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

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 toMTX. Confirmation ofthese findings with a larger cohort of patients could aid in the development of individualized therapies for this class of malignancy.