Antitumor effect of D-erythrose in an abdominal metastatic model of colon carcinoma

Traditional chemotherapy drugs against colorectal cancer possess little or no specificity, leading to severe intolerable side-effects. Therefore, it is necessary to develop additional specific therapeutic strategies. It has been suggested that D-erythrose may specifically inhibit the growth of tumor cells. However, the in vivo antitumor effect of D-erythrose against colorectal cancer remains unknown. Thus, the present study investigated the antitumor effect of D-erythrose in an abdominal metastatic model of colon carcinoma. Intraperitoneal (IP) colon carcinoma-bearing BALB/c mice received an IP injection of D-erythrose or normal saline (NS) daily for 15 days. The mice were weighed every three days. The tumor weights and the volume of ascites were evaluated following the treatment. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assay was used to assess apoptosis in tumor tissues. The results revealed that D-erythrose significantly reduced the weight of the intraperitoneal tumor by 69.1%, markedly inhibited the development of ascites and increased tumor cell apoptosis, without any observed toxic effects. These observations suggest that D-erythrose possesses antitumor activity against colon cancer. The present study may provide a potentially effective and specific approach for colon cancer treatment.