Chemotherapy for Pulmonary Cancer: Clinical and Experimental Studies on Drug Sensitivity Test for Cultured Tumor Cell

Abstract

For the purpose of selecting effective drugs and eliminating side effect of non-effective agents in chemotherapy for pulmonary cancer, I have tried the drug sensitivity test by means of ³H-TdR uptake method for the primarily cultured cells of human pulmonary cancer and have evaluated the effect of clinical application. Moreover, with the intention of remedying a demerit of 3H-TdR uptake method, I have examined various in vitro assay of drug sensitivity test inclusive of ⁵¹Cr labeling method for in vitro cultured cells of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma and for primarily cultured cells of human pulmonary cancer.
The results are as follows:
1. The sensitivity for an t icancer drugs in in vitro assay of cultured human pulmonary cancer cells was different in same histological type group and the drug sensitivity was variable in each case.
2. The survival time prolonged significantly in non-resected stage IV group, in whom the sensitive drugs were administered.
3. As a result of comparative examination of tumor sensitivity for Mitomycin C and histological finding of resected cancer tissue from the patients underwent the preoperative infusion of Mitomycin C into the bronchial artery, the usefulness of the drug sensitivity test was confirmed.
4. In casees with metastatic lung tumor, the clinical effect of administered sensitiv e agents was not demonstrated.
5. As a result of experimental evaluation of various sensitivity test using Ehrlich ascites tumor cell as a target cell, it was demonstrated that ⁵¹Cr labeling method and ³H-leucine uptake technique were useful even for antimetabolites for which 3H-TdR uptake method was inadequate.
6. The result of evaluation of sensitivity test by means of ⁵¹Cr labeling method or 3Hleucine uptake technique on human pulmonary cancer cells was almost same as that of experimental evaluation. Therefore, they may be clinically applicable.