[Heterogeneity in drug sensitivity of human tumors in the human tumor colony-forming assay]

Abstract

The human tumor colony-forming assay was used to compare chemosensitivity among tumor cells within a primary tumor, between primary tumor and its metastasis, and between different metastases. The results indicate that the reported discrepancies of in vitro and in vivo results in clinical trials with TCFA for predicting of resistance or sensitivity to cytostatic drugs may be due to therapeutic heterogeneity among tumor colony-forming units within a primary tumors and between primary tumor and metastases, and that the results from a metastatic lesion may have more profound implications in planning treatment of other metastatic lesions of the same patient.