Epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate sensitises multidrug‐resistant oral carcinoma xenografts to vincristine sulfate

Abstract

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a very aggressive malignancy, and 50% of patients who receive curative treatment die from the disease or related complications within 5 years. Epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG) is the most abundant bioactive ingredient of tea polyphenols in green tea and has anticancer properties. Here, we evaluated the preclinical efficacy of EGCG combined with vincristine sulfate (VCR) on the growth, angiogenic activity and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in xenograft nude mice inoculated with KBV200 cells. Compared with VCR alone, the combined use of EGCG and VCR strongly inhibited tumour growth and angiogenesis (P < 0.01). VEGF mRNA and protein levels were lower in the KBV200 xenograft group treated with the combined regime (P < 0.01) than those in the VCR alone group. EGCG sensitises multidrug‐resistant OSCC to VCR, and this may occur through the inhibition of angiogenesis via VEGF down‐regulation.

Antitumor Effect of Epigallocatechin Gallate and Vincristine in Mice with L5178Y Lymphoma

“…Therefore, the results so far are variable in terms of doses and the presence of the effect, which is not constantly observed as in the case of the investigation carried out with a xenograft of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue in mouse [32], nor when using lung cancer A549 with 20 mg/kg EGCG [33].…”