Thermal cycling‑hyperthermia sensitizes non‑small cell lung cancer A549 cells to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib
Journal
Oncology Reports
Journal Volume
53
Journal Issue
5
Start Page
1
End Page
14
ISSN
1021-335X
1791-2431
Date Issued
2025-03-31
Author(s)
Abstract
Molecular targeted therapy has emerged as a main‑ stream treatment for non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer and the leading cause of cancer‑related death in both men and women. Erlotinib (Erl), a targeted therapy inhibiting EGFR pathways, has shown notable response rate in NSCLC cells. However, limited efficacy of the treatment has been reported due to resistance among a proportion of patients with NSCLC. Therefore, sensitizers are required to potentiate the efficacy of Erl in NSCLC treatment. The present study proposed a novel thermal therapy, thermal cycling‑hyperthermia (TC‑HT), as a supplement to amplify the effects of Erl. It was demonstrated that TC‑HT reduced the half‑maximal inhibitory concentration of Erl to 0.5 µM and TC‑HT sensi‑ tized A549 NSCLC cells to Erl via the downstream EGFR signaling cascades. Furthermore, the combination treatment of Erl and TC‑HT induced G2/M cell cycle arrest and inhi‑ bition of cell proliferation and migration. In addition, by slightly raising the temperature of TC‑HT, TC‑HT treatment alone produced antineoplastic effects without damaging the normal IMR‑90 lung cells. The method presented in this study may be applicable to other combination therapies and could potentially act as a starter for anticancer treatments, with fewer side effects.
Subjects
combination treatment
erlotinib
hyperthermia
non‑small cell lung cancer
sensitizer
SDGs
Publisher
Spandidos Publications
Type
journal article