The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 36, 408-410, Copyright © 1983 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
The human tumor clonogenic assay in the treatment of patients with lung cancer
CM Kitten, DD Von Hoff, EV Bennett Jr, JK Trinkle and FL Grover
The human tumor clonogenic assay has allowed the growth of human tumor
cells and their testing to chemotherapeutic agents in vitro in a manner
much like bacterial antibiotic sensitivities. This report deals with the in
vitro test results compared with the in vivo therapeutic sensitivities of
human lung cancer. Three hundred twenty-six lung tumor specimens from
either primary or metastatic disease were plated using a two-layer
technique. Of these, 68% (223) were grown and 41% (133) were applicable to
chemosensitivity testing. Only 28 patients were considered for a
retrospective analysis of in vitro tumor sensitivity versus in vivo tumor
response to chemotherapeutic agents. Among them the percentage of true
positives for the assay was 60%, while the percentage of true negatives was
91%. This technique has been encouraging in its initial stages and, with
further development, may have an expanding role in the treatment of
patients with lung cancer.
