The difference between 5-fluorouracil and melphalan in their ability to promote antitumor immune response against MOPC-315 plasmacytoma

• Published in: Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 43 - 48
• Main Authors: BEN-EFRAIM, S, SHOVAL, S, OPHIR, R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin Springer 01.05.1986; Springer-Verlag
• Subjects: Adjuvants, Immunologic - pharmacology; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Concanavalin A - pharmacology; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic - drug effects; Fluorouracil - pharmacology; Immunomodulators; Lymphocyte Activation - drug effects; Medical sciences; Melphalan - pharmacology; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Myeloma Proteins - immunology; Original; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Phytohemagglutinins - pharmacology; Plasmacytoma - drug therapy; Plasmacytoma - immunology; Plasmacytoma - physiopathology; Spleen - immunology; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - immunology; Antineoplastic agent; Immunomodulation; Rodentia; Cytotoxicity; In vitro; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Mouse; T-Lymphocyte; Suppressive cell; Mechanism of action; Experimental tumor; Tumor cell
• ISSN: 0340-7004; 1432-0851
• DOI: 10.1007/BF00205715

The anticancer chemotherapeutic drugs melphalan (L-phenylalanine mustard; L-PAM), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), methotrexate (MTX), and daunorubicin (DAU) were tested for their toxic activity against MOPC-315 tumor cells in vitro. L-PAM, 5-FU, and DAU had a marked toxic effect whereas MTX did not affect the rate of thymidine incorporation in the tumor cells. L-PAM (7.5 mg/kg) induced permanent regression of large s.c. MOPC-315 plasmacytoma tumors, 5-FU (200-250 mg/kg) induced transient regression of MOPC-315 tumors with reappearance starting on the 6th day after the 5-FU injection and DAU (5 mg/kg) was not effective. L-PAM treatment restored the cytotoxic potential of spleen cells of tumor-bearing mice against target MOPC-315 tumor cells whereas spleen cells from tumor-bearing mice treated with 5-FU were unable to mount a cytotoxic response. L-PAM and 5-FU were also assayed for their effect in vitro on induction of suppressor T cells by ConA. L-PAM treatment in vitro markedly reduced the induction of suppressor T cells by ConA whereas 5-FU had no effect. It is suggested that anticancer chemotherapeutic drugs can be classified in "immunopromoting" (L-PAM as prototype) and "nonimmunopromoting" (5-FU as prototype) on the basis of their effect in vivo on established tumors and their effect on induction of suppressor T cells by ConA.