In vitro evaluation of myelotoxicity induced by antineoplastic drugs.

Myelotoxicity is one of the most important side effects of antineoplastic drugs. Even in using the same dosages, the gravity of this toxicity varies greatly among different patients. With the aim of evaluating if an in vitro test may predict such an effect we have measured in bone marrow samples taken from 15 patients undergoing chemotherapy for small-cell lung cancer the in vitro uptake of 3H-thymidine in the presence or absence of the cytostatic drugs used for the clinical treatment of these patients. We did not find a clear correlation between the in vitro results and the myelotoxicity observed during the clinical course.