Clinical study on chemosensitivity testing of oral and maxillofacial cancers associated with their outcomes of chemotherapy

OBJECTIVE: The aim of present study was to evaluate the clinical significance of chemosensitivity testing on tumor cells dissociated from fresh biopsy samples of oral and maxillofacial cancers for individualizing chemotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 63 patients with oral and maxillofacial cancers were entered in this study. The chemosensitivity testing of 63 biopsy specimens were performed with modified MTT method. The antitumor drugs using in test were cisplatin (CDDP), teniposide (Vm-26), epi-adriamycin(E-ADM), vindesin(VDS), 5-fluorouracil(5-Fu), pingyangmycin(PYM), methortrexatum(MTX) and paclitaxel(Taxol). Chemotherapy on the basis of the results of the modified MTT assay were performed on 63 patients and clinical response to the chemotherapy were evaluated. RESULTS: At a drug concentration of Cmax°Á5, the inhibition rates of Vm-26, CDDP, E-ADM, 5-Fu, Taxol, VDS, PYM and MTX on tumor cells were achieved. In the 63 patients received chemotherapy, clinical responses was obtained in all the 16 patients who got inhibition rates of drugs against tumor cells more than 50% in the test, in 22 of 27 patients who got inhibition rates more than 30% but less than 50% and in only 7 of 20 patients with inhibition rates less than 30%. So, the clinical agreement rate was 100.0% if inhibition rate more than 50% was made as standard to judge clinical response, 86.0% if inhibition rate more than 30% was made as the standard and 65.0% if inhibition rate less than 30% as the standard. CONCLUSION: The inhibition rates of the modified MTT assay is in agreement with clinical responses. Chemosensitivity testing of modified MTT assay is useful in selecting chemotherapeutic drugs for patients with oral and maxillofacial cancers and shows value in individualizing chemotherapy scheme.