Experimental study of the anticancer effect of gemcitabine combined with sirolimus on chemically induced urothelial lesions.

摘要

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a combination of gemcitabine and sirolimus in a mouse model of invasive bladder cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Gemcitabine (50 mg/kg) and sirolimus (1.5 mg/kg) were administered to animals previously exposed to N-butyl-N-4(hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine in drinking water. Tumour development was determined by histopathological evaluation. RESULTS: Both drugs were well tolerated by animals. The incidence of lesions in mice treated with gemcitabine was lower in comparison to those not treated, however this result was not statistically significant. The incidence of invasive bladder cancer in animals treated with sirolimus was statistically lower (20%) than in animals not treated (54%) (p=0.008). The results indicate that this drug combination has no statistical significance on the development of pre-neoplastic urothelial lesions and had only a minor impact on invasive bladder cancer incidence in mice. CONCLUSION: The combination of gemcitabine and sirolimus had only a marginal impact on invasive bladder cancer in a mouse model.