Growth inhibition of human gastrointestinal cancer xenograft lines by treatment with CPT-11 and VP-16

A water‐soluble and stable camptothecin derivative, CPT‐11, was found to possess a strong antitumor activity against various murine tumors. In the present study, CPT‐11 was tested against ten human gastrointestinal cancer xenograft lines carried by nude mice. CPT‐11 was very effective against nine xenograft lines, with the exception of one xenograft. On the other hand, VP‐16 was ineffective against all these xenograft lines. Therefore, CPT‐11 is expected to be clinically more effective against gastrointestinal cancer than the topo II targeting agent. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.