Antitumor activity of trovafloxacin in an animal model

Quinolone antibiotics come close to being ideal chemotherapeutic agents in that they are administered orally, are concentrated in cells and tissue, are readily available, relatively safe and exhibit increased activity against both bacteria and tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo. Our objective was to evaluate the in vivo activity of trovafloxacin and ciprofloxacin against murine leukemic cells in neutropenic mice with lung infection due to Klebsiella pneumoniae. The results showed that both trovafloxacin and ciprofloxacin were effective in clearing lung infection. However, trovafloxacin, but not ciprofloxacin, was effective in preventing metastasis of leukemia cells to the lungs and other tissue and in prolonging the survival of mice.