title: Antineoplastic activity of taxol against human anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cell lines in vitro and in vivo.
abstract: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is a rapidly fatal neoplasm that fails to adequately respond to any known chemotherapeutic regimen. We tested taxol (paclitaxel) against six human anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cell lines (DRO-90, ARO-81, KAT-4, KAT-18, SW-1736, and BHT-101). Each cell line monolayer culture, in log phase growth, was treated with taxol concentrations ranging from 0.001-5.0 mumol/L. Cell numbers, after 24-, 48-, and 72-h growth periods in separate experiments, were expressed as percentages of control cell numbers without taxol. All cell lines showed maximal inhibition with 0.05 mumol/L taxol at 3-28% of control cell numbers. Greater inhibition was seen with longer growth periods. Three cell lines (DRO-90, ARO-81, and KAT-4) were grown as sc xenograft tumors in nude mice for 18-26 days. Treatment groups received sc taxol injections in sites distant from the tumors, whereas control mice received vehicle. All taxol-treated xenografts were inhibited to near-starting volume or disappeared, whereas control xenograft volumes increased 9- to 59-fold. These results suggest that taxol may have beneficial clinical effects in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
authors.forename: K B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Ain
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tofiq
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002452:Cell Count; D002455:Cell Division; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D017239:Paclitaxel