Gefitinib enhances the radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line CNE2 in vitro / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the radiosensitizing effect of gefitinib on nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line CNE2 in vitro.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line CNE2 was cultured in RP2MI 1640. MTT assay was performed to evaluate the cell proliferation changes in response to gefitinib treatment and the radiosensitizing effect of gefitinib. The cell survival curves and sensitive enhancement ratio (SERs) were obtained with a clonogenic assay. Flow cytometry analysis was applied to detect the cell cycle changes and cell apoptosis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>MTT assay showed that cells exposed to gefitinib and radiation had a significantly lower survival ratio compared to the cells with radiation exposure only (0.582∓0.012 vs 0.398∓0.016, P=0.002), with a SER of 1.535∓0.134. The S phase cell percentage was significantly decreased and G(2)-M phase cells increased in gefitinib plus radiation group (P=0.000), suggesting a synergistic effect of gefitinib and radiation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Gefitinib can enhance the radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE2 cells in vitro possibly by inhibiting cell proliferation, inducing cell apoptosis, and causing changes in the cell cycle distribution.</p>

Inhibitory effects of recombinant adenovirus carrying human endostatin gene on the growth of human pancreatic carcinoma xenograft in nude mice / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the inhibitory effect of recombinant adenovirus carrying human endostatin gene (Ad-endo) on the growth of human pancreatic carcinoma xenograft in nude mice.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expression of endostatin in human pancreatic carcinoma Capan-2 cells was examined by RT-PCR after infection with Ad-endo. The supernatants of Capan-2 cells were collected after 48 h of infection with Ad-endo as the conditioned medium for human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), whose proliferation in vitro was assayed. Capan-2 cell xenografts were established to determine the antitumoral effects of Ad-endo in vivo. The intratumoral microvessel density (MVD) was evaluated using CD31 staining.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expression of endostatin gene was detected by PT-PCR in infected Capan-2 cells. The conditioned medium from Ad-endo-infected cells significantly inhibited HUVEC proliferation (P<0.05). Ad-endo significantly suppressed the growth of Capan-2 tumor xenografts in nude mice (P<0.05), and the MVD decreased significantly in the treated tumor (P<0.05) as compared with that in the control group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Adenovirus carrying human endostatin gene produces inhibitory effects on the growth of human pancreatic carcinoma tumors in nude mice.</p>

Preliminary study of XELOX regimen as the first-line chemotherapy in advanced or recurrent gastric cancer / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the combined therapy with oxaliplatin and capecitabine (XELOX) in patients with advanced or recurrent gastric cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-one patients with previously untreated advanced or recurrent gastric cancer received intravenous infusion of oxaliplatin at the dose of 130 mg/m(2) on day 1 and oral administration of capecitabine at 1000 mg/m(2) twice a day on days 1-14. The chemotherapy was repeated every 2 weeks for a median of 4 cycles.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Two of 41 patients achieved a complete response, and 15 had partial responses, with an overall response rate of 41.5%. Stable disease was observed in 11 patients and progressive disease in 9. The median time to progression and overall survival was 6.2 months and 11.8 months. All the 41 patients were evaluated for toxicity according to NCI criteria, 4 showed grade 3-4 neural toxicity, 4 had hematological toxicity and 3 had hand-foot syndrome.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The XELOX regimen shows good efficacy with an acceptable toxicity profile in advanced or recurrent gastric cancer patient.</p>

Inhibitory effect of ZD6474 combined with adriamycin on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in vitro / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the killing effect of ZD6474 combined with adriamycin (ADM) on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The inhibitory effects of ZD6474 and ADM alone and in combination on the proliferation of MCF-7 cells were assessed by MTT assay. The cell cycle and cell apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>ZD6474 and ADM both significantly inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 cells, showing a synergistic effect of their reactions in combined use (P<0.05). ZD6474 or ADM alone caused cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 and S phases, respectively. Combined use of the two drugs resulted in significant reduction of the M-phase cell percentage and cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 and S phases. The coadministration of the drugs significantly increased the apoptosis rate of the cells as compared with ZD6474 or ADM treatment alone (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>ZD6474 and ADM show a synergistic effect in inhibiting the proliferation and inducing apoptosis of MCF-7 cells.</p>