Xenotransplantation of alpha-fetoprotein-producing gastric cancers into nude mice. Characteristics and responses to chemotherapy.
Three human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-producing gastric cancers (AFPGC) were xenotransplanted into the lateral abdominal wall of nude mice. Two tumors were established and passed over ten generations. These tumors retained their ability to secrete AFP and their characteristic hepatoid features microscopically. Serum levels of AFP in the mice were elevated as the tumors grew. Through serial transplantation, the degree of differentiation was not altered. Neither local invasion nor distant metastasis were encountered during the observation periods. Both strains had an aneuploid pattern of DNA by flow cytometric examinations. The responses of these tumors to five chemotherapeutic agents were investigated using various doses. The high AFP-titer strain (AFPGC-2) showed a marked regression or suppression of tumor growth after administration of both mitomycin C (MMC) and cisplatin (CDDP). The low-titer strain (AFPGC-1) had substantial sensitivity only to MMC. The growth of both tumors was not suppressed by 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, or epirubicin. These findings suggest that the characteristics of AFPGC are preserved in the xenograft model of nude mice. In addition, MMC and CDDP may be active to some extent against this rare, but highly malignant cancer.
Second Department of Surgery, Shimane Medical University, Izumo, Japan.
Y C
YC
Chang
N
N
Nagasue
H
H
Kohno
K
K
Ohiwa
A
A
Yamanoi
T
T
Nakamura
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015251:Epirubicin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D016685:Mitomycin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D009384:Paraneoplastic Endocrine Syndromes; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D015251:Epirubicin; D016685:Mitomycin; D004317:Doxorubicin; D002945:Cisplatin; D005472:Fluorouracil