Sensitivity of anticancer agents on human gastric cancers transplanted into nude mice

In the chemotherapy for gastric cancer, the most sensitive anticancer agent against individual tumors should be prescribed. The establishment of a sensitivity test using nude mice as anin vivo model is urgently awaited by clinicians and researchers alike. Seventy-three tumors derived from human gastric cancer were transplanted subcutaneously into nude mice and these mice were then treated intraperitoneally with anticancer agents. Mitomycin C (MMC), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cyclophosphamide (CPM) were used. The doses given were 3 mg/kg of MMC, 75 mg/kg of 5-FU and 200 mg/kg of CPM. In 52 of the 73 cancers, chemosensitivity was evaluated by the microscopic changes in the tumors. The rate of positive sensitivity against gastric cancer was 44.2% in MMC, 34.6% in 5-FU and 30.8% in CPM, respectively. The sensitivity of each agent tested by this method indicated a good correlation with the clinical therapeutic effects. Our results suggest the feasibility of evaluation of the sensitivity of various agents from the microscopic changes on tumors transplanted into nude mice.