Adriamycin is a cytotoxic anthracycline antibiotic used in treatment of many types of cancer. Metformin
is antidiabetic drug and is under investigation for treatment of cancer. The aim of this work
was to study the effect of each of adriamycin and metformin alone and in combination on solid
Ehrlich carcinoma (SEC) in mice. Eighty BALB/C mice were divided into four equal groups: SEC group,
SEC + adriamycin, SEC + metformin, SEC + adriamycin + metformin. Tumor volume, survival rate, tissue
catalase, tissue reduced glutathione, tissue malondialdehyde, tissue sphingosine kinase 1 activity, tissue
caspase 3 activity and tissue tumor necrosis factor alpha were determined. A part of the tumor was
examined for histopathological and immunohistochemical study. Adriamycin or metformin alone or in
combination induced significant increase in the survival rate, tissue catalase, reduced glutathione and
tissue caspase 3 activity with significant decrease in tumor volume, tissue malondialdehyde, tissue sphingosine
kinase 1 activity and tumor necrosis factor alpha and alleviated the histopathological changes
with significant increase in Trp53 expression and apoptotic index compared to SEC group. In conclusion,
the combination of adriamycin and metformin had a better effect than each of these drugs alone against
transplantable tumor model in mice. |
