Structural and functional state of Heren carcinoma after local fractional X-irradiation and irradiation combined with meloxicam
Authors: Lukashova O.P. 
Published: November 2021

Background. One of the most important problems of oncology is the overcoming of therapeutic resistance of tumors, which occurs in particular due to increased levels of the enzyme cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2). It is known that the growth of COX-2 and the product of its activity, prostaglandin-E2 in cancer, promotes such processes in the body as tumor growth, stimulation of proliferation, induction of cancer stem cells, inhibition of apoptosis, activation of angiogenesis, invasion, metastasis and development of chemoresistance. The use of COX-2 inhibitors, which are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), significantly limits these processes and improves survival and mortality in cancer patients, and in combination with chemotherapeutics eliminates the resistance they cause. Purpose – study of the structural and functional state of Guerin’s carcinoma cells after the combined use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug meloxicam and local X-irradiation in total doses of 1.0 and 10 Gy. Materials and methods. On 33 rats with inoculated Guerin’s carcinoma, the ultrastructure of tumor cells (TC) was studied using standard methods of electron microscopy 24 hours after the combined use of the meloxicam drug at a dose of 0.2 mg per 1 kg of body weight one day before the first and 2 hours before the second session fractional local X-irradiation in total doses of 1 and 10 Gy (twice daily at 0.5 and 5.0 Gy, respectively. The mitotic index (the number of cells in the state of mitosis per 100 TC,%), the apoptosis index (the number of cells in the state of apoptotic death per 100 TC,%) and the frequency of TC with small nuclei (%). Results. It was found that irradiation of Guerin’s tumor in a total dose of 10 Gy causes disturbances in the ultrastructure associated with damage to the nuclear apparatus of the TC. Pleiomorphism of the nuclei, the appearance of binucleated cells and micronuclei, a significant decrease in mitotic activity and a slight increase in the apoptosis index are observed. Stimulation of the functional activity of macrophages is also noted. Under irradiation in a total dose of 1 Gy, such effects are less pronounced or completely absent, such as, for example, the processes of phagocytosis. The frequency index of TC with small nuclei is equally reliably increased at both radiation doses. The administration of the drug meloxicam leads to a significant decrease in mitotic activity and an increase in the frequency of small cells, while the ultrastructural picture of the tumor remains almost unchanged. With the combined action of the drug and radiation in both doses, violations of the fine structure of the OC are identical to those found during irradiation. At the same time, the mitotic index in the group with the combined effect of the drug and radiation at a dose of 10 Gy is significantly lower than with only irradiation.In addition, at both doses, the frequency of small forms of PC significantly increases in comparison with the indicators of both the intact control group and the corresponding irradiation groups. Only in combination with radiation does meloxicam reliably stimulate apoptosis, while in other groups its index remains at the level of control values. The relationship was confirmed, which was constantly revealed in all experimental groups, between a decrease in the level of the mitotic index and an increase in the frequency of TC with small nuclei in Guerin’s carcinoma. An inverse correlation was found between these indicators (r = 0.80, P = 0.05). Conclusions. The combined action of the drug and irradiation significantly increases the effectiveness of both therapeutic factors due to the property of meloxicam to reliably inhibit proliferative activity and promote post-radiation development of apoptosis in tumor tissue. The presence of a correlation between the mitotic index and the frequency of cells with small nuclei in Guerin’s tumor may indicate the relationship between cell growth and division. Under the combined action of both investigated factors, changes in the tumor ultrastructure are mainly caused by irradiation. The administration of meloxicam increases the efficiency of the combined use of both therapeutic agents due to its ability to reliably inhibit proliferative activity and promote post-radiation development of apoptosis in tumor tissue. The presence of a correlation dependence between the mitotic index and the frequency of cells with small nuclei in Guerin’s tumor may indicate the relationship between the processes of cell growth and division.