[Oncobiograms and cancer chemotherapy: Hope or reality? (author's transl)].

On the basis of animal experiments it is shown that the results of tumor chemotherapy can be predicted with the aid of in-vitro test systems. In investigations carried out on human tumors, the correlations obtained between in-vitro test results and response to therapy are promising. However, definitive proof of a correlation can only be provided by planned, statistically supported clinical studies. Two types of information can already be obtained from the in-vitro tests: data concerning the rate of proliferation of the tumor, on which the activity of cytostatic agents depends, and data on certain types of resistance to cytostatics.