[The determination of the oncolytic effect of clostridia with the hamster amelanotic Melanoma no.3--a quantitative study utilizing defined criteria of evaluation (author's transl)].

With a view of satisfying the practical demands on a diagnostic tumour clostridium assay the development of a biological tumour test model is of prime importance. We are interested in a safe method for differentiating between oncolytic clostridia and clostridial strains exerting no oncolytic capacity. It was therefore attempted to develop a reproducible assay system using hamster A-Mel-3 as a reference tumour. This was finally attained by quantifying oncolysis taking into account the criterium of spontaneous onconecrosis of this tumour. The proposed oncolytic assay system was submitted to a mathematical regression analysis using different strains of clostridia as well as different batches of cultivated spores of one and the same strain. The results are critically compared with the current literature.