Journal of Clinical & Experimental Pathology
Open Access

Abstract

In a recent, blinded clinical study on advanced lung cancer (stages IIIb and higher), the prognostic potential of an innovative, cell-based ex vivo-assay was investigated with respect to the efficacy of platinum (Pt)-based chemotherapy. High Pt sensitivity ex vivo was always associated with partial tumor remission. The onset of Pt resistance of the tumors was depicted quantitatively in the tumor explants. Chemotherapy outcomes at various levels of Pt resistance in the explants correlated plausibly with the additional cytostatic drugs used in combination with Pt, particularly pemetrexed. Ex vivo-assays for cellular Pt response performed under conditions preventing photochemical artifacts should contribute to future optimizing of Pt- based lung cancer chemotherapy.

Biography

Christof Granzow, M.D., is a Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, University of Heidelberg, Germany. His group showed that the poor reproducibility of chemoresponse assays due to riboflavin-mediated photochemical cell culture artifacts. At FLACOD GmbH, Heidelberg, he is concerned with novel protocols to predict chemotherapy outcomes.