Anti‐tumor activity of mycophenolate mofetil against human and mouse tumors in vivo

Cultured tumor cell lines, tumor xenografts grown in athymic nude mice, and a murine experimental metastasis model were used to assess the in vitro and in vivo anti‐tumor activity of the potent IMP dehydrogenase (IMPDH) inhibitor, mycophenolic acid (MPA), and its morpholinoethyl ester pro‐drug, mycophenolate mofetil (MM). The growth of all the cell lines tested was inhibited by MPA in vitro , with EC 50 values ranging from less than 0.1 μM to 3.9 μM. Mice were monitored for s.c. tumor outgrowth in the case of human tumor xenograft models or survival time for the murine experimental metastasis model. Treatment with MM p.o. was started 24 hr after tumor challenge or after tumors became palpable. Treatment of athymic nude mice bearing A3.01 (T‐lymphoblast), Molt‐4 (T‐cell leukemia), CaPan‐2 (pancreatic adenocarcinoma), CaLu‐3 (non‐small‐cell lung adenocarcinoma), LS174T and T84 (colon adenocarcinoma), and Daudi (B‐cell lymphoma) human tumor xenografts with MM significantly inhibited s.c. tumor growth. Treatment of BALB/c mice with MM after i.v. injection of murine RAW 117‐H10 lymphoma cells in an experimental metastasis assay resulted in increased survival time for treated animals. No significant inhibitory effect on s.c. tumor outgrowth was seen with MM treatment of SK‐Hep‐1, a human hepatic endothe‐lioma, or Hep‐3B, a liver adenocarcinoma, at any of the doses tested. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.