Summary.-The steroids prednisolone and progesterone significantly altered the therapeutic indices of the alkylating agents, nitrogen mustard, melphalan, cyclophosphamide, phenyl acetic mustard and chlorambucil. For nitrogen mustard, chlorambucil and phenyl acetic mustard, prednisolone reduced host toxicity in the rat and enhanced the antitumour effectiveness against alkylating-agent-resistant strains of the Yoshida sarcoma and Walker carcinosarcoma. Progesterone also increased the therapeutic index of chlorambucil in the rat by decreasing its systemic toxicity.Two other alkylating agents, melphalan and cyclophosphamide, exhibited lower therapeutic indices in combination with prednisolone against alkylating-agentsensitive tumours. This was due to the greater host toxicity of the combination than of the alkylating agent alone. In alkylating-agent-resistant tumours, however, a significant increase in growth delay was achieved if prednisolone was combined with the alkylating agent.

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Summary.-Our selection of a potential second-generation platinum compound began with an initial short list of 8 compounds selected on the basis of antitumour and toxicity studies in mice. We now report further, more detailed investigations of the renal toxicity and antitumour activity of one of these compounds, cis-dichloro trans-dihydroxy bis isopropylamine platinum (IV) (CHIP), in comparison with cis-dichloro diammine platinum (II) (Neoplatin). CHIP was a more effective antitumour agent against both alkylating-agent sensitive and resistant strains of the Yoshida sarcoma (YSs and YSR respectively) than was Neoplatin. In addition CHIP produced negligible kidney toxicity as measured by blood urea levels.We have also compared the effects of these two drugs on nuclear-protein phosphorylation, in an attempt to gain insight into their molecular mode of action. Both Neoplatin and CHIP induced increased nuclear-protein phosphorylation in the YSs tumour cells, and loss of condensed chromatin. However, CHIP also induced increased nuclear-protein phosphorylation and loss of condensed chromatin in the YSR tumour cells. These changes correlated well with cell death. In addition Neoplatin, but not CHIP, treatment caused increased nuclear-protein phosphorylation in kidney tissues. This correlated with kidney damage as measured by blood urea levels.These selection criteria suggested that CHIP would be a more selective antitumour agent than Neoplatin, and will provide a basis for its comparison with the other 7 compounds.FOLLOWING EARLY REPORTS by Rosenberg et al. on the anti-bacterial effects of the soluble salts of platinum (Rosenberg et al., 1965(Rosenberg et al., , 1967 and, subsequently, on

These studies provide a rationale for clinical trials using this combination in the treatment of acute leukemias as well as solid tumors and suggest that this combination would exhibit greater antitumor activity than that of clofarabine plus araC.