Does dexamethasone inhibit the growth of human gliomas?

Dexamethasone (10-(4)M) was shown to inhibit the growth of human gliomas in culture. This was indicated by the inhibition of incorporation of radioactively labeled thymidine into the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of the cells, and by the increase in the generation time of cells exposed to the drug in vitro. On the other hand, tumors obtained from patients who had received dexamethasone before craniotomy grew considerably faster in vitro than tumors from patients who had not been given the drug before operation.