The combination of melphalan with prednisolone

The effect of prednisolone upon the therapeutic index of melphalan has been studied in a variety of laboratory systems. The anti-tumour action of melphalan was assessed for a human melanoma xenograft growing in immune-deprived mice, clonogenic cell survival and tumour growth delay being used as end-points. Normal tissue toxicity was assessed for human bone marrow colony-forming units, murine bone marrow colony-forming units, murine gastrointestinal crypt microcolony-forming cells, and mouse survival.