Intracerebral growth of a human glioma tumor line in athymic mice and treatment with procarbazine, 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea, aziridinylbenzoquinone, and cis-platinum.

Tumors derived from the established human glioma cell line D-54 MG were transplanted intracerebrally into athymic "nude" mice. All control mice developed tumors in the brain after the transplantation of 10(5) cells and died within 30 days. Tumor was purely intracerebral in the presymptomatic stages, including the time of drug treatment. The injection of serial cell dilutions reduced the tumor incidence and prolonged survival. Procarbazine (PCB), 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea, diaziquone (aziridinylbenzoquinone), and cis-platinum each produced statistically significant increases in survival when administered on Day 10 after transplantation, and PCB alone cured most of the animals. These results extend the characterization of the human glioma line D-54 MG and confirm the value of the athymic mouse for the testing of chemotherapeutic agents of interest in brain tumor therapy.