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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Cancer Drug Sensitization In Vitro and In Vivo
Published on: February 6, 2015
Evaluation of cell proliferation and cell death based assays in chemosensitivity testing
C Gerçel-Taylor1, M A Ackermann, D D Taylor
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, KY 40202, USA. catayl01@gwise.louisville.edu
Background:
Drug sensitivity testing (DST) is used to predict the clinical response to chemotherapy with limited success. Our objective was to evaluate assays that measure cell proliferation or apoptosis in determining sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin and paclitaxel.
Materials And Methods:
Four ovarian cancer lines were used. LD10-LD90 doses were determined by viability assays. Assays measuring cell proliferation, sulforhodamine-B (SRB), tritiated thymidine; and cell death, diphenylamine or DNA histone ELISA were compared.
Results:
SRB assay was consistent and sensitive. Histone ELISA correlated with the viability assay at high doses. The [3H] thymidine test was not sensitive and resulted in false positive responses. While less sensitive, detection of apoptosis by diphenylamine assay shows a similar trend to histone ELISA.
Conclusions:
We demonstrate significant differences between the various assays. Most of these assays are better predictors of resistance. Further studies are needed to determine the best correlation between in vitro testing and responses in vivo.
Insights
Evaluating drug sensitivity testing (DST) for ovarian cancer revealed that the sulforhodamine-B (SRB) assay is a sensitive predictor of chemotherapy response, unlike other tested methods.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Cell Biology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Drug sensitivity testing (DST) aims to predict chemotherapy response but has limited clinical success.
- Ovarian cancer treatment relies on predicting patient response to agents like cisplatin and paclitaxel.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate cell proliferation and apoptosis assays for determining ovarian cancer cell sensitivity to cisplatin and paclitaxel.
- To compare the efficacy of sulforhodamine-B (SRB), tritiated thymidine, diphenylamine, and DNA histone ELISA assays.
Main Methods:
- Utilized four ovarian cancer cell lines.
- Determined LD10-LD90 doses using viability assays.
- Compared cell proliferation assays (SRB, [3H] thymidine) and cell death assays (diphenylamine, DNA histone ELISA).
Main Results:
- The SRB assay demonstrated consistent sensitivity.
- DNA histone ELISA correlated with viability at high drug doses; diphenylamine assay showed similar trends.
- The [3H] thymidine assay lacked sensitivity and produced false positives.
Conclusions:
- Significant differences exist among the evaluated in vitro assays.
- Most tested assays are better indicators of drug resistance than sensitivity.
- Further research is required to establish robust correlations between in vitro testing and in vivo patient outcomes.
