Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-cutaneous malignancy in men in western and most developing countries. Bicalutamide (BLT) is an antineoplastic hormonal agent primarily used in the treatment of locally advanced and metastatic prostate cancers.
In the present study, the aim was to develop a nanotechnology-based delivery system to target prostate cancer cells. This involved the development of a BLT-loaded poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) PLGA (PLGA-BLT) nanoparticulate system in an attempt to improve the therapeutic efficacy of BLT in prostate cancer and to mitigate its toxicity. Nanosized particles with a uniform size distribution and spherical shape were developed. PLGA-BLT showed a pronounced cytotoxic effect on LNCaP and C4-2 cancer cells. The superior cell-killing effect of the nanoparticles may be attributable to their sustained drug-release characteristics and high cellular internalization. PLGA-BLT was also found to significantly inhibit colony formation in the two cell lines. Furthermore, the caspase-3 activity of PLGA-BLT treated cancer cells was enhanced, indicating the cell apoptosis-inducing potential of PLGA-BLT. Overall, these results suggest that nanotechnology-based formulations of BLT exhibit superior anticancer activity and have enormous potential in the treatment of prostate cancers.
Experimental and therapeutic medicine. 2015 Oct 14 [Epub]
Jun Guo, Shu-Hong Wu, Wei-Guo Ren, Xin-Li Wang, Ai-Qing Yang
Department of Urology, The Affiliated Hospital of Taishan Medical University, Taian, Shandong 271000, P. R. China. , Department of Urology, Feicheng Kuangye Central Hospital, Feicheng, Shandong 271608, P. R. China. , Department of Urology, Rugao Boai Hospital, Nantong, Jiangsu 226500, P. R. China. , Department of Pathology, The Affiliated Hospital of Taishan Medical University, Taian, Shandong 271000, P. R. China. , Department of Pathology, The First People's Hospital of Taian, Taian, Shandong 271000, P. R. China.