title: Calcitriol does not significantly enhance the efficacy of radiation of human cervical tumors in mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Calcitriol can enhance the sensitivity of cancer cells to radiation in vitro. The authors aimed to investigate the potential synergistic effect of calcitriol and radiation in a xenograft mouse model of human cervical cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tumor-bearing mice were fed with vehicle arachis oil or 2.5 µg/kg calcitriol daily for 15 consecutive days. Some mice received ten Gy radiation on day 7 post treatment. Tumor growth was monitored, and the tumor tissues were examined by histology and electron microscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Treatment with either calcitriol or radiation significantly inhibited the growth of implanted cervical cancers (p < 0.05 vs. control) and increased the number of dead tumor cells in the tumor sections. However, there was no significant difference in the tumor weights between the mice with radiation alone and both radiation and calcitriol treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Calcitriol had anti-tumoral activity, but failed to enhance the efficacy of radiation in human cervical cancers.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002117:Calcitriol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000032:analysis; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; D002117:Calcitriol