A predictive test for the selection of cancer chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of human cancer

Abstract

The use of animals for the screening of chemotherapeutic agents effective against cancer is not always satisfactory. In addition to the problems of cost, space, and care, the results obtained by animal screening do not always parallel those obtained by the clinical use of the agents. With the advent of more refined in vitro technics which can be applied directly to the patient's own tumor tissue, additional information may permit a more critical evaluation of the laboratory findings. The critical index of sensitivity probably lies in the combined evaluation of biochemical analysis and observed morphological damage. From this investigation it would appear that tissue culture of human tumors may serve as a valuable adjunctive method for the screening of chemicals in order to find drugs valuable in the treatment of cancer in man and to serve as a method in the selection of the most effective therapeutic agent for a given tumor in a given patient.