Studies on hemopoietic stem cells in mice treated with testosterone propionate and anticancer drugs.

The alleged possibility that testosterone propionate (TP) has a protective effect on hemopoietic cells submitted to the damaging effect of antitumoral drugs was studied. The bone marrow content and the proliferating fraction of CFUs were determined following a single dose on 450 mg/kg of TP. At selected times after TP injection (2 and 4 days), TP-treated mice received a single dose of azathioprine, hydroxyurea, vinblastine, cyclophosphamide, BCNU and doxorubicin. The bone marrow of CFUs were determined 24 h after drug administration. The CFUs-surviving fraction in all cases appeared similar to or lower than that found in controls not treated with TP. It seems therefore that in this experimental setting TP does not reduce the toxic effect of anticancer drugs on hemopoietic pluripotent stem cells. However, this finding does not exclude a possible protective effect of TP at different levels of hemopoiesis or when the steroid is administered with a different schedule.