Effect of cyclophosphamide on the pathophysiology of RIF-1 solid tumors

The present experiments were conducted to determine the effects of cyclophosphamide (150 mg/kg) on the pathophysiology of RIF-1 solid tumors and to determine the temporal relationship between treatment mediated changes in tumor vascular physiology, cell proliferation, and chemoresponsiveness in vivo. Capillary permeability and plasma and extracellular water volumes were determined by a 125I-bovine serum albumin, 51Cr-EDTA double isotope dilution assay at various intervals after cyclophosphamide. Tumor blood flow and exchangeable erythrocyte vascular volumes were determined by 86RbCl distribution and 51Cr-labeled erythrocyte dilution methods. Cell proliferation in RIF-1 tumors, assessed by [3H]thymidine labeling index and tumor growth fraction (primer-dependent DNA polymerase labeling assay) measurements, was inhibited for up to 3 days by cyclophosphamide. Although tumor regrowth was not apparent until Day 10, cell kinetic studies indicated proliferative recovery in the surviving cell population on Days 4 and 5 after treatment. Increases in tumor blood flow and tumor vascular volumes were temporally coincident with this proliferative response. In split-dose experiments, the time-dependent increases in the chemoresponsiveness of RIF-1 tumors, after cyclophosphamide, may be due not only to the increased proliferation of repopulating cells, but also to vascular responses attendant with cytoreduction.