GALLIUM NITRATE DELAYS THE PROGRESSION OF MICROSCOPIC DISEASE IN A HUMAN MEDULLOBLASTOMA MURINE MODEL

The goal of adjuvant chemotherapy is to treat postoperative microscopi c disease in the hope of preventing tumor recurrence and/or metastasis . Since the introduction of chemotherapeutic agents, the disease-free survival of children with medulloblastoma has improved only modestly. Therefore, there is a need to develop and investigate new chemotherape utic agents for this malignancy. Gallium nitrate has demonstrated sign ificant antineoplastic activity toward human medulloblastoma in vitro and in vivo and may prove to be an optimal chemotherapeutic agent in t reating medulloblastoma microscopic disease, The present study consist ed of injecting medulloblastoma Daoy intradermally into both flanks of nude mice. A 15-day 50-mg/kg/day regimen was implemented the day afte r tumor inoculation. All treated and control mice received saline hype rhydration during the treatment period. The interval between tumor cel l inoculation and first measurable tumor detection, tumor occurrence, growth rate, and size were recorded. Results indicated that gallium ni trate significantly prolonged the interval between tumor cell inoculat ion and measurable tumor detection.