Chemosensitivity testing for human brain tumors.

A method for analyzing clonogenic cells is described. Single cells obtained from biopsies of ten malignant gliomas were treated with 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-l-nitrosourea (BCNU) in vitro, and tumor cell survival was compared to patient response to nitrosourea therapy. There was a direct correlation between cell sensitivity to nitrosourea and patient response to nitrosourea therapy. The limitations of in vitro and in situ methods and their interpretations are discussed. In addition, an improved method is described for disaggregating single cells from specimens of solid tumor with the use of an enzyme cocktail consisting of pronase, collagenase, and DNAse.