Pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase indicate chemosensitivity of human colon cancer specimens to doxifluridine and 5-fluorouracil, respectively.

We have assessed pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase (PyNPase) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) activity to compare the chemosensitivity of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and doxifluridine (5'-DFUR). Tumor samples were prepared from fresh surgical specimens of 28 patients with advanced colon carcinoma. The activity levels of the two enzymes were assessed as indicators of chemosensitivity to 5'-DFUR and 5-FU. PyNPase activity was analyzed using the HPLC method, and DPD activity was assessed according to the methods of Naguib et al. (1985). A histoculture drug response assay (HDRA) was conducted according to the methods described by Furukawa et al. (1992). The mean and standard deviation of PyNPase activity in the tumor tissue was 110 +/- 48.6 &mgr;g 5-FU/mg protein/h, which was statistically higher than the corresponding value obtained in normal tissue (60 +/- 43.1 &mgr;g 5-FU/mg protein/h) (P < 0.005). When chemosensitivity to the two drug forms was compared in 16 samples obtained from 16 cases with colon cancer, 1 specimen was sensitive to both drug forms, 3 specimens were exclusively sensitive to 5'-DFUR, 5 specimens were exclusively sensitive to 5-FU, and the other 7 specimens were insensitive to both drugs, without significance. High PyNPase activity was associated with a high chemosensitivity to 5'-DFUR, and high DPD activity correlated with a low chemosensitivity to 5-FU. However, the converse relationship was not found. We suggest that the activity of PyNPase and DPD represents a reliable indicator for the chemosensitivity of colon cancer to 5'-DFUR and 5-FU, respectively.