[Antitumor effect of methylene blue in vivo]

Methylene blue can inhibit the growth of Ehrlich ascitic tumor, L1210 leukemia and P388 leukemia in mice. The average life span of the treated animals was obviously longer than that of the controls. Methylene blue was superior to 5-Fu in the treatment of L1210 leukemia of mice and two thirds of the mice with P388 leukemia were healthy and survived for more than 60 days after administrated different doses of methylene blue. When adriamycin was given simultaneously with methylene blue to mice, the acute toxic effect of adriamycin was decreased and the survival time prolonged. Methylene blue is a highly ionized and a rapidly eliminated drug which can combine well with tissues at higher concentration maintained for several hours and can easily pass through the blood-brain barrier.