In vitro sensitivity of human melanoma xenografts to cytotoxic drugs. Correlation with in vivo chemosensitivity.

Single-cell suspensions prepared from five human melanomas, grown serially as xenografts in athymic nude mice, were exposed in vitro to increasing concentrations of DTIC (Dacarbazine), CCNU (Lomustine), procarbazine, vinblastine, and the cancerostatic lectins abrin and ricin. The in vitro chemosensitivity of the cells, as measured by the drug concentrations required to inhibit colony formation in soft agar by 50%, was correlated with the growth delay of the xenografts in vivo, previously observed after treatment of the animals with maximum tolerable doses of the same drugs. It was found that for each drug the in vitro sensitivity of the different xenografts was strongly correlated with their response in vivo. The results provide evidence that the soft agar test, as carried out here, adequately reflects the relative sensitivity of the xenografts in vivo. The data indicate that human xenografts may be used to develop quantitative in vitro chemosensitivity tests.