Studies on the antitumour effects of N-137

The antitumour properties of the drug N-137 were assessed in vivo in two murine T lymphoma models and two naturally metastatic hamster fibrosarcomas of Herpesvirus hominis aetiology. N-137 therapy caused a significant delay in the subcutaneous growth rate of both lymphomas (EL4 and TLX9) and in many cases completely prevented tumour appearance when administered at high doses. The antitumour effect observed in both systems was shown to be dose dependent. In contrast, N-137 therapy failed to influence the growth of two hamster fibrosarcomas (HSV-333-2-26 Met A and Met B lines), and drug administration prior to or following resection of Met B tumours failed to influence the development of natural metastases as measured by monitoring animal survival.