Relationship between melanogenesis, proliferative activity and response to chemotherapy of human melanoma xenografts.

Wide range of different drugs used in the cytotoxicity studies in an amelanotic human melanoma xenograft on nude mice showed a clear inverse relationship between melanogenesis and proliferation. Decreasing rates in proliferative activity estimated by mitotic answer expressed by phase distribution changes as well as by the tumor volume response to drug treatment were in direct relationship with increasing rates in the degree of melanogenesis expressed in percentage of melanin containing cells in histological specimens.