[Drug sensitivity of tumor cells in varieties of acute childhood leukemia].

Drug sensitivity of tumor cells was studied in 154 children diagnosed with acute leukemia. Cellular sensitivity in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was higher than in acute myeloid one (AML), while T-line ALL cells were more sensitive to dexamethasone than those of B-line. It was suggested that lower drug sensitivity of ALL cells at the earlier stages of cell differentiation was due to their reduced susceptibility to apoptosis. Among AML cells, M3 variant was less sensitive to cytozar while M4 - to vepeside. Reduced sensitivity to vincristine was found in series M3 > M1 - M2 > M4 while that to L-asparaginase was in M1- M2 > M4 > M3.