The growth and morphological change of human glioma transplanted subcutaneously and intracerebrally to nude mice with orally administered vesnarinone, 3,4-dihydro-6-[4-(3,4-dimethoxy-benzoyl)-1-piperazinyl]-2(1H)-quinolinon e, were examined. The tumor volume of human glioma xenograft, GL-9, subcutaneously transplanted to nude mice, was significantly decreased by orally administered vesnarinone at a dose of 500 mg kg-1. Vesnarinone also significantly prolonged the survival of nude mice transplanted intracerebrally with GL-9. Apoptosis was observed in paraffin sections of both subcutaneous and intracerebral GL-9 by the method of direct immunoperoxidase detection of digoxigenin-dUTP-labeled nick ends introduced by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase. These findings suggest that vesnarinone suppresses the growth and induces apoptosis of glioma cells in vivo.