Comparison of the toxic and radiosensitizing effects of five therapeutic drugs on the mouse jejunum.

Tissue toxicity and radiosensitizing effects of five different therapeutic drugs, bleomycin (BLM), chlorpromazine (CPZ), misonidazole (MISO), metronidazole (Metro) and Cis-diamminedichloro platinum (II) (c-DDP) on the jejunal crypts of Swiss albino mice were compared. All the drugs except Metro, when used alone, showed comparable toxicity. When combined with radiation, BLM produced a pronounced enhancement in the radiation damage (DMF = 1.5) while Metro did not have any effect; the other drugs lay between BLM and Metro in their radiosensitizing effect.