Apoptosis Assay Determines Chemotherapy for Cancer

An assay that measures a specific form of the drug-induced cell death is required to determine clinically relevant drug sensitivity of the tumor cells.

The assay was used in evaluating in vitro chemosensitivity of endometrial cancerous cells and the results of the analysis correlated well with gynecological oncology trials.

Chemotherapeutic agents, when administered in mild, clinically relevant doses, kill drug-sensitive tumor cells via the mechanism of apoptosis. The in vitro Microculture Kinetic (MiCK) apoptosis assay has been used to predict chemotherapy response in leukemia and ovarian cancer patients.

A feasibility study addressed the MiCK assay in endometrial cancer specimens. A panel of agents was used to simulate clinical dose regimens. The MiCK assay was practicable in evaluating in vitro chemosensitivity of uterine cancer and the results of the assay correlated well with oncological clinical trials. In addition, the study showed that 25% of patients might be best treated with a single agent selected by the MiCK assay rather than a more expensive and more toxic combination chemotherapy regimen.

DiaTech Oncology (Brentwood, TN, USA) manufactures the MiCK assay. The assay is a robotic, high throughput technology which enables precise timing and quantification of apoptotic response induced in tumor cells by a variety of signals including chemical compounds, cytotoxic ligands, UV-light, X-rays, and temperature.

Cary Presant, M.D. F.A.C.P., medical director at Dia tech said, "Our studies continue to demonstrate that the MiCK assay works on all cancers. To be able to predict the best chemotherapy treatment for cancer patients has been a goal for oncologists for many years and we now have the data that proves this technology works.” Knowledge of a patient's drug sensitivity profile allows the treating oncologists to prescribe chemotherapy that would be the most effective against the tumor cells of that patient.

The results of the study on the endometrial cancer patients were published in March 2010 in the Journal of Gynecologic Oncology.

Related Links:
DiaTech Oncology