Responsiveness of gynecological malignancies to oral antitumor agents in subrenal capsule assay and individualization of oral adjuvant chemotherapy

A subrenal capsule assay (SRCA) was performed to test the sensitivity of 45 gynecological malignancies, including 24 cervical and 15 ovarian carcinomas, to oral antitumor agents, UFT, cyclophosphamide (CPM) and carboquone (CQ). Additionally, using a human endometrial carcinoma (Ishikawa carcinoma), the utility of SRCA in oral adjuvant chemotherapy was also investigated. Thirty-six of 45 cases (80.0%) were found to be evaluable. Regardless of the origin or of the histological type, each gynecological tumor showed a different degree of sensitivity. The results suggested that it is necessary to choose an oral antitumor agent according to the degree of sensitivity in oral adjuvant chemotherapy. In an experimental study with an implanted tumor, 14 of 20 mice (70.0%) developed a recurrent tumor in the control group. Compared to this, the recurrence rates for tumors in mice treated with CPM, CQ and UFT were 10.0% (p less than 0.001), 25.0% (p less than 0.01) and 30.0% (p less than 0.02), respectively. All these agents were considered to be effective in preventing tumors from recurring. In SRCA, the implanted tumor was sensitive to CPM and CQ, but not sensitive to UFT. These data suggested that SRCA is useful in predicting the effect of dose-dependent agents in oral adjuvant chemotherapy, although, with UFT, a time-dependent agent, it is not clear whether SRCA is appropriate for estimating the usefulness of its agent.