The Effects of N-acetylcysteine on Ifosfamide Efficacy in a Mouse Xenograft Model

Nephrotoxicity is observed in 30% of children treated with ifosfamide. We have shown that n-acetylcysteine (NAC) successfully mitigates nephrotoxicity of ifosfamide in cell and rodent models. However, before this treatment is evaluated clinically, it must be established that NAC does not interfere with the efficacy of ifosfamide. Mice implanted with Ewing's sarcoma tumours received the following treatments: saline, ifosfamide, ifosfamide + NAC concurrently, pre-treatment with NAC + ifosfamide, or NAC alone. Median volumes of EW-7 tumour xenografts in mice treated with ifosfamide (n=8), ifosfamide with concurrent NAC therapy (n=7), and NAC pre-treatment (n=6) (p