Abstract
2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CDA) is an adenosine deaminase resistant analogue of deoxyadenosine which has shown clinical activity in human hematologic neoplasms. The exact mode of action of this drug remains the subject of investigation. We applied the Differential Staining Cytotoxicity (DiSC) assay to 50 human tumour specimens obtained from patients with a variety of hematologic malignancies to characterise the activity spectrum of 2-CDA. We evaluated the disease-specific activity of this agent in vitro and compared its relative cytotoxicity with that of other antineoplastic agents in current clinical use. Comparisons were conducted against nitrogen mustard, doxorubicin, vincristine and cytosine arabinoside. Our results indicate that 2-CDA has activity in myeloid and many lymphoid neoplasms but that multiple myeloma specimens reveal significant resistance. Cross resistance studies reveal a correlation between 2-CDA and the alkylator nitrogen mustard but no correlation between 2-CDA and doxorubicin, vincristine nor cytosine arabinoside. The results suggest 2-CDA activity in many human hematologic neoplasms with the clear exception of multiple myeloma and further suggest a relationship between this agent and alkylators of the mustard class. The DiSC assay may provide useful insights in the pre-clinical evaluation of new antineoplastic drugs and may help to elucidate drug activities and mechanisms of action.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nagourney, R., Evans, S., Messenger, J. et al. 2 chlorodeoxyadenosine activity and cross resistance patterns in primary cultures of human hematologic neoplasms. Br J Cancer 67, 10–14 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1993.3
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1993.3
This article is cited by
-
Precision medicine for cancer with next-generation functional diagnostics
Nature Reviews Cancer (2015)
-
Therapeutic potential of cladribine in combination with STAT3 inhibitor against multiple myeloma
BMC Cancer (2011)
-
Ex vivo programmed cell death and the prediction of response to chemotherapy
Current Treatment Options in Oncology (2006)
-
Cladribine with cyclophosphamide and prednisone in the management of low-grade lymphoproliferative malignancies
British Journal of Cancer (1999)