CYTOTOXIC DRUG-SENSITIVITY TESTING OF TUMOR-CELLS FROM PATIENTS WITH OVARIAN-CARCINOMA USING THE FLUOROMETRIC MICROCULTURE CYTOTOXICITY ASSAY (FMCA)

The automated fluorometric microculture cytotoxicity assay (FMCA) is b ased on the measurement of fluorescence generated from cellular hydrol ysis of fluorescein diacetate (FDA) to fluorescein by viable cells aft er a 72-hr culture period in microtiter plates. The FMCA was adopted f or chemosensitivity testing of tumor cells from patients with ovarian carcinoma. Thirty-seven samples of solid tumors and malignant effusion s were obtained from 35 patients at diagnosis or relapse. Tumor cells from solid samples and effusions were prepared by enzymatic digestion and centrifugation, respectively, followed by Percoll or Ficoll purifi cation. The fluorescence was proportional to the number of cells/well and considerably higher in tumor cells than in contaminating normal ce lls. The effect of up to 19 cytotoxic drugs was successfully assessed in 70% of the samples and there was a good correlation between drug se nsitivity data reported by the FMCA and the DiSC assay performed in pa rallel. The overall drug sensitivity pattern in vitro corresponded wel l to the clinical experience. The effect of cisplatin varied considera bly between patients and resistance was found also in cases not previo usly exposed to cytotoxic drugs. The FMCA is a rapid and simple method that seems to report clinically relevant cytotoxic drug sensitivity d ata in ovarian carcinomas. In the future, this method may contribute t o optimizing chemotherapy by assisting in individualized drug selectio n and new drug development. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.