local complications

A case of cervical granuloma with involvement of the right vocal cord is reported. The cause of the granuloma was traced to thorium dioxide contrast medium which had escaped into the surrounding tissues during arteriography performed 40 years before. The long-term toxic effects of thorium-232 irradiation and the local complications which may follow an injection of this medium are discussed.

Thorotrast-induced haemangioendothelial sarcoma--a lesson from the past

Complications following a carotid arteriogram done in 1947 with Thorotrast are described in a 47-year-old man who subsequently died from them in 1970. They included a local cervical granuloma with associated haemangioendothelial sarcoma, chromosome changes characteristic of radiation damage and widespread haemangioendothelial sarcomatous deposits in brain, lung, liver, probably arising from multicentric primary sites in the bone marrow. A survey of the use of Thorotrast as a contrast medium in Australia and New Zealand showed that its use was extremely limited. The prinicpal complications seen have been two cervical granulomas and one hepatoma.