[The evaluation of the cyclophosphamide sensitivity of human tumours by determining the incorporation of tritiated uridine and thymidine into the nucleic acids of human tumor cells in vitro in presence of 4-hydroxycyclophosphamide (author's transl)].

A new in vitro assay for screening the sensitivity of human tumour cells against Cyclophosphamide has been developed. While biologically activated Cyclophosphamide was unsuitable because of unpurities in the material, synthetic 4-Hydroxycyclophosphamide was shown to inhibit the incorporation of tritiated uridine and thymidine into the nucleic acids of human tumour cells in vitro. 29 tumours including 14 mammarial carcinomas, 8 ovarial carcinomas and 7 other malignant tumours were tested. While 12 tumours showed a significant and 5 only a slight inhibition of the 3H-uridine incorporation in vitro. 12 tumours showed no effect. Histologically none-differentiated tumours were more sensitive against 4-Hydroxycyclophosphamide as compared with the more differentiated ones. First observations point to 4-Hydroperoxycyclophosphamide instead of 4-Hydroxycyclophosphamide as a more suitable form of activated Cyclophosphamid for the in vitro assay of Cyclophosphamide sensitiveness because of the higher stability and better availability of this compound.