Effects of inhibitors of radiation-induced potentially lethal damage repair on chemotherapy in murine tumors.

Enhancement of various antitumor drugs effects by inhibitors of radiation-induced potentially lethal damage (PLD) repair was studied in three murine tumors (EMT-6, RIF-1 and SQ-1). In EMT-6 tumors, PLD repair inhibitors, 3'-deoxyguanosine (3'-dG) and 7904 (a derivative of 3'-deoxyadenosine) showed a marked enhancement of tumor growth inhibition by anticancerous drugs (FT-207 (a derivative of 5-FU), bleomycin, Ara-C, ACNU). However, the effects of mitomycin-C and vincristine were not potentiated by the inhibitors. In SQ-1 carcinomas, another repair inhibitor, ara-A (1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine) (32 mg/kg) potentiated the effect of ACNU. In RIF-1 sarcomas, in which a low PLD repair function has been reported after ionizing radiation exposure, the potentiation was not so marked as in EMT-6 or SQ-1 tumors. Thus, as a possibility, the potentiation by inhibitors of radiation-induced PLD repair might be a result of the inhibition of chemical-induced PLD repair. The study of this field may contribute to the improvement of cancer treatment not only by radiotherapy but also by chemotherapy.