Subrenal capsule assay as a predictor of clinical response of ovarian cancer to chemotherapy: Part II.

The value of the subrenal capsule assay in predicting the response of advanced ovarian cancer to combination chemotherapy was studied prospectively. The population consisted of 24 patients with advanced or recurrent disease. Using a three-grade interpretation of drug response in the assay (sensitive, intermediately sensitive, and resistant), an over-all predictive accuracy of 79% was achieved. All objective clinical responses and acquired drug resistance could be predicted by the assay. It was concluded that the assay is a promising method for predicting response of patients with ovarian cancer to chemotherapy.