EFFICACY OF TUMORICIDAL AGENTS IN-VITRO AND IN-VIVO

Implantation of exfoliated tumour cells can give rise to local recurre nce of colorectal cancer and it has been recommended that the bowel lu men be lavaged with a tumoricidal agent. This study identified which t umoricidal agents are currently used in Scotland and investigated thei r efficacy in vitro and in vivo. Cytotoxic efficacy was tested in vitr o by a clonogenic assay and in vivo by a rat model with viable intralu minal tumour cells. Overall 70 per cent of surgeons used a tumoricidal agent during colorectal cancer surgery. Povidone-iodine, sodium hypoc hlorite and chlorhexidine-cetrimide were all effective at killing tumo ur cells in vitro but were all inactivated by the presence of 25 per c ent whole blood in vitro. With 10(5) cells in vivo povidone-iodine and sodium hypochlorite significantly (P < 0.02) reduced the incidence of tumour growth while chlorhexidine-cetrimide had no significant effect . With 10(6) cells povidone-iodine had no effect on the incidence of t umour growth. Tumoricidal agents have effective cytotoxicity in vitro but are only weakly cytotoxic in vivo.