Purpose: To study the sensitivity of primary tumor cells from patients with cervical cancer to frequently used chemotherapeutic combinations.
Methods: 54 samples from cervical cancer patients were collected and used to develop cell culture in vitro. Eight frequently used chemotherapeutic combinations (taxol, taxol+cisplatin, taxol+carboplatin, topotecan+cisplatin, gemcitabine+cisplatin, docetaxel, gemcitabine, cisplatin+c yclophosphamide+doxorubicin) were prepared in different concentrations [200,100,50,25, and 12.5% plasma peak concentration (PPC)] and added to tumor cell culture. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence assay was used to quantify cell cytotoxicity.
Results: Sensitivity of primary tumor cell from patients with cervical cancer to 8 chemotherapeutic combinations were: gemcitabine < docetaxel < topotecan+cisplatin < cisplatin +cyclophosphamide+doxorubicin < gemcitabine+cisplatin < taxol < taxol+carboplatin < taxol+cisplatin.
Conclusion: Using the drug sensitivity test to assess chemotherapeutics in the treatment of cervical cancer patients offers many benefits, being a first step to a clinically individualized chemotherapy.