Antitumor effect of CPT-11, a camptothecin derivative, on human testicular tumor xenografts in nude mice

Objective: The antitumor effect of CPT-11, a camptothecin derivative, on two human testicular embryonal carcinomas (TTSC-2 and TTSC-3) heterotransplanted into nude mice was studied. Materials and Methods: Tumor-bearing nude mice were given daily intraperitoneal injections of the anticancer drugs in 0.1 ml saline 3 times at 3-day intervals. At the end of the experiments tumors were resected and subjected to light-microscopic observation. Results: When 10, 30 and 50 mg/kg of CPT-11 was administered to tumor-bearing mice intraperitoneally, the antitumor effect of CPT-11 was observed dose-dependently in both TTSC-2 and TTSC-3. When 30 mg/kg of CPT-11 was administered in combination with CDDP, complete tumor regression was observed in both TTSC-2 and TTSC-3 tumors. Histological findings correlated well with the decrease in tumor volume of treated tumors. No mice died after treatment with CPT-11 in a single-agent and combination chemotherapy. Conclusion: Chemotherapy with CPT-11 was an effective and safe method against human testicular tumors heterotransplanted in nude mice.