title: Inhibitory effect of dexamethasone on residual Lewis lung cancer cells in mice following palliative surgery.
abstract: Previous studies found that glucocorticoids were closely associated with the oncogenesis and development of numerous types of tumors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of dexamethasone on the growth and angiogenesis of Lewis lung cancer cells in mice who received palliative surgery. Lewis lung carcinoma cells were inoculated subcutaneously into the right axilla of C57BL/6 mice. When tumor diameter reached 0.5 cm, 2 weeks later, palliative surgery was performed, and the mice were randomly divided into 3 groups with 6 animals in each group (control group, cisplatin group and dexamethasone group). From the first postoperative day, all the mice were administered with saline, cisplatin or dexamethasone for 10 days, and changes in xenograft tumor volumes were monitored. Cisplatin and dexamethasone were dissolved in normal saline (0.9%). All mice were sacrificed on postoperative day 11, and the whole body and the local tumors were weighed immediately. The expression levels of hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), proliferating cell nuclear antigen and the microvessel density (MVD) in the tumor mass, were measured by immunohistochemistry, western blotting and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. In the present study, tumor growth was inhibited in the cisplatin group and dexamethasone group, and the weights of tumors were significantly decreased in the cisplatin group and dexamethasone group compared with the control group (P<0.001). The expression levels of HIF-1α and VEGF and the MVD were significantly lower in the cisplatin group and dexamethasone group than in the control group (P<0.01). In conclusion, dexamethasone can inhibit the growth and angiogenesis of residual Lewis lung carcinoma subsequent to palliative surgery partially through downregulation of HIF-1α and VEGF signaling pathways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, Dongying, Shandong 257034, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ningbo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Surgery Division, Graduate Department, Weifang Medical College, Weifang, Shandong 261031, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Huaijun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Qianfoshan Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Qianfoshan Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Qianfoshan Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Qianfoshan Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zang
keywords: HIF-1α; MVD; PCNA; VEGF; anti-angiogenesis; dexamethasone; palliative surgery; residual lung carcinoma