Combination treatment of Cetuximab and photodynamic therapy in SNU-1041 squamous cancer cell line

Cetuximab (Erbitux) has been highlighted for its anti-proliferative effects in solid tumors and it is currently used as an adjuvant modality with other anti-cancer treatments. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is used widely in many specialties of medicine. This study evaluated the efficacy of a combination treatment of two modalities (Cetuximab, PDT) both in vivo and in vitro. The SNU-1041 cell line was used for both the in vitro and in vivo studies. The in vivo and in vitro experiments were each classified into four groups, control group, Cetuximab applied group, PDT applied group and combined modality group. A migration study was performed to determine the anti-migration effect of Cetuximab, and a MTT assay was performed to compare the anti-proliferative effect of the modalities in vitro. For the in vivo study, the cells were implanted into 5-week-old nude mice. The measured volume of the tumor for each group was compared as a function of time. In the migration study, the control group showed a longer migration length than the Cetuximab applied group. In the MTT assay, the combination modality group showed less survival than the uni-modality groups. The measured tumor size after treatment showed that the combination treatment was more effective than the single modalities. PDT and Cetuximab are treatment modalities that target different molecular pathways. A combination of these two treatment modalities was found to more effective than an individual treatment. However, further studies will be needed to determine the optimal dose of the photosensitizer and Cetuximab.