Evaluation of Nanaoparticle Delivery System for 5- Fluorouracil and Curcumin on Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell Line

Abstract

The prognosis for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is determined by the stage at presentation, the extent of the tumor (Jemal et al., 2007). Treatment of HNSCC requires a delicate balance between complete eradication of cancer and preservation of the underlying anatomical form and function. Thus, there are many challenges unique to the treatment of patients with HNSCC (Prince et al., 2010). Chemotherapeutic agents are the mainstay of treatment and include standard cytotoxic agents alone or in combination, as well as novel targeted biological agents (Colevas, 2006). Although chemotherapy is of major palliative benefit in patients with symptomatic metastatic or incurable recurrent disease, impact on survival remains unclear. The average survival for patients receiving chemotherapy is six to eight months, which is only slightly more compared to supportive care alone (Goon et al., 2009). There are also several limitations for the chemotherapeutic drugs including their bioavailability, metabolism and toxic side effects. So due to the limitations of chemotherapeutic drugs and the considerable toxicity associated with the cytotoxic therapies used in HNSCC patients, the need for treatment options that improve the clinical outcome and have less toxicity profile is pressing (Schilsky , 2010).

143 Antimetabolite drugs, branch of anticancer drugs, work by inhibiting essential biosynthetic processes, or by being incorporated into macromolecules, such as DNA and RNA, and inhibiting their normal function. The fluoropyrimidine 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) does both (Longley et al., 2003). Curcumin has been studied in multiple human carcinomas. The mechanisms by which curcumin exerts its anti-cancer effects are comprehensive and diverse, targeting many levels of regulation in the processes of cellular growth and apoptosis (Wilken et al., 2011).