Antineoplastic effects in rats of 5-fluorocytosine in combination with cytosine deaminase capsules.

5-Fluorocytosine (5-FC) lacks antineoplastic activity in human subjects because of the absence of cytosine deaminase (CDase) in mammalian cells. Intratumoral conversion of 5-FC into 5-fluorouracil (5-FUra) by locally implanted capsules containing CDase followed by systemic administration of 5-FC can be expected to induce antineoplastic activity at a local site with minimal systemic toxicity. In vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to evaluate this hypothesis. Spectrophotometric analysis confirmed the deamination of 5-FC to 5-FUra by CDase extracted from cultivated Escherichia coli. In vitro studies showed that 5-FC combined with CDase induced significant growth-inhibitory effects on the cultured glioma cells. An active CDase capsule, made of cellulose tubing, was newly designed for local implantation. 5-FC concentrations in the s.c. tumors of the rats given these CDase capsules, followed by 5-FC administration, showed a sufficient amount of delivery of 5-FC to the tumor tissue. 5-FUra appearing in the tumor reached the level of 8.0 micrograms/g at 2 h and stayed at more than 1.0 microgram/g at between 1 and 6 h. Significant reduction of the tumor growth and cytotoxic changes were observed. The passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction demonstrated no allergic reaction to the host due to the capsule. These results suggest that this chemotherapeutic method is effective for human brain tumors.