Subrenal capsule assay applied to examine the sensitivity of allogenic mouse fibrosarcoma to hyperthermia, chemotherapeutic drugs or combined treatment.

The thermosensitivity and chemosensitivity of fibrosarcomas of C3H/He mouse were investigated using the subrenal capsule assay with female ICR mice as host. Five typical chemotherapeutic drugs (mitomycin C, adriamycin, 5-fluorouracil, cis-DDplatinum and cyclophosphamide) tested were effective in suppressing tumour growth. Total-body hyperthermia given at 41.5 degrees C for 30 min twice during the 6-day period exerted little effect. However, an interactive effect was found with the combination of hyperthermia and mitomycin C. The combination of hyperthermia with other drugs failed to exhibit an interactive effect, since the effects of the drugs alone were considerable. The potential clinical applicability of this test is discussed.