Vol. 31, No. 2, 2009 (June)
	Content

Analysis of in vitro and in vivo sensitivity of oral cancer cells to methotrexate

R.B. Pai¹, R.M. Lalitha^{1, 2}, S.B. Pai¹, S.V. Kumaraswamy^{1, 3}, N. Lalitha¹, M.K. Bhargava¹

¹Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Hosur Road, Bangalore 560029, India ²Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, M.S. Ramaiah Dental College and Hospital, Bangalore 560054, India ³V.S. Dental College and Hospital, Bangalore 560004, India

Abstract. Aim: The present study was directed on the assessment of the response of treatment-naive oral cancer cells to methotrexate (MTX) in vitro: and clinical response to MTX therapy. Methods: A pilot study of in vitro: evaluation of MTX response of oral cancer cells from 10 patients was conducted using a cell viability assay to determine the sensitivity/resistance to MTX. Quantitative in vitro: data were correlated to the clinical outcome to MTX therapy. Results: A positive correlation was observed between the effect of MTX on tumor cells in vitro: and clinical response for 7 out of 10 patients. Conclusions: Observations from the proof-of-principle pilot study suggests that oral cancer cells have intrinsically variable response to MTX. Confirmation of these findings with a larger cohort of patients could aid in the development of individualized therapies for this class of malignancy.

Key Words: oral cancer, methotrexate, intrinsic, drug sensitivity/resistance

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