In vivo chemotherapeutic profile of human gallbladder small cell carcinoma.

Small cell carcinoma of the gallbladder is very rare, but shows high malignant potential with frequent metastasis. Chemotherapeutic regimens for the treatment of gallbladder small cell carcinoma have not yet been established. In this study, we examined in vivo chemosensitivity tests for the GB-04-JCK human gallbladder small cell carcinoma, which were previously established as a serial-transplantable xenograft in nude mice. We used four anticancer drugs: docetaxel, irinotecan, nedaplatine and gemcitabine. Docetaxel maximally suppressed xenograft tumor growth in mice (P<0.01), and showed complete tumor regression after chemotherapy day 35. Irinotecan and nedaplatine suppressed tumor growth without complete regression (P<0.01). Gemcitabine did not affect tumor growth significantly. This in vivo experimental study proposed chemotherapeutic regimens for human gallbladder small cell carcinoma.