CHEMOSENSITIVITY OF HUMAN-MELANOMA METASTASES IN MOUSE SUBRENAL CAPSULE ASSAY - CAN IT PREDICT TUMOR RESPONSE TO COMBINED CYTOSTATIC PLUS INTERFERON THERAPY IN METASTATIC MELANOMA

We have analysed the chemosensitivity of 121 human melanoma metastases in the 6-day mouse subrenal capsule assay (SRCA). A total of 13 diffe rent chemotherapy regimens were analysed in four successive series, By the original criteria of the assay, 75% of tumours were sensitive to at least one regimen, The most effective combinations, giving sensitiv ity rates >40%, were of dacarbazine, vincristine, and BCNU (DOB) with or without metronidazole, followed by cisplatin plus etoposide (Plat-V P16) combined with interferon, On the basis of the SRCA screening we d eveloped a four-drug chemotherapy regimen combined with interferon for metastatic melanoma, Retrospectively analysed the assay correctly ide ntified 77% of clinical responders and 54% of clinical nonresponders, The overall predictive accuracy was 65%, Despite the limitations of th e assay, it can be used for screening new drugs or combinations.