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C J Kovacs

Publications and source records attributed to C J Kovacs.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

ICRF-159 enhancement of radiation response in combined modality therapies. I. Time/dose relationships for tumour response.

The combined effect of the chemotherapeutic agent ICRF-159 and irradiation were evaluated using the Lewis lung tumour (LL). At a daily dose of 25 mg/kg, ICOF given alone prevented the progressive growth of LL. Daily pretreatment also potentiated the effects of radiation (600 rad) on tumour growth, provided the pretreatment kinetics of the tumour permitted a response to radiation alone. Single acute doses of the drug failed to alter the growth of LL, and when combined with radiation failed to enhance the radiation effect. Fractionation of the drug (25 mg/kg; 4 doses at 3h intervals) before irradiation, however, results in immediate effects on tumour growth which are more than additive. The results suggest that a low dose of ICRF-159 for extended periods is more effective in enhancing radiotherapy than a high dose provided acutely.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

ICRF-159 enhancement of radiation response in combined modality therapies. II. Differential responses of tumour and normal tissues.

The combined effect of the chemotherapeutic agent ICRF-159 and radiation on the proliferative status of tumor/normal systems has been evaluated using the Lewis lung tumour in BDF1 mice. We have previously shown that a 25 mg/kg dose of ICRF-159, given at 3h intervals X4 before irradiation, significantly enhanced tumour growth retardation relative to a single dose of 100 mg/kg before irradiation. Whilst both single and fractionated drug treatments produced a transient inhibition of cell proliferation, comparisons of the temporal recovery from the antiproliferative effect of radiation in both tumour and intestinal epithelium suggested that single acute doses of ICRF-159 fail to potentiate the radiation response of either tissue. Protracted drug administration before irradiation, however, markedly decreases the post-radiation proliferative recovery of the tumour, without significantly altering intestinal recovery. The data suggest that both drug concentration and/or exposure time determine the interactions seen with combined modes.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Solid tumor models for assessment of different treatment modalities: therapeutic strategy for sequential chemotherapy with radiotherapy.

A therapeutic strategy for combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy of experimental solid tumors has been devised. More effective utilization of combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy may be realized clinically if comparable information is obtained in man. The overall treatment efficiency of successive courses of treatment has been determined by a method that defines tumor response quantitatively over an entire spectrum of tumor responses. The findings of this study have shown that an individual tumor that responds well to the first course of therapy will respond well to the second and third courses of combined modality therapy. Various solid tumors in different animal species have demonstrated variability of response to treatment, analogous to the many types of response found clinically.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Properties of the H-4-II-E tumor cell system. II. In vitro characteristics of an experimental tumor cell line.

The growth and cell proliferation characteristics of the H-4-II-E cell line, giving rise to hepatoma H-4-II-E when inoculated into male ACI rats, were studied in vitro. Following seedling of 2 x 10(5) cells into culture dishes, exponential cell growth occurs in cultures fed both at 24 hr and 48 hr intervals with a population doubling time of 18-4 hr. Plateau phase growth conditions are established on day 7 and day 5 for cultures fed at 24 hr and 48 hr intervals respectively. Both the plateau phase cell density and the maintenance of plateau phase appear dependent on the frequency of feeding. For cultures fed daily, the transition from exponetial growth to plateau phase results from both a reduction in the number of proliferating cells (99% v. 35%) as well as an elongation of the cell cycle (17-7 hr v. 128-4 hr). The cell proliferation characteristics of the culture are further discussed in reference to both cell growth and feeding schedules of other cell lines.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Properties of the H-4-II-E tumor cell system. I. Growth and cell proliferation kinetics of an experimental hepatoma.

Growth and cell proliferation kinetics of hepatoma H-4-II-E and its tissue culture derivative have been studied to establish the characteristics of an in vivo--in vitro solid tumor model. The H-4-II-E line, originating from the Reuber H-35 hepatoma, can be maintained and studied either in cell culture or as a transplantable solid tumor in ACI male rats. In addition it allows for the in vitro assay of cell survival following treatment of animal tumors in situ. In vivo, hepatoma H-4-II-E is rapidly growing tumor with a mean doubling time of 49-2 hr. The cell cyle time is 39-1 hr with a cell loss factor of 0-32. Retrospective examination of tumor specimens obtained during the establishment of the H-4-II-E tumor system demonstrates that both structural as well as cell population changes have occurred. The biological characteristics of the primary tumor (H-35) and an early intermediate stage (H-35tc2) are compared with H-4-II-E and the histopathological, growth and cell kinetic changes are discussed.

2-Acetylaminofluorene↗
PubMed1977

Cell proliferation in organs of rats bearing hepatoma 3924A: effects of X-rays of surgery.

For inbred rats with Morris hepatoma 3924A, increases in tumor size were accompanied by increases in weight and DNA content of spleen, DNA content of tibial marrow, and peripheral white cell concentrations of blood. White blood cell concentrations of rats with tumors weighing more than 5 g were approximately two-fold greater than for rats without tumors. Neutrophils were primarily responsible for the increase in white cells. Local x-radiation of 3750R to the tumor when the tumor was small prevented tumor growth and the increases in spleen weight, incorporation of 3H-thymidine into spleen DNA, white blood cell count, and tibial marrow DNA content related to tumor growth. Surgical removal of large tumors resulted in a return of spleen weight and DNA content to near normal values within 1 week. Despite the evidence for increased cell proliferation in hematopoietic tissues of rats with hepatoma 3924A, no systematic relationship has been observed between tumor size and animal survival following treatment with the cell cycle specific agent 5-fluorouracil when tumors have varied in size from 0.5 g to 5 g at the time of drug treatment.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Solid tumour models for the assessment of different treatment modalities: IV. the combined effects of radiation and 5-fluorouracil.

Neither radiation alone (375 to 1500 rad) nor5-fluorouracil (FU) alone (50-250 mg/kg) is sufficient to prevent an increase in the volume of the solid tumour model hepatoma 3924A. However, as little as 750 rad with 100 mg/kg FU can reduce the tumour below the volume at the time of treatment for as long as 14 days. A series of combined FU and radiation doses given every 11 days should then result in successively smaller tumour volumes until the tumour is eradicated. Changes in tumour volume were analysed by two different methods: (1) tumours in each treatment mode were grouped together and the average response to treatment determined, and (2) tumour volume changes in individual tumours were analyzed utilizing the chi2 technique, which fits the logarithmic tumour volume change with time to polynomials. This two-directional method of analysis has the advantage of permitting both an overview of the main effects of treatment via the averages, and at the same time a detailed examination of the mechanism by which these effects occur through the analysis of individual response. The results suggest that, in addition to concentrating on the cellular response immediately after therapy, greater emphasis should be placed on the kinetic changes of the tumour 1-3 weeks after single or multiple modality therapy. These findings demonstrate how the sequencing of single and/or combined treatment modalities may be investigated in order to detemine how best to obtain maximum effects of treatment on different types of tumours following recovery of the host from the previous treatment series.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Solid tumor models for the assessment of different treatment modalities: systematics of response to radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The change of tumor volumes (efficiency) with local tumor radiation doses from 375R to 3750R and 5-fluorouracil (5-FUra) from 50 to 250 mg/kg was assessed in rats bearing hepatoma 3924A. The data were analyzed utilizing a chi2 technique which fits the logarithmic volume response to polynomials. This provided greater flexibility in selecting different mathematical forms, and allows more accurate description of tumor changes after treatment than the least squares analysis previously used. Quantitative information can be obtained on one tumor following treatment by this method. This information is more analogous to the management of a patient with a solid tumor. The results show a continuous increase in efficiency of radiation throughout the radiation dose range from 375R to 3750R. The efficiency of 5-FUra increased slightly but did not continue to increase with doses of 5-FUra higher than 150 mg/kg. This suggests that factors such as toxicity to the host may prevent further increases of the effectiveness of 5-FUra. The time of minimum tumor volume change after radiation was approximately 6 days and for 5-FUra, 6 days. The time for maximum tumor volume change for 5-FUra was 12 days. There was a slight trend upward for maximum growth for increasing radiation doses from 18 to 22 days. The time of occurrence of both minimum and maximum tumor volume change after treatment showed little relationship to increasing doses of radiation and 5-FUra. Parallel studies have shown that the maximum rate of tumor volume change occurs shortly after the recovery of the host from the effect of 5-FUra. It is feasible, therefore, to use chemotherapy alone or in combination with radiotherapy, and optimize the scheduling of these treatment modalities with recovery of the host from previous therapy.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Changes in cellularity induced by radiation in a solid tumour.

The growth, and cellular responses of Morris hepatoma 3924 A to a locally-administered dose of 3750 R X-rays were studied using the following parameters; (1) relative tumour volume changes; (2) tritiated thymidine (3H-TdR) incorporation into DNA; (3) tumour DNA content and (4) cellular analysis, including 3H-TdR labelling index, mitotic index, aberrant mitotic frequency and relative cell density. Before depression of tumour growth, cell proliferation is temporarily interuppted. As proliferation is reinitiated, a short-lived synhcrony and prolongation of cell-cycle traverse are reflected in (a) the labelling index and mitotic index, (b) the relative cell density, and (c) the rate of incorporation of 3H-TdR into DNA. Within 4 days after radiation, cell proliferation and 3H-TdR incorporation are significantly depressed. Simultaneously there are reductions in both the relative cell density and tumour DNA contents, and these remain depressed as the tumours initiate regression. From these studies, it is apparent that the cellular responses to radiation insult occur well in advance of measurable volume changes and are observed both in tumours that continue to regress and in those that initiate regrowth.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Changes in serum putrescine and spermidine levels following local radiation to hepatoma 3924A of the rat.

Local irradiation of tumors of rats bearing 3924A hepatomas resulted in more than a doubling of the putrescine levvel and nearly a doubling of spermidine concentration in the serum within 12 hr. Within 24 hr, the putrescine concentration had increased four-fold in the serum, along with a continued increase in the spermidine concentration. The decrease in the spermidine concentration of the tumor paralleled increased levels of spermidine in the serum, whereas the concentrations of polyamines in the liver were unchanged. These changes are similar to previously reported changes in the spermidine concentration in sera and in tumors following the administration of a single dose of 5-fluorouracil to rats with 3924A hepatomas. Since local irradiation was confined to the tumor, we conclude that the increases in putrescine and spermidine detected in the serum are derived from the tumor tissue with no involvement of the host tissues.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Differential recovery of intestine, bone marrow, and thymus of rats with solid tumors following 5-fluorouracil administration.

Time relationships for recovery of several host organs from toxic effects of 5-fluorouracil were determined in ACI rats bearing Morris hepatoma 3924A. A single injection of 150 mg/kg body weight 5-fluorouracil (the LD10) resulted in loss of 90% of the tibial bone marrow, 60% of the intestinal mucosa, and 90% of the thymus as measured by total DNA content of the organs. Organ DNA contents following 150 mg/kg of the drug were minimal on day 3 for intestine and on day 5 for marrow and thymus. A return to pretreatment or higher levels of DNA was observed by day 4 for intestine, day 11 for tibial marrow, and day 19 for thymus. Incorporation of 3H-deoxyuridine into host organ DNA after 150 mg/kg 5-fluorouracil was inhibited 36 hrs for intestine, 3 days for thymus, and 5 days for tibial bone marrow. Inhibition of 3H-deoxyuridine incorporation into DNA was similar for 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg doses both in tumor and in host organs, but recovery of 3H-deoxyuridine incorporation and DNA content of host organs began later with the higher doses of 5-fluorouracil. Maximal incorporation of 3H-deoxyuridine into DNA was observed on day 4 for intestine, day 8 for marrow, and day 9 for thymus after treatment with 150 mg/kg 5-fluorouracil. Animal lethality following the second of two 150 mg/kg injections of 5-fluorouracil was related to the extent of recovery of intestinal mucosa and bone marrow at the time of the second injection. Survival decreased to 0% for normal rats when the interval between injections was 3-4 days, improved at 5 days and was 100% when the interval was 10-11 days.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Increased urinary excretion of cyclic guanosine monophosphate in rats bearing Morris hepatoma 3924A.

Urinary excretion of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP) increased in rats bearing Morris hepatoma 3924A, and a correlation coefficient of .842 was observed comparing nucleotide excretion and tumor size. Irradiation of tumor or 5-fluorouracil administration delayed the increases in urinary cyclic GMP and tumor size. Surgical removal of tumors resulted in a rapid decline in cyclic GMP excretion to baseline levels. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate excretion was not altered by implantation, irradiation, or excision of tumor.

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