Defining the Radiation Sensitizing Activity of the Tubulin Depolymerizing Agent N-Acetyl Colchicinol (NAC)

• Main Author: Farmer, Joseph Peter
• Language: en
• Published: The University of Arizona. 2010
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/156912

The goal of this study was to examine the potential for the drug N-acetyl colchicinol (NAC) to be used to increase the efficacy of radiation therapy in the treatment of rectal cancer. In initial studies we defined the maximum non-cytotoxic dose of NAC and demonstrated the ability of NAC to transiently arrest tumor cells in the radiation sensitive G2/M phase of the cell cycle. Using standard clonogenic assays we examined the impact of NAC pretreatment on the cytotoxic activity of the radiomimetic drug Zeocin. Although the unexpectedly high degree of cell death produced by the NAC dose used in these later studies prevented definitive conclusions from being drawn, the results as a whole were encouraging and support further research on the potential of combination therapies employing transient tubulin depolymerizing agents such as NAC and radiation in the treatment of cancer.