Aim: To establish a standard reference for bioactivity of widely used anticancer compounds that might be useful for meaningful interpretation of the cell viability data generated for novel synthetic derivatives. Materials & methods: Meta-analysis of published IC50 values was carried out for commonly used anticancer compounds and cell viability experiments were performed to validate the role of certain factors in drug activity. Results & conclusion: Variability in the published IC50 values was demonstrated. Based on median IC50 values derived from pooled published data, cell lines were classified as either sensitive or resistant. Further, factors that influence IC50 values were discussed, thus encouraging researchers to devise more rational experimental approaches to enhance the success rate in later stages of drug development.

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