title: Chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity of primary cultures of epithelial ovarian cancer cells from patients in relation to tumour characteristics and therapeutic outcome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A number of chemotherapeutic drugs are active in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) but so far choice of drugs for treatment is mostly empirically based. Testing of drug activity in tumour cells from patients might provide a rationale for a more individualised approach for drug selection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sensitivity of EOC to chemotherapeutic drugs was analysed in 125 tumour samples from 112 patients using a short-term primary culture assay based on the concept of total cell kill. Sensitivity was related to tumour histology, treatment status and clinical tumour response.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For most EOC standard drugs serous high grade and clear cell EOC were the most sensitive subtypes and the mucinous tumours the most resistant subtype. Docetaxel, however, tended to show the opposite pattern. Samples from previously treated patients tended to be more resistant than those from treatment naïve patients. The activity of cisplatin correlated with that of other drugs with the exception of docetaxel. Tumour samples from two sites in the same patient at the same occasion showed similar cisplatin sensitivity in contrast to samples taken at different occasions. Samples from patients responding in the clinic to treatment were more sensitive to most drugs than samples from non-responding patients. At the individual patient level, drug sensitivity in vitro compared with clinical response showed sensitivities and specificities in the 83-100% and 55-83% ranges, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Assessment of EOC tumour cell drug sensitivity in vitro provides clinically relevant and potentially useful information for the optimisation of drug treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Oncology and Radiation Science, Uppsala University , Uppsala , Sweden.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: von Heideman
authors.forename: Bengt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tholander
authors.forename: Birgitta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grundmark
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cajander
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gerdin
authors.forename: Leif
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Holm
authors.forename: Agneta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Axelsson
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.forename: Haile
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mahteme
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nygren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000077216:Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009375:Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents