Abstract
Pancreatic cancer remains the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the USA with a 5-year survival rate of 5 %. The effects of epidermal growth factor receptor and vascular endothelial growth factor A blockade with chemotherapy on pancreatic tumor growth were examined. Mice bearing human PANC-1 cell xenografts were divided into three groups: T-CR (gemcitabine, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil), T-TR (cetuximab, bevacizumab, gemcitabine, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil), and vehicle control (T). The therapies were administered via intraperitoneal injections every 4 days for seven cycles from 7 weeks after cancer cell implantation. Mice treated with T-TR had significant reductions in tumor weight as compared to the control group (p <0.05). Although mice in the T-CR group experienced a significant reduction in body weight gain, serum albumin, and gastrocnemius muscle mass (p <0.05), no such reductions were observed in the T-TR group. Mice treated with T-TR had slightly increased CD11c+ DC and CD49b+ NK cell levels in the spleen (p <0.05) and significantly lower tumor VEGF expression (p <0.05). Tumor carcinoembryonic antigen expression was significantly reduced in both treatment groups (p <0.05). Thus, addition of bevacizumab and cetuximab to gemcitabine, cisplatin, and fluorouracil may represent an effective treatment option for pancreatic cancer that warrants further study.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 141-150 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Clinical and Experimental Medicine |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 1 2017 |
Keywords
- 5-Fluorouracil
- Bevacizumab
- Cetuximab
- Cisplatin
- Gemcitabine
- Pancreatic cancer
- Xenograft
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)