ANTITUMOR-ACTIVITY OF NEW ORGANOMETALLIC COMPOUNDS IN HUMAN OVARIAN-CANCER CELL-LINES AND COMPARISON TO PLATIN DERIVATIVES

Cisplatin, Carboplatin and new compounds such as Paclitaxel and Doceta xel are effective drugs in the treatment of ovarian cancer. Multidrug resistance however remains an issue in ovarian cancer. The search for new effective drugs will remain of the highest priority in the field o f cancer research. The in vitro and in vivo growth inhibiting potencie s of two new metallocene dichlorides, Titanocendichloride and Vanadoce ndichloride, were compared to Cisplatin and Carboplatin using 20 perma nent human ovarian cancer cell lines. Under in vivo and in vitro condi tions Cisplatin was more effective than Carboplatin. Under in vitro co nditions a Vanadocendichloride concentration of as low as 1.5 x 10(-7) mol/l resulted in a 50 % decrease in the cell proliferation. Titanoce ndichloride inhibited cellular growth only at concentrations of 10(-4) mol/l. In contrast, Titanocendichloride was more effective in inhibit ing growth of xenotransplanted ovarian cancer cell lines in nude mice. The clinically supposed equipotentiality of Carboplatin should be han dled cautiously. The new organometallic substances clearly exhibit ant iproliferative properties in ovarian cancer cells and are considered f or clinical phase I trials.