[Combined antitumor therapy with polyamine biosynthesis inhibitors and mitomycin C]

A combined effect of the polyamine biosynthesis inhibitors, alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) and methyglyoxal-bis-guanylhydrazone (MGBG) with mitomycin C (MMC) was studied. DFMO, MGBG and MMC were given intraperitoneally to nude mice xenotransplanted human gastric cancer. This new combination of the three drugs resulted in the complete halt of the xenotransplanted tumor growth and marked decline of spermine levels in the tumor tissues. The other treatments with DFMO and MGBG as well as MMC alone were inferior to this new combined therapy in suppression in both tumor growth and tissue spermine level. These data suggest that this new combined treatment be effective against human gastric cancer.