Antineoplastic activity of planar rhodium(I) complexes in mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma and P388 leukemia.

The antitumor effects of three rhodium(I) complexes were evaluated using two transplantable tumors of the mouse: Lewis lung carcinoma and P388 lymphocytic leukemia. The examination of the differential effects on primary tumor growth and on the formation of spontaneous pulmonary metastases, in mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma, indicated that the complex having qualitatively the higher solubility in aqueous solutions and the higher resistance to inactivation via oxidation, displayed the more pronounced antineoplastic activity. The antileukemic effects, in mice bearing P388 lymphocytic leukemia, also seemed to depend on the chemical characteristics of the complex used, and the previously reported trend was particularly evident using an acute treatment performed 24 hr after tumor transplantation.