[Chemotherapy of cancer: the present status (author's transl)]

Especially in the treatment of solid tumors, chemotherapy with single agents has so far not been very successful. The principles and results of polychemotherapy are therefore discussed. The experimental and clinical data available suggest that there is no correlation between the number of substances combined and the therapeutic effects. The results of "blind" polychemotherapy are compared with the author's and coworkers own experimental and clinical results with partial synchronization of the tumor cells. If possible the tumor-cell kinetics are determined by a double-labeling method devised by Hilscher and Maurer. In both the experimental field (literature and our group's own examinations) and in clinical experience (still limited), partial synchronization has proved clearly superior to "blind" polychemotherapy.