Interactions of mild hyperthermia, cisplatin and split dose irradiation in human ovarian carcinoma cells.

PURPOSE

Human ovarian cancer cells were evaluated to determine whether combination treatment with mild hyperthermia and cisplatin could inhibit repair of sublethal radiation damage.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Human ovarian carcinoma cell lines A2780S (parental line) and A2780CP (cisplatin resistant variant) were used in this study. Cisplatin at concentrations of 1 or 3 microg/ml was given concomitantly with 1 h of heating at 40 degrees C either immediately before or after irradiation. Survival was determined using a colony-forming assay.

RESULTS

Neither mild hyperthermia nor cisplatin treatments alone affected sublethal damage repair. The combined treatment showed an effect in both cell lines and was treatment sequence-dependent. The effect was greater in the parental cell line.

CONCLUSIONS

The data show that combined treatment of cisplatin and hyperthermia may have clinical efficacy at cisplatin concentrations and hyperthermia temperatures which by themselves have little to no effect.