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In vitro chemosensitivity of lymphoblasts at relapse in childhood leukemia using the MTT assay.

Lymphoblasts from 21 previously untreated patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 31 patients in relapse were tested for chemosensitivity. Blast cells were cultured with 22 anticancer drugs for 4 days and assayed by MTT dye using a scanning microplate photometer. The percent cytotoxicity index (%CI) and LD50 (micrograms/ml) were calculated for each drug. The mean absorbances (+/- S.D.) of 1 x 10(5) cells in the untreated group and relapsed groups in control wells were 0.219 (+/- 0.126) and 0.385 (+/- 0.147), respectively (p less than 0.01). Cells in the untreated group were more sensitive in vitro to vincristine, prednisolone, L-asparaginase (L-ASP), vinblastine, 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin, bleomycin (BLM), and etoposide (VP16) with respect to the %CI value and to L-ASP, VP16, BLM, and mitoxantrone with respect to the LD50 value than those in the relapsed groups. In contrast, no significant differences were observed for the other 13 drugs. There was also a significant difference in sensitivity within the relapsed group--13 having good clinical response and 15 showing no response to chemotherapy--with regard to four drugs, mitomycin C, neocarzinostatin, L-ASP, and teniposide. Cells in the relapsed group had more heterogeneous chemosensitivity than those in the untreated group, and divided into sensitive and resistant types, but large interindividual differences existed. The MTT assay and LD50-drug resistance percentile curves are useful for the selection of effective drugs in both untreated and relapsed patients with acute leukemia.

Acute Disease↗

Comparative pharmacology of the nitrobenzylthioguanosine-sensitive and -resistant nucleoside transport mechanisms of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.

A variety of nucleoside transport inhibitors and substrates were compared for their capacities to inhibit the zero-trans influx of [3H]uridine in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. ATP-depleted cells accumulated [3H]uridine primarily by facilitated diffusion (Vmax = 16 pmol/sec/microliter cell water) via both nitrobenzylthioguanosine (NBTGR)-sensitive (IC50 = 0.53 nM, 100 microM [3H]uridine) and NBTGR-resistant (IC50 = 71 microM, 100 microM [3H]uridine) mechanisms with uridine Km estimates of 99 and 284 microM, respectively. Dilazep also distinguished between the transporter subtypes with IC50 values of 1.4 nM and 1.8 microM, respectively, for inhibiting 100 microM [3H]uridine influx. Incubation of cells with 50 nM NBTGR allowed the selective study of inhibitor effects on NBTGR-resistant [3H]uridine influx. Dipyridamole, cyclopentyladenosine, 2-phenylaminoadenosine, etoposide, teniposide, diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, triazolam and the lidoflazine derivative 2-(aminocarbonyl)-N-(4-amino-2,6-dichlorophenyl)-4-[5,5-bis-(4- fluorophenyl)pentyl]-1-piperazineacetamide (R75231), were significantly less potent as inhibitors of NBTGR-resistant influx, when compared with their capacities to inhibit the total mediated influx of [3H]uridine. In contrast, 2-fluoroadenosine, 2-chloroadenosine, 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine and soluflazine were relatively more effective as inhibitors of the NBTGR-resistant component. Mioflazine, a compound related to both soluflazine and R75231, did not distinguish between transporter subtypes. The NBTGR-resistant transporter also had a distinctive substrate specificity; guanosine, 2'-deoxyguanosine, cytidine and 2'-deoxycytidine were significantly less effective as inhibitors of NBTGR-resistant [3H]uridine influx.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Reduced DNA topoisomerase II activity and drug-induced DNA cleavage activity in an adriamycin-resistant human small cell lung carcinoma cell line.

In a previous study we suggested that, in addition to the reduced Adriamycin accumulation, part of the resistance in an Adriamycin-resistant human small cell lung carcinoma cell line (GLC4/ADR) could be explained by supposing a changed Adriamycin-DNA-topoisomerase II (Topo II) interaction. The present study showed that the Mr 170,000 P-glycoprotein was not overexpressed in GLC4/ADR and that verapamil did not reverse the Adriamycin resistance. GLC4/ADR expressed cross-resistance to teniposide, etoposide, 4'-(9-acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide (m-AMSA), and mitoxantrone. Further investigations of the drug-Topo II interaction revealed that the decatenation activity of Topo II was two- to threefold reduced in both cellular and nuclear extracts from GLC4/ADR. Topo I activities appeared similar in extracts from GLC4/ADR and the parental sensitive cell line (GLC4). The slight increase in doubling time from 15 to 18 h, while the cell cycle distribution remained unchanged, could not account for the reduced Topo II activity in GLC4/ADR. Etoposide and m-AMSA-induced DNA cleavage was 5-fold reduced in cellular extracts from GLC4/ADR. Inhibition of the decatenation activity of Topo II in the presence of VP-16 and m-AMSA was increased twofold in the cellular extracts from GLC4/ADR. Therefore, these results suggest that resistance of GLC4/ADR to Adriamycin was in part due to the reduced drug-induced formation of the cleavage complex.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

Binding of an optically pure photoaffinity analogue of verapamil, LU-49888, to P-glycoprotein from multidrug-resistant human leukemic cell lines.

Verapamil enhances anticancer drug cytotoxicity in multidrug resistant (MDR) cells, apparently by competing with these agents for binding to P-glycoprotein (Pgp). In this study, we provide direct evidence for this competition. We studied the binding of an optically pure photoaffinity analogue of verapamil, (S)-5-[(3-azidophenylethyl)-[N-methyl-3H]- methylamino]-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-2-isopropylvaleronitrile (LU-49888), to Pgp from MDR cell lines. LU-49888 specifically labeled a single Mr 170,0000 protein that was identified as Pgp on Western blots and also by specific immunoprecipitation with monoclonal antibody C-219. A 200-fold molar excess of vinblastine or vincristine specifically inhibited this binding by greater than 98%. LU-49888 labeling of Pgp was also inhibited by actinomycin D (45%), podophyllotoxin (47%), and amsacrine (82%), marginally by doxorubicin (25%), colchicine (22%), daunorubicin (18%), and etoposide (14%), but not by teniposide. Modulators of Pgp-MDR also compete with LU-49888 for binding to Pgp: verapamil (82%), diltiazem (73%), quinidine (91%), reserpine (91%), rescinnamine (88%), and trimethoxybenzoylyohimbine (89%). Chloroquine was moderately inhibitory (25%), whereas chlorpromazine and yohimbine, which are not modulators in our MDR cell lines, did not inhibit the binding of LU-49888 to Pgp. LU-49888 labeling of Pgp was also completely inhibited by (R)-, (S)-, and racemic desmethoxyverapamil, all with the same efficiency. Our results demonstrate that the verapamil analogue LU-49888 specifically binds to Pgp and suggest that verapamil and some MDR modulators exert their effects by interacting with Pgp.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

Potentiation of etoposide and vincristine by two synthetic 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives in multidrug-resistant and atypical multidrug-resistant human cancer cells.

Newly synthesized 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives had been screened to determine whether they could overcome vincristine (VCR)-resistance in VCR-resistant (P388/VCR) leukemia-bearing mice, and six compounds had strong reversing ability among the screened compounds. We further determined whether NK-250 and NK-252 among the six compounds could potentiate cytocidal activities of etoposide (VP16) as well as VCR against both multidrug-resistant (MDR) cell line (VJ-300) and atypical MDR cell line (KB/VM-4). Both VJ-300 and KB/VM-4 were derived from the same parental human cancer KB cell line: VJ-300 cells showed enhanced expression of a MDR-specific glycoprotein of molecular weight of 170,000 Da (gp170) while KB/VM-4 cells were selected as teniposide (VM26)-resistant cell line with no expression of gp170. NK-250 and NK-252 potentiated the cytotoxic action of VCR about 2- to 10-fold against KB and KB/VM-4 cells, and they almost completely reversed VCR-resistance in VJ-300 cells. By contrast, NK-250 and NK-252 potentiated the cytotoxic action of VP16 about 2-fold against KB cells while they reversed 5- to 10-fold VP16-resistance in both VJ-300 and KB/VM-4 cells. The reversal effect by NK-250 and NK-252 of VCR-resistance in VJ-300 cells appeared to be due to enhanced cellular accumulation of radioactive VCR through interaction to 170-kDa P-glycoprotein. The potentiation effects by these dihydropyridines of VCR and VP16 on KB or KB/VM-4 cells also appeared to be due to enhanced accumulation of radioactive VP16 or VCR, but the effects might be mediated through other mechanisms, plausibly enhanced cellular uptake of the drugs.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Chemotherapy in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma during pregnancy.

A 30-yr-old woman is described with an intermediate-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, localized in the mediastinum, diagnosed in the 22nd week of gestation. Combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone, teniposide and bleomycin was instituted in the second and third trimesters, resulting in regression of the tumour. Foetal distress due to pre-eclampsia forced us to perform a Caesarean section at 31 weeks of pregnancy. A healthy boy was born without congenital abnormalities. Further chemotherapeutic treatment, combined with radiotherapy, led to a complete remission of the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; the remission lasted for 6 months. A review of the literature on chemotherapeutic treatment in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma during gestation is provided. Despite the limited number of cases reported, it can be concluded that chemotherapy in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma during pregnancy is less harmful than might be thought.

Adult↗

Development and properties of an etoposide-resistant human leukaemic CCRF-CEM cell line.

Etoposide (VP-16) and several other unrelated anti-tumour agents appear to act by inhibiting the enzyme DNA topoisomerase II. We report here the development and characterization of an etoposide-resistant human leukaemic CCRF-CEM cell line, CEM/VP-1. The cell line was 15-fold more resistant to etoposide than the parental CEM cells and exhibited cross-resistance to other topoisomerase II inhibitors including teniposide, m-AMSA, and doxorubicin. CEM/VP-1 cells exhibited only a low level cross-resistance to the Vinca alkaloids, vinblastine and vincristine, known inhibitors of mitotic spindle formation. As a first step in defining the mechanism of resistance to etoposide, we compared the levels of topoisomerase II activity and its drug sensitivity in nuclear extracts from the resistant and sensitive CEM cells. As determined by a kinetoplast DNA decatenation assay, the level of DNA topoisomerase II activity in CEM/VP-1 nuclear extracts was approximately 2-fold lower than that in CEM cells, and the activity appeared to be resistant to inhibition by etoposide. Furthermore, the DNA topoisomerase II activity in CEM/VP-1 nuclear extracts did not promote the etoposide-dependent cleavage of pBR322 DNA observed with extract from sensitive cells. These results suggest that etoposide resistance in the CEM/VP-1 cell line may at least in part be due to an altered topoisomerase II, or associated factor, resulting in a reduced ability to induce DNA cleavage in the presence of drug.

Cell Division↗

Evidence for a common mechanism of action for antitumor and antibacterial agents that inhibit type II DNA topoisomerases.

Numerous antitumor and antibacterial agents inhibit type II DNA topoisomerases, yielding, in each case, a complex of enzyme covalently bound to cleaved DNA. We are investigating the mechanism of inhibitor action by using the type II DNA topoisomerase of bacteriophage T4 as a model. The T4 topoisomerase is the target of antitumor agent 4'-(9-acridinylamino)-methanesulfon-m-anisidide (m-AMSA) in T4-infected Escherichia coli. Two m-AMSA-resistant phage strains were previously isolated, one with a point mutation in topoisomerase subunit gene 39 and the other with a point mutation in topoisomerase subunit gene 52. We report here that the wild-type T4 topoisomerase is inhibited by six additional antitumor agents that also inhibit the mammalian type II topoisomerase: ellipticine, 9-OH-ellipticine, 2-me-9-OH-ellipticinium acetate, mitoxantrone diacetate, teniposide, and etoposide. Further, one or both of the m-AMSA-resistance mutations alters the enzyme sensitivity to each of these agents, conferring either cross-resistance or enhanced sensitivity. Finally, the gene 39 mutation confers on T4 topoisomerase a DNA gyrase-like sensitivity to the gyrase inhibitor oxolinic acid, thus establishing a direct link between the mechanism of action of the anti-bacterial quinolones and that of the antitumor agents. These results strongly suggest that diverse inhibitors of type II topoisomerases share a common binding site and a common mechanism of action, both of which are apparently conserved in the evolution of the type II DNA topoisomerases. Alterations in DNA cleavage site specificity caused by either the inhibitors or the m-AMSA-resistance mutations favor the proposal that the inhibitor binding site is composed of both protein and DNA.

Amsacrine↗

Tolbutamide and mephenytoin hydroxylation by human cytochrome P450s in the CYP2C subfamily.

Previous biochemical studies have suggested that tolbutamide and mephenytoin are metabolized by the same cytochrome P450 enzyme. Conversely, clinical studies indicate the involvement of different P450 forms in tolbutamide and mephenytoin metabolism. Our objective was to elucidate further those P450 enzymes responsible for hydroxylation of these two drugs. We studied both tolbutamide and (S)-mephenytoin hydroxylation in microsomes from 38 different normal adult human livers, and found large variability in the rates of metabolism for both reactions (1.75-47.4 nmol/mg/hr for hydroxytolbutamide formation and 0.1-7.2 nmol/mg/hr for 4-hydroxymephenytoin formation). No significant correlation was found between the two activities. However, both reactions shared common inhibitors in vitro, including inhibition by antikidney-liver-microsome autoantibodies (Meier and Meyer, Biochemistry 26: 8466-8474, 1987) and by teniposide. Two human liver cDNAs for P450s of the CYP2C subfamily designated IIC8 and IIC9 (S. Kimura, J. Pastewka, H. V. Gelboin and F. J. Gonzalez, Nucl. Acids Res. 15: 10053-10054, 1987), were functionally expressed in human HepG2 and TK- cells using a vaccinia virus vector. Interestingly, tolbutamide was hydroxylated by both expressed P450s. Only IIC9 catalyzed the 4-hydroxylation of (R)-mephenytoin and neither enzyme metabolized (S)-mephenytoin. We conclude that tolbutamide and (R)-mephenytoin are both metabolized by the same P450 enzyme, IIC9, and that tolbutamide is hydroxylated by an additional highly related enzyme, IIC8, contributing to the lack of correlation of the two hydroxylase activities among human liver microsomes and indicating the absence of a monogenically controlled polymorphism for tolbutamide.

Cell Line↗

Comparative effects of growth inhibitors on DNA replication, DNA repair, and protein synthesis in human epidermal keratinocytes.

Cultured human epidermal keratinocytes were used as a model system for testing compounds with potential therapeutic effect against hyperproliferative skin disorders. We have investigated whether each test compound caused direct damage to the DNA or inhibited DNA repair and/or seminconservative replication of DNA, as well as its effect on the overall rate of protein synthesis and on expression of specific keratin genes. The following compounds were studied: (a) inhibitors of DNA polymerase alpha [aphidicolin and its derivative aphidicolin glycine], (b) inhibitors of topoisomerases [novobiocin, nalidixic acid, teniposide, etoposide, and 4'-(9-acridylamine) methanesulfon-m-anisidide], (c) modifiers of chromatin structure [sodium butyrate, 3-aminobenzamide, and nicotinamide], (d) inhibitors of calmodulin activation and protein kinase C [chlorpromazine and trifluoperazine]; and (e) drugs used in clinical dermatology [anthralin, fluocinolone acetonide, ketoconazole, and hydroxyurea]. The compounds were tested at concentrations at which they were known from the literature to be effective in their respective actions. Among the groups of compounds studied, the topoisomerase inhibitors were particularly interesting since they caused no detectable damage to DNA but exhibited maximal inhibitory effect on replication combined with minimal inhibition of DNA repair. In addition most of the topoisomerase inhibitors, particularly novobiocin, changed the pattern of gene expression by inhibiting the synthesis of certain keratins and inducing a Mr 67,000 protein in the prekeratin fraction. These properties combined with minimal systemic side effects may encourage the clinical exploration of some topoisomerase inhibitors for antiproliferative therapy of skin disorders.

Anthralin↗

Synergistic antitumor effects of topoisomerase inhibitors and natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity.

The mechanism of augmentation of tumor cell killing by immune effector cells and chemotherapeutic drugs was studied. The effect of treating tumor cells with various antineoplastic drugs on their sensitivity to murine natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro was investigated. Pretreatment with actinomycin D at nontoxic concentrations rendered L929 and WEHI-164 tumor cells more susceptible to killing by mouse spleen lymphocytes in a dose-dependent manner. Similarly, enhancement of L929 tumor cell killing by natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity was observed following treatment of the target cells with the topoisomerase II inhibitors, Adriamycin, amsacrine, bisantrene, etoposide, and teniposide, as well as with topoisomerase I inhibitor, camptothecin. In contrast, drugs which induce their cytotoxic effects by mechanisms that do not involve topoisomerase inhibition such as bleomycin, vinblastine, vincristine, and mitomycin C failed to exhibit synergism with natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity. However, moderate synergy was consistently observed with cis-platinum. The effector cells responsible for the cytotoxicity in the present system are natural cytotoxic cells since they kill WEHI-164 but not YAC cells, are resistant to treatment with anti-asialo-GM1 antibody, and their activity is abolished by anti-tumor necrosis factor antibodies. Indeed, tumor necrosis factor-mediated cytotoxicity of WEHI-164 or L929 was enhanced by treatment of the target cells with topoisomerase II inhibitors. Moreover, WEHI-164 cells selected for tumor necrosis factor resistance were resistant to natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and no synergy could be observed with topoisomerase inhibitors.

Animals↗

[Recent trends of chemotherapy in small cell lung cancer: a slow but steady progress].

The author reviewed some distinct findings concerning chemotherapy of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) which had appeared recently in the articles of journals and proceedings. Of new drugs, teniposide and carboplatin have a significant activity against SCLC, however, the usefulness of these drugs must be determined in the comparative fashion with their mother compounds. Cisplatin plus etoposide (PVP), which was demonstrated to have a distinct activity in previously treated SCLC and to be not fully cross-resistant to CAV, has recently been incorporated into the first-line treatment. PVP has been evaluated as either induction chemotherapy or consolidation therapy, as alternating chemotherapy with CAV and as a chemotherapy regimen in the combined modality treatment with chest irradiation. The data obtained provide results comparable or rather superior to those achieved with CAV or other conventional regimens when used as induction chemotherapy, and provide some encouraging results when used as consolidation chemotherapy and in combination with chest irradiation. Four trials have been conducted to test the usefulness of CAV-PVP alternation, however, the results is still controversial. Recently, two institutions reported the results of pilot study of an intensive weekly chemotherapy. Although the complete response rate of the weekly regimens appears superior to that of conventional regimens, the survival benefit is still obscure because of an inadequate follow-up time. The pace of therapeutic advances in SCLC has slowed and appears to reach a plateau, however, recent articles indicate a slow but steady progress in the treatment of SCLC.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Multidrug resistance in mitoxantrone-selected HL-60 leukemia cells in the absence of P-glycoprotein overexpression.

A multidrug-resistant variant of the human HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cell line (HL-60/MX2) has been isolated in vitro by subculturing these cells in progressively increasing concentrations of mitoxantrone. The MX2 cells are cross-resistant to etoposide, teniposide, bisantrene, dactinomycin, 4'-(9-acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide, and the anthracyclines daunorubicin and doxorubicin but retain sensitivity to the Vinca alkaloids melphalan and mitomycin C. In addition, the MX2 cells display slight collateral sensitivity to bleomycin. Despite being 30-35-fold less sensitive to mitoxantrone, net [14C]mitoxantrone accumulation at 60 min was reduced by only 10% in the mitoxantrone-resistant cells compared to the parental line. Furthermore, at later time points, e.g., 120 and 180 min, mitoxantrone accumulation in the MX2 cells exceeded that in HL-60 cells by 8.5 and 6.4%, respectively. No significant differences were observed between the sensitive and resistant cell lines in the initial (first 60 s) accumulation of mitoxantrone, and only minor (3-6%) enhancement of mitoxantrone efflux was detected in the resistant cell type. Monoclonal antibodies to P-glycoprotein had no detectable reactivity with membrane vesicles from either the sensitive or resistant cell types as determined by standard immunoblotting techniques. The mitoxantrone-resistant cells displayed a reciprocal translocation [rcpt(1;3)-(q21;p23)] not found in the sensitive parent, but there were no demonstrable double minute chromosomes or homogeneous staining regions in cells from either line. Thus, these mitoxantrone-resistant human leukemia cells display many features which are atypical for the "classic" multidrug resistance phenotype and should provide a useful model for the study of multidrug resistance which is not mediated by P-glycoprotein.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

Atypical multidrug resistance in a therapy-induced drug-resistant human leukemia cell line (LALW-2): resistance to Vinca alkaloids independent of P-glycoprotein.

Near diploid leukemic T-cells (LALW-2), exposed to cytotoxic drugs only as a consequence of therapy administered to the donor patient, have been maintained by serial xenograft in nude mice. In comparison with the leukemic line CCRF-CEM, using a growth inhibition assay, LALW-2 cells were resistant to Vinca alkaloids and actinomycin D (relative resistance, 200-fold or more), were slightly resistant to Adriamycin (relative resistance, 4-fold), and showed no resistance to daunorubicin or teniposide. By comparison, a vincristine-resistant CEM subline developed in our laboratory (CEM/VCR R) was resistant to all these agents by at least 30-fold. The VCR R subline served as a positive control, confirming the previously reported correlation between multidrug resistance and amplification of the P-glycoprotein gene. Comparison of CEM, CEM/VCR R, and LALW-2 cells establish that the P-glycoprotein gene was not amplified or overexpressed in the LALW-2 cells; neither could the gene product be detected by immunoblotting in extracts from these cells. The LALW-2 cells were further distinguished from CEM/VCR R cells due to the lack of increased vincristine efflux by the xenografted cells, an effect readily demonstrable in the CEM/VCR R cells. However, although LALW-2 cells efflux vincristine at the same rate as CCRF-CEM cells, the xenografted cells exhibited a reduced rate of vincristine accumulation. Uptake of daunorubicin by LALW-2 cells was not distinguished from that by CEM cells, consistent with similar 50% inhibitory dose levels for this drug in both cell populations, and differentiating both from CEM/VCR R cells. Thus, clinical resistance in this case appears to be an "atypical" form of multidrug resistance specifically distinguished by resistance to Vinca alkaloids and actinomycin D occurring in the absence of increased amounts of P-glycoprotein and manifesting decreased drug uptake.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

Modulation of drug resistance in a daunorubicin resistant subline with oligonucleoside methylphosphonates.

Human K562 erythroleukemia cells were selected in sequential steps for resistance to daunorubicin (K562/III) and found to be cross-resistant to a number of drugs, including vincristine, dactinomycin, doxorubicin, etoposide, and teniposide. In this paper, we report that the K562/III subline showed amplification of an mdr1 gene and its 4.5 kb transcript. Our results also show that non-ionic oligonucleoside methylphosphonates, complementary to the initiation codon and 15 bases upstream of the mdr1 gene, can completely inhibit the synthesis of P-glycoprotein and partially increase the toxicity of daunorubicin.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

Synergistic effect of ketoconazole and antineoplastic agents on hormone-independent prostatic cancer cells.

Ketoconazole has been recently used in the primary treatment of patients with metastatic cancer of the prostate and is identified as a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P450-dependent adrenal and testicular androgen production. The drug has also shown activity in patients failing conventional hormonal manipulation. We subsequently showed that ketoconazole in vitro has a direct cytotoxic effect on human androgen-independent prostatic cancer cell lines. In order to better define the possible role of ketoconazole on hormone-independent prostatic cancer, we incubated the cells from human androgen-independent prostatic cancer lines in a methylcellulose tumour colony assay with different doses of the drug and increasing doses of conventional cytotoxic agents (etoposide, bleomycin, vinblastine, methotrexate, and teniposide). We demonstrated synergistic suppression of prostate cancer clonogenic cell growth by ketoconazole in the presence of vinblastine or etoposide. This observation may assign a new and important role for ketoconazole as part of combination chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with advanced prostatic cancer.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

[Corneal toxicity of cytarabine. Apropos of a case].

A 4 1/2 year old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukemia developed corneal toxicity while receiving courses of chemotherapy once a month (standard doses of vincristine, cyclophosphamide or teniposide, always associated with cytarabine and asparaginase). Symptoms began after 18 courses of treatment and consisted of ocular pain, foreign body sensation, blurred vision, bilateral conjunctival hyperemia. The symptoms appeared during the course of chemotherapy and decreased before the following course. Symptomatic treatment appeared to be effective. Ocular toxicity of antineoplastic agents and particularly cytarabine is discussed.

Child, Preschool↗

Autologous bone marrow transplantation with monoclonal antibody purged marrow for high risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Fifty-four patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL: 1 relapse, 21 high risk first complete remission (CR 1), 29 second CR (CR 2), and 3 third CR (CR 3) were treated by autologous bone marrow transplantation at three centers. Before storage, the marrows were purged ex vivo with appropriate MAbs RFAL3 (CD10), SB4 (CD19), and RFT2 (CD7), with rabbit serum as the source of complement. All patients received total body irradiation either 750 cGy (middose 15 cGy/min) as a single fraction or 6 x 200 cGy over 3 days (midline dose 16 cGy/min) with lung shielding from 1,100 cGy. The patients who received 750 cGy also received cyclophosphamide or the same drug combined with ara-C or prednisone, teniposide, vincristine, ara-C, and dauno-rubicin. Patients receiving 200 cGy x 6 also received either cyclophosphamide, melphalan, or ara-C and cyclophosphamide. Three patients died of post transplantation complications (interstitial pneumonia, hepatitis B liver necrosis, or encephalitis). This gives a procedure related mortality of 5%. Nonfatal complications were 10 cases of septicemia, 4 interstitial pneumonia, 2 interstitial nephritis, 1 veno-occlusive disease (VOD), and 1 case of hemolytic uremic syndrome. The patient autografted in relapse died of relapse within 2 months. In CR 1 6 or 21 patients have had a relapse, and the actuarial leukemia free survival from CR is 65% (median follow-up 16 months). In CR 2-3 18 of 32 patients have relapsed, and the actuarial leukemia free survival is 31% (median follow-up 18.5 months) from CR. Twelve patients have achieved an inversion, (i.e., present CR longer than previous CR), with a further seven with the potential to achieve inversion. We conclude that ABMT in high risk ALL has a low procedure related mortality (5%), and there are few other complications. The in vitro purging with MAbs had no adverse effect on bone marrow reconstitution, but this study was not designed to demonstrate its antileukemic efficacy. The actuarial leukemia free survival time in the present study for patients with high risk CR 1 and the inversions in CF 2-3 are promising and indicate a potential beneficial effect of ABMT.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗