The hollow fiber assay for drug responsiveness in the Ewing's sarcoma family of tumors.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the use of the National Cancer Institute's hollow fiber assay (HFA) to evaluate and prioritize novel treatment strategies for clinical trials in the Ewing's sarcoma family of tumors (ESFT).


METHODS
The growth and morphology of ESFT cell lines in hollow fibers (HFs) was characterized in vitro and in vivo. Reliability and reproducibility were evaluated using doxorubicin.


RESULTS
The numbers of viable cells in all 6 ESFT cell lines increased with time in vitro (0 to 96 hours). The SKES-1 and A673 cell lines grew exponentially after implantation of HFs in nude mice at subcutaneous and intraperitoneal sites. ESFT cells formed highly organized distinctive morphology within the HFs in vitro and in vivo. The number of viable ESFT cells within the HFs decreased in a time-dependent (24 to 96 hours) and dose-dependent (1 to 10 mg/kg) manner after treatment with doxorubicin in vivo.


CONCLUSIONS
The HFA is a versatile short-term in vivo model that may be exploited to predict efficacy of potential anticancer agents in ESFT cells. Tumor markers and pharmacodynamic endpoints may be quantified in the pure population of ESFT cells from within the HFs.
Bridges
Esther Marie
EM
Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom.
Bibby
Michael Charles
MC
Burchill
Susan Ann
SA
D000818:Animals; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012512:Sarcoma, Ewing / Q000473:pathology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D004317:Doxorubicin