An experimental study on the therapeutic effect of consecutive low-dose cisplatin with caffeine in sarcoma-bearing mice.

UNLABELLED The aims of this study were to investigate the anti-tumor effects of consecutive low-dose cisplatin (LD-CDDP) in comparison with single high-dose CDDP (HD-CDDP) in combination with caffeine. MATERIALS AND METHODS Human fibrosarcoma cells (HT-1080) were transplanted in BALB/C-nu mice. According to the administration of CDDP and caffeine, 5 groups were defined: HD-CDDP, LD-CDDP, HD-CDDP +caffeine, LD-CDDP +caffeine and control group. The total dose of CDDP was 3.5 or 6 mg/kg. CDDP was injected i.p. bolus (HD-CDDP) or divided into 5 days (LD-CDDP). Caffeine was injected i.p. at a dose of 60 mg/kg twice a day for 4 days. RESULTS Significant inhibition of tumor growth and prolongation of survival time were recognized in the HD- and LD-CDDP groups with and without caffeine compared to the control group. The caffeine-assisted groups had no advantage compared to the CDDP alone groups. CONCLUSION The effects of LD-CDDP were similar to the effect of HD-CDDP.