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Reversal of the human and murine multidrug-resistance phenotype with megestrol acetate

  • Original Articles
  • Megestrol Acetate, Multidrug Resistance, P-glycoprotein
  • Published:
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Abstract

MA is an orally active PG derivative with an excellent safety profile that is used primarily for the treatment of carcinomas of the breast and endometrium. We investigated the potential application of MA as an MDR-reversal agent using cell culture and human tumor xenograft models. The reversing activity of MA in vitro was compared with that of PG and VER in two human MDR cell lines, the colon carcinoma HCT-116/VM46 and the breast carcinoma MCF-7/ADR, and in a murine cell line, J774.2. At concentrations as low as 3 μM, MA was capable of partially restoring sensitivity to Act D in the HCT-116/VM46 cells and sensitivity to DOX in the MCF-7/ADR cells. Although less effective than VER, MA was about 2.5 times more potent than PG in reversing MDR at equimolar concentrations. Increased accumulation of DOX in drugresistant cells that were treated simultaneously with MA was observed by flow cytometry. In vivo, using established human colon and breast carcinoma xenografts implanted s.c. in athymic mice, the combined therapy with MA and DOX resulted in enhanced antitumor activity relative to that of DOX alone in the MDR sublines. These results suggest that MA may be a promising clinical MDR-reversing agent.

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Abbreviations

Act D:

actinomycin D

DOX:

doxorubicin

PG:

progesterone

MA:

megestrol acetate

VER:

verapamil

VBL:

vinblastine

MDR:

multidrug resistance

P-gp:

P-glycoprotein

MAP:

medroxyprogesterone acetate

MTD:

maximum tolerated dose

q4dx3:

every 4 days for 3 treatments

TVDD:

tumor volume-doubling time

IC50 :

drug concentration producing 50% cell kill in treatéd cultures as compared with controls

PBS:

phosphate-buffered saline

VM-26:

teniposide

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Molecular Pharmacology and Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 10461, Bronx, NY, USA

    Chia-Ping H. Yang & Susan Band Horwitz

  2. Department of Experimental Therapeutics, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, P.O. Box 4000, 08543, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Lotte Wang, Pamela A. Trail & Anna M. Casazza

Authors
  1. Lotte Wang
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  2. Chia-Ping H. Yang
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  3. Susan Band Horwitz
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  4. Pamela A. Trail
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  5. Anna M. Casazza
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Additional information

The part of this work performed at Albert Einstein College of Medicine was supported by USPHS grant CA39821

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Wang, L., Yang, CP.H., Horwitz, S.B. et al. Reversal of the human and murine multidrug-resistance phenotype with megestrol acetate. Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. 34, 96–102 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00685925

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00685925

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