Oncogenic transformations in vitro produced by misonidazole

The report that metronidazole induces mutations in vitro and multiple tumor types in vivo, while misonidazole induces mutations and oncogenic transformations in vitro, have raised questions concerning the possible adverse long term effects of these radiosensitizers. The present report compares misonidazole with a number of other radiosensitizers using an established cell line to score oncogenic transformations in vitro. The four electron affinic compounds studied were misonidazole (Ro-07-0582), desmethylmisonidazole (Ro-05-9963), Ro-07-0741 and SR 2508