Response to chemotherapy of non-small cell bronchial rat tumours growing subcutaneously or in the lung.

Seven rat bronchial cancers of various grades of differentiation were used to study responses to single doses of cytostatic drugs (mitomycin C, cisplatin, methotrexate, TCNU, CCNU, ifosfamide) when growing subcutaneously or in the lung. The endpoint was growth delay as calculated from tumour volume measurements using vernier callipers or radiography. Substantial differences were observed between the tumour lines in their response to the chemotherapeutic agents. The response of tumours implanted in the lung was less than that of flank implants of the same tumour line. TCNU and ifosfamide were the most consistently effective drugs, yielding growth delays of at least two tumour volume doubling times in the majority of the lines studied.