Testing Drug Sensitivity in Tumors
Author Information
Author(s): C.A. Jones, T. Tsukamoto, P.C. O'Brien, C.B. Uhl, M.C. Alley, M.M. Lieber
Primary Institution: Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation
Hypothesis
Is the [3H]-Thymidine incorporation assay more effective than colony counting for assessing drug sensitivity in human tumors?
Conclusion
The [3H]-TdR incorporation assay is more sensitive and reproducible than the colony counting assay for drug sensitivity testing in human tumors.
Supporting Evidence
- The study analyzed over 6,200 different specimens of primary human cancers.
- Regression analysis showed good to excellent correlations between the two assay endpoints.
- The [3H]-TdR assay was found to be more sensitive in samples with many tumor cell aggregates.
Takeaway
Scientists tested how well different methods can measure how cancer cells respond to drugs, finding one method works better than the other.
Methodology
The study compared drug sensitivity testing using optical colony counting and [3H]-TdR incorporation in soft agar cultures of human tumor cells.
Limitations
The presence of pre-existing tumor cell aggregates complicates the optical colony counting assay.
Participant Demographics
The study included various human tumor cell lines, xenografts, and primary tumor specimens.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website