Antitumor efficacies of aclacinomycin A by oral administration.

For the purpose of seeking a possible base for the oral clinical application of an anthracycline antibiotic, aclacinomycin A (ACM), ACM was given orally to the mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma, colon adenocarcinomas 26 and 38, and compared with the effect of adriamycin (ADM). Oral administration of ACM at 5 or 10 mg/kg for 10 time suppressed the growth of Lewis lung carcinoma. There was no significant difference in survival times of the tumor-bearing mice given ACM orally at various dosages tested. ADM was not effective orally as long as the antitumor effect was examined at the dose levels tested. However, significant increase in the survival time of the mice implanted s.c. with colon adenocarcinoma 26 or 38 was noted for oral administration of ACM at 5-10 mg/kg for 10 times. Ths is, at 10 mg/kg of ACM, T/C% was 187% against colon 26 and 141% against colon 38, respectively. ADM, was not effective against these mouse tumors when given orally. Clinical application of ACM by oral administration, however, will need further studied including preclinical pharmacology, drug formulation and others.