The enhanced antitumor-activity of DNA topoisomerase ii-trapping drugs by natural human tumor-necrosis-factor against human glioma cell-lines in-vitro.

We investigated the antitumor activity of human natural tumor necrosis factor (n-TNF) either alone or in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs on human glioma cell lines in vitro. Although the cytotoxic effect of n-TNF alone did not exceed 30%, n-TNF, in combination with topoisomerase II-trapping drugs, such as actinomycin D (ACD) and daunomycin (DAM), demonstrated a striking synergistic enhancement of the cytotoxicity, and reached a level of more than 80%, against all the tested cell lines. Thus this new combination therapy is considered to be a promising candidate in developing a new treatment approach to glioma patients.