Antitumor Activity of Dehydroxymethylepoxychinomycin (DHMEQ) and Cisplatin Combination in a Model of Disseminated Ovarian Cancer

Introduction . Ovarian cancer (OC) is recognized to be a pressing problem of modern oncology. Cytoreductive surgery and combined therapy based on platinum and taxanes play an important role in OC treatment. The response rate to first-line therapy accounts for about 80–90%. However, most patients relapse and develop resistance to therapy. Thus, the search for new effective drugs and new combinations for OC treatment is an urgent task of modern oncology. Aim . To evaluate in vivo the antitumor activity of dehydroxymethylepoxyquinomycin (DHMEQ) and cisplatin combination in an ovarian cancer model. Materials and methods . An experimental model of disseminated OC in rats was used to evaluate antitumor activity. A strain of ovarian tumor (OT) was transplanted into 200 female Wistar rats. The drugs were administered intraperitoneally. The “median life expectancy” was taken as a benchmark for the quality evaluation of experimental treatment. Results . It was found that DHMEQ and cisplatin combination increased the survival rate by 387% (p = 0.005, log-rank test) compared to the control group and by 91% compared to the group of animals treated with cisplatin (p = 0.003, log-rank test) in mono mode. More than 50% of the animals in the DHMEQ + cisplatin group remained alive on day 73 of the experiment. No animals remained alive in the cisplatin group, and only one rat remained in the DHMEQ group. Discussion . Thus, the obtained data demonstrate a potentiating antitumor effect of the DHMEQ + cisplatin combination by 387% compared to the control group. Conclusion. The results of the experiments demonstrated a potentiating antitumor effect of DHMEQ in combination with cisplatin. DHMEQ in combination with cisplatin manifests high efficacy in an in vivo model of ovarian cancer.