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Use of gemcitabine and
ginger extract infusion may improve the efficiency of
cervical cancer treatment
Chhavi Sharma, Tasmia Ahmed, Swetha Sasidharan, Musthaq
Ahmed and Arif Hussain*
Department
of Biotechnology, Manipal University, Dubai International
Academic City,
P.O. Box 500689,
Dubai, UAE.
*Corresponding author.
E-mail:
dr.arifhussain@yahoo.co.in.
Accepted 30
October, 2009 |
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Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells, either by
preventing them from multiplying or by causing the cells to
self-destruct. However, in most cases, high systemic
toxicity and drug resistance limit the successful outcomes
of treatment regimes. Prevention of cancer through dietary
intervention recently has received an increasing interest
and dietary polyphenols have become not only important
potential chemopreventive, but also therapeutic, natural
agents. Combination of effective chemopreventive agent (such
as ginger) with chemotherapeutic agents may enhance efficacy
while reducing toxicity to normal tissues, resulting in
better survival. In this study, we observed that treatment
of human cervical carcinoma cell line, HeLa with ethanolic
ginger extract in combination with gemcitabine resulted in
significant dose-dependent decrease in cell viability. It is
noteworthy that use of ginger extract increased the efficacy
of gemcitabine and importantly, it was found to be minimally
toxic to normal cells. Together, these results suggest a
novel mechanism may be involved in the synergistic effect of
this combination. Thus, this combination may be an effective
modality management in the treatment of cervical cancer.
Key
words:
Gemcitabine, ginger, chemotherapy, chemoprevention,
cytotoxicity, cervical cancer. |
