cancer cells a panel of four esophageal cell lines was evaluated two squamous oe21 kyse450 and two adenocarcinoma oe19 oe33 for their sensitivity to the chemotherapeutic drugs 5 fu and cisplatin at a range of drug concentrations oe21 and oe33 cell lines are significantly more sensitive than oe19 and kyse450 cell lines for example 10 u03bcm cisplatin induced significant effects on cell viability in both oe21 oe33 while the oe19 kyse450 cell lines were only marginally affected fig1 a the more drug sensitive esophageal cell lines oe21 oe33 induced a predominantly apoptotic cell death morphology type i pcd in response to both 5 fu and cisplatin arrows fig1 b with low levels of non apoptotic cell death morphology at 40 u03bcm cisplatin oe21 cells display 31 apoptotic 3 non apoptotic cell death fig1 c the more drug resistant oe19 kyse450 cell lines display predominantly non apoptotic morphology arrowheads fig1 b with oe19 cells displaying only 0 5 apoptosis 38 non apoptotic cell death fig1 c this non apoptotic morphology includes pyknosis of the nuclear material and vacuolization of the cytoplasm features resembling those described for autophagic type ii cell death typical markers of apoptotic cell death were examined in all cell lines both drug sensitive oe21 oe33 cell lines displayed active caspase 3 and mitochondrial depolarization in response to 5 fu and cisplatin fig2 a b in contrast the more drug resistant oe19 kyse450 cell lines do not show caspase 3 activity or mitochondrial membrane.