To study the factors contributing to tumor sensitivity to adriamycin (ADR) in vivo, the relationship between mRNA expression of the MDR1, GST-pi and topoisomerase II genes and tumor response to ADR was examined in six human xenograft tumors derived from two esophageal, two gastric and two colon cancers. A significant tumor response to ADR was observed in two esophageal xenograft tumors of six tumor lines, and one gastric tumor partially responded to ADR. mRNA expression of the MDR1 and GST-pi genes was elevated in five tumor lines including three ADR responsive tumors, whereas mRNA expression of the topoisomerase II gene was detected in all six tested tumor lines. Topoisomerase II mRNA expression levels in ADR responsive tumors were higher compared with those of ADR unresponsive tumors. No significant relationship between mRNA expression of the MDR1 and GST-pi genes and ADR sensitivity was found. In contrast, topoisomerase II mRNA expression was significantly correlated with tumor sensitivity to ADR (p less than 0.01). Moreover, topoisomerase II mRNA expression was significantly correlated with the growth fraction (S-phase fraction) in the cell cycle kinetics (p less than 0.01). These results indicate that topoisomerase II mRNA expression in association with the high growth fraction may be an important in vivo factor to contribute to ADR sensitivity in human tumors.