title: Cytotoxic drug sensitivity testing of tumor cells from patients with ovarian carcinoma using the fluorometric microculture cytotoxicity assay (FMCA).
abstract: The automated fluorometric microculture cytotoxicity assay (FMCA) is based on the measurement of fluorescence generated from cellular hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate (FDA) to fluorescein by viable cells after a 72-hr culture period in microtiter plates. The FMCA was adopted for chemosensitivity testing of tumor cells from patients with ovarian carcinoma. Thirty-seven samples of solid tumors and malignant effusions were obtained from 35 patients at diagnosis or relapse. Tumor cells from solid samples and effusions were prepared by enzymatic digestion and centrifugation, respectively, followed by Percoll or Ficoll purification. The fluorescence was proportional to the number of cells/well and considerably higher in tumor cells than in contaminating normal cells. The effect of up to 19 cytotoxic drugs was successfully assessed in 70% of the samples and there was a good correlation between drug sensitivity data reported by the FMCA and the DiSC assay performed in parallel. The overall drug sensitivity pattern in vitro corresponded well to the clinical experience. The effect of cisplatin varied considerably between patients and resistance was found also in cases not previously exposed to cytotoxic drugs. The FMCA is a rapid and simple method that seems to report clinically relevant cytotoxic drug sensitivity data in ovarian carcinomas. In the future, this method may contribute to optimizing chemotherapy by assisting in individualized drug selection and new drug development.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Pharmacology, University Hospital, Uppsala University, Sweden.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Csoka
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tholander
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gerdin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de la Torre
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nygren
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000633:toxicity; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000633:toxicity; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000633:toxicity; D005260:Female; D005470:Fluorometry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D010053:Ovary / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D011786:Quality Control; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001761:Bleomycin; D004317:Doxorubicin; D002945:Cisplatin