title: Growth modulation effects of synthetic steroids on rat prostatic adenocarcinoma and human breast adenocarcinoma cells in vitro.
abstract: Treatment of carcinoma of the reproductive organs using both an antiproliferative agent to inhibit cell growth and a cytotoxic agent to kill the neoplastic cells represents an attractive approach to therapy. By using steroids to achieve both effects, it may be possible to avoid some of the dose-limiting side effects of conventional antiproliferative or cytotoxic agents. We screened in vitro 23 selected steroids against four rat prostatic carcinoma cell lines and one human breast carcinoma cell line. Effects of the steroids were measured using a tritiated thymidine uptake assay to assess antiproliferative activity and a colorimetric enzyme-based assay to assess cytotoxicity. Several of the steroids had marked cytostatic and cytotoxic properties rendering them worthy of further evaluation, both separately and in combination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599.
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Mickey
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Foulkes
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kendle
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Petrow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D006728:Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D051381:Rats; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D006728:Hormones; D008727:Methotrexate