Abstract
Taxol is an investigational antineoplastic agent which acts by stabilizing microtubules, thereby preventing normal mitosis. It is believed to block cells in the G 2/M phase of the cell cycle. The drug is a natural product isolated from the yew, Taxus brevifolia. We have used a cell line derived from human cervical carcinoma to investigate the combination of Taxol with high and low dose rate 137Cs irradiation. An additive effect for Taxol plus radiation was observed; supra-additivity or synergism is not suggested by our data. In the cell line studied, drug concentrations that accumulate cells to some degree in the G 2/M phase of the cycle lead to cell lethality, so that no radiosensitizing effect is possible. We have also shown that the cytotoxic effect of Taxol is not limited to the G 2/M phase of the cell cycle. In the clinic, Taxol shows promise both as a chemotherapeutic agent and as a possible adjunct to radiation. The present work demonstrates the need for further studies of Taxol plus radiation with a variety of human cell lines of normal and malignant origin.
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