Dexamethasone (Dex), a synthetic glucocorticoid, for years has been widely used both to treat adverse effects of antitumor agents and in direct chemotherapy regimens for hematologic malignancies, such as leukemia and lymphoma. But might it be modified to work against solid cancers as well? Researchers from Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, Medical Device Development Center, and University of Science and Technology in South Korea, suggest that ionizing radiation could produce new anticancer options from an old drug.
The researchers irradiated Dex with γ- rays to produce ionizing-radiation-irradiated.
Dex (Dex-IR), then investigated its effects on human lung cancer cells (cell lines H1650, A549, and H1299). The researchers used ionizing radiation because introducing energy into materials can produce favorable changes; irradiated materials with sufficiently high energy can decompose to yield very reactive intermediate molecules and form new ones. In this study, γ -irradiation produced “remarkable changes” in the chemical properties of dexamethasone; changes included degradation products, such as methanol vapor and carbon monoxide.
Original Dex inhibits the proliferation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells but has minimal cytotoxic effects, the researchers say. However, Dex-IR not only significantly inhibited the proliferation of NSCLC cells, but also induced apoptosis, arrested cell cycles of H1650 lung cancer cells, and significantly reduced cells’ invasiveness.
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The researchers say their results “strongly suggest” a direct link between the chemical derivatives of Dex and inhibition of NSCLC cell growth. Their findings are the first evidence that γ -irradiated Dex represents a novel class of anticancer agents for lung cancer.
Lee EH, Park CH, Choi HJ, Kawala RA, Bai HW, Chung BY. PLoS One . 2018;13(4):e0194341.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194341.
