Accurate prediction of experimental cancer chemosensitivity using the subrenal capsule xenograft assay

The chemosensitivity of a murine lung carcinoma grown as a xenograft under the kidney capsule of a rat was compared to the chemosensitivity of this tumor grown as a spontaneous metastasis in its syngeneic host. The chemosensitivity of the tumor to intravenously or subcutaneously administered drugs determined in the short-term xenograft assay accurately predicted the chemosensitivity of this tumor when it was growing as a spontaneous micrometastasis in its syngeneic host, indicating that in both situations the pharmacological determinants of tumor response to anticancer drugs were similar. These results suggest that tumors growing as xenografts under the kidney capsule accurately reflect the responsiveness of these tumors to chemotherapy and support further investigation of the xenograft subrenal capsule assay as a model that may be useful in predicting effective chemotherapy for human tumors.