Chemoresistance testing of human ovarian cancer cells and its in vitro model

Ovarian carcinoma represents the most common cause of death from gynecological malignancies in Europe and North America, being the third most frequent and the first as to the mortality. The standard chemotherapeutical regimen for ovarian cancer involves the administration of platinum derivate (carboplatin, cisplatin), in advanced stage is platinum derivate combined with paclitaxel. Introducing chemoresistance testing of ovarian tumour cells may help to choose optimal chemotherapeutic drug and customize the individual chemotherapeutical regimens in patients. One of approaches of individualization of chemotherapy is in vitro chemosensitivity testing. In our study, we evaluated the cytotoxic effects of selected chemotherapeutics in cells isolated from ovarian tumours and ascites of individual patients. Panel of chemotherapeutics used in the study included cisplatin, paclitaxel, carboplatin, topotecan, gemcitabine and etoposide and their effects on cell viability were determined by the MTT assay. In the total number of 32 clinical samples of tumour and ascites cells, the highest sensitivity showed cells to topotecan, sensitivity to cisplatin was higher than to carboplatin and paclitaxel used in clinical practice showed most often only the marginal reactivity. Resistance to carboplatin and most of the time to gemcitabine and etoposide was commonly present. When the same test on cells that have been frozen for several weeks was repeated it was found that in 20 cases chemosensitivity increased while in 18 cases decreased. In remaining cases there was no change in reactivity to cytostatics. Moreover, chemosensitivity of cells isolated from solid tumour and ascites from the same patient did not show any significant difference with exaption of paclitaxel.