Chemotherapeutic sensitivity of normal and leukemic hematopoietic progenitor cells to N-[4-(9-acridinylamino)-3-methoxyphenyl]-methanesulfonamide, a new anticancer agent.

The sensitivities of hematopoietic colony-forming cells (CFC) to N-[4-(9-acridinylamino)-3-methoxyphenyl]-methanesulfonamide (NSC-249992) (m-AMSA) were measured with an in vitro clonogenic assay, a modification of the Robinson and Pike human marrow culture system. CFC derived from bone marrow and peripheral blood of normal subjects and patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) were studied. Sensitivities to m-AMSA did not differ significantly between normal marrow and blood CFC, between normal and CML CFC, or between CML CFC obtained from patients with leukemias in chronic phase and blast transformation. Drug doses and exposure times producing in vitro hematopoietic inhibition were comparable to clinically employed drug dosages and schedules associated with hematopoietic toxicity.