Testing of a chemosensitivity screening method on sensitive and resistant breast tumoral epithelial cell lines.
Until now chemosensitivity of tumour cells has been evaluated solely on the basis of cell growth or survival testing. In order to rapidly evaluate sensitivity to anthracyclines, which are well known to disturb DNA organization, we propose a model based on detection of conformational changes in DNA structure. Chromatin texture changes were assessed using a cell image processor which computes six densitometric and nine texture parameters on each Feulgen-stained nucleus and provides multiparametric analyses of data. The technique was tested on two cell lines of human breast cancer, differing only with regard to their sensitivity to anthracycline. The percentage of nuclei affected by the drug and distribution of the cell cycle phases were determined on the same cells. This method can be used to predict the efficacy of anthracyclines used alone or in conjunction with other drugs. It may also be applicable for other therapeutic agents causing conformational changes in DNA structure.