Pulmonary toxicity studies of bleomycin and talisomycin.

The comparative pulmonary toxicity induced by bleomycin and talisomycin (former trivial name: tallysomycin A) was evaluated by measuring lung hydroxyproline content. Based on published subacute toxicity data, in which talisomycin was found to be four times as toxic as bleomycin, the following doses of each drug were given sc to BDF1 male mice twice weekly for 4 weeks: 2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg of bleomycin and 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, and 3.75 mg/kg of talisomycin. Equivalent dose-related effects in body weight were produced by bleomycin and talisomycin at a respective dose ratio of 4:1. Similarly, equivalent dose-dependent increases in lung hydroxyproline content, an index of collagen, were produced by bleomycin and talisomycin. Neither drug caused deaths at the doses used.