Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most
common type of brain tumor, is a very aggressive and treatment-refractory
cancer, with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 5%. Hyperthermia (HT) and
tumor treating fields (TTF) therapy have been used to treat cancer, either
alone or in combination with other treatment methods. Both treatments have been
reported to increase the efficacy of other treatment techniques and to improve
patient prognosis. The present study evaluated the therapeutic effects of
combining HT and TTF on GBM cell lines. Cells were subjected to HT, TTF,
HT+TTF, or neither treatment, followed by comparisons of cell proliferation,
apoptosis, migration and invasiveness. Clonogenic assays showed that the two
treatments had a synergistic effect. The levels of cleaved PARP and cleaved
caspase-3 were higher and apoptosis was increased in cells treated with HT+TTF
than in cells treated with HT or TTF alone. In addition, HT+TTF showed greater
inhibition of GBM cell migration and invasiveness and greater downregulation of
STAT3 than either HT or TTF alone. The stronger anticancer effect of HT+TTF
suggested that this combination treatment can increase the survival rate of
patients with difficult-to-treat cancers such as GBM.
Yunhui Jo, Young In Han
Institute of Global Health Technology (IGHT), Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Eunjun Lee, Geon Oh, Heehun Sung, Yongha Gi, Hyunwoo Kim, Sangmin Park
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Jaehyeon Seo
Department of Bioconvergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Myonggeun Yoon
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Department of Bioconvergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Am J
Cancer Res. 2022; 12(3): 1423–1432.