Comparison of injectable doxorubicin & its nanodrug complex chemotherapy for the treatment of 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide induced oral squamous cell carcinoma in rats

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Combination treatments of chemotherapy and nanoparticle drug delivery have shown significant promise in cancer treatment. The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of a nanodrug complex with its free form in the treatment of tongue squamous cell carcinoma induced by 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide in rats. METHODS: In this study, 75 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) was induced by using 4- nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO) as a carcinogen. Newly formulated doxorubicin (DOX)-methotrexate (MTX)-loaded nanoparticles, and free DOX-MTX were administrated intravenously to rats. During the study, the animals were weighed once a week. At the end of the treatment, rats’ tongues were evaluated histopathologically. RESULTS: There was significant difference between the mean weight of rats in groups A and B (P=0.001) and also groups A and K (P<0.001). No significant association was found between the mortality rate of groups. The difference between the severity of dysplasia of treated and untreated groups was significant (P<0.001). INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that DOX-MTX nanoparticle complex was more effective than free DOX-MTX in chemotherapy treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma in rat models. Further investigations are necessary to clarify the advantages and disadvantages of the nanoparticle complex and its potential therapeutic application for different types of cancer.