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Effects of experimental chemoendocrine therapy with a combination of a pure antiestrogen and 5-fluorouracil on human breast cancer cells implanted in nude mice

Surgery Today volume 29, pages 149–156 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

The antitumor effects of an experimental chemoendocrine therapy combining a new pure antiestrogen ICI 182780 and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) were studied on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells implanted in nude mice. ICI 182780 had a dose-dependent antitumor activity, which was potentiated by the concomitant use of 5-FU. When compared with the control group, the estrogen receptor (ER) level in the ICI 182780 group was lower and that in the combination group was markedly lower. Cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry (FCM) resulted in a lower percentage of S-phase cells (%S) in the treated mice. No significant difference was observed in the 5-FU concentrations in tumor cells, while the 5-FU content in RNA was significantly higher in the combination group. The changes in free thymidylate synthetase (TS) concentration indicated TS synthesis after the administration of 5-FU to be more greatly suppressed in the combination group than in the 5-FU group. These results suggest that ICI 182780 and 5-FU exert their combination effect mainly on ER-positive cells, and that the suppression of TS synthesis in tumor cells and the potentiation of the 5-FU-induced metabolic dysfunction of RNA are thus involved in the mode of action of this combination therapy.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery II, Okayama University Medical School, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, 700, Okayama, Japan

    Yutaka Ogasawara, Hiroyoshi Doihara, Kouji Shiroma, Yoshiaki Kanaya & Nobuyoshi Shimizu

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  1. Yutaka Ogasawara
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  2. Hiroyoshi Doihara
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  3. Kouji Shiroma
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  4. Yoshiaki Kanaya
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  5. Nobuyoshi Shimizu
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Ogasawara, Y., Doihara, H., Shiroma, K. et al. Effects of experimental chemoendocrine therapy with a combination of a pure antiestrogen and 5-fluorouracil on human breast cancer cells implanted in nude mice. Surg Today 29, 149–156 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02482240

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02482240

Key Words

  • chemoendocrine therapy
  • pure antiestrogen
  • 5-fluorouracil
  • nude mouse
  • breast cancer