Surviving cells after treatment with gemcitabine or 5-fluorouracil for the study of de novo resistance of pancreatic cancer.

ABSTRACT

One of the hallmarks of pancreatic cancer is its inherent insensitivity to chemotherapy. This study was undertaken to develop a cell model for the study of de novo resistance of pancreatic cancer. The surviving pancreatic cancer cells after a 3-day exposure to gemcitabine or 5-fluorouracil followed by another 7-day recovery were potentially drug-resistant. They had similar morphology and comparable growth and tumorigenic potentials to their untreated parental cells. Repeated subculture affected the cell-cycle profile and growth characteristics of the surviving cells. Our data suggest that surviving pancreatic cancer cells after drug treatment are a useful model for exploring intrinsic resistance.