ADJUVANT HORMONAL TREATMENT WITH PEPTIDE TY OR ITS ANALOG DECREASES HUMAN PANCREATIC-CARCINOMA GROWTH

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have revealed decreased pancreatic cancer c ell growth upon administration of peptide YY (PYY). We examined whethe r adjuvant treatment with PYY or its synthetic analog, BIM-43004, woul d decrease human pancreatic adenocarcinoma growth. MATERIALS AND METHO DS: Human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, MiaPaCa-2 and BxPC-3, wer e cultured and assessed for growth by MTT assay. Pancreatic cancer cel ls received 500 pmol or PYY or BIM-43004 for 24 hours prior to S-fluor ouracil (5-FU; 10 mu g/mL) and leucovorin (40 mu g/mL) administration. Cell membrane epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors were analyzed b y Western blotting after exposure to peptides and chemotherapy. RESULT S: Cancer cell growth was reduced in all groups receiving hormonal pre treatment (23% PYY/S-FU/leucovorin versus control; 27% BIM-43004/5-FU/ leucovorin versus control) as compared with groups receiving 5-FU and leucovorin only (16% versus control). The EGF receptor expression was reduced by 30% in cells treated with PYY/5-FU/leucovorin and by 45% in cells treated with BIM/5-FU/leucovorin as compared with control cells without treatment. CONCLUSION: Human pancreatic cancer cell growth is further decreased when pretreated with PYY or its synthetic analog pr ior to chemotherapy.