Antiproliferative effect of bupivacaine on patient-derived sarcoma cells

Abstract

Sarcomas are rare tumors with limited treatment options. Although chemotherapy is standard for certain subtypes, overall survival has not improved in several decades. Bupivacaine has been shown to induce apoptosis and prevent cell growth in multiple different types of malignancies but has not been studied in sarcoma. The current study evaluated the effects of bupivacaine on multiple patient-derived sarcoma cells and a commercial sarcoma cell line. Multiple patient-derived sarcoma cell subtypes and a commercial synovial cell sarcoma cell line were exposed to bupivacaine for different durations and at different concentrations. The patient-derived cells included a high-grade conventional osteosarcoma, a high-grade undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma of bone, and a high-grade synovial sarcoma. Flow cytometry and an MTT assay were used to evaluate whether a treatment effect was observed. Treatment of all the subtypes of sarcomas in this study with bupivacaine demonstrated a time- and dose-dependent increase in apoptosis and decrease in cell viability. A cell viability assay demonstrated that the IC 50 was between 0.04 and 0.05% and that the treatment effect occurred at clinically relevant doses in vitro . Bupivacaine was toxic to both the patient-derived cells and the commercial cell line at doses commonly used in the clinical setting. These findings provide a foundation for further in vivo studies to evaluate whether these effects will translate to the clinical setting. Although further research is necessary, bupivacaine shows promise as not only an adjunct for pain management but as a treatment modality for sarcoma.

Docetaxel and Lidocaine Co-Loaded (NLC-in-Hydrogel) Hybrid System Designed for the Treatment of Melanoma

“…Recently, several works have described the adjuvant anticancer action of local anesthetics such as LDC [19,20], bupivacaine [21][22][23][24] and ropivacaine [25]. LDC can suppress cancer cell growth (in vitro and in vivo) through several mechanisms: regulation of epigenetic changes, promotion of pro-apoptotic pathways and regulation of ABC transporters, also preventing metastasis and angiogenesis.…”

Lidocaine liposome modified with folic acid suppresses the proliferation and motility of glioma cells via targeting the PI3K/AKT pathway

“…Certain anesthetics have been found to have antitumor activities ( 12 , 13 ), with effects on the apoptosis, proliferation, motility and drug resistance of various cancer cells. For example, one study demonstrated that clinically relevant concentrations of bupivacaine induced the apoptosis of sarcoma cells in vitro and suppressed their proliferation ( 14 ), and another study revealed that dibucaine had a pro-apoptotic effect on HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells ( 15 ). However, few studies have focused on the potential antitumor effects of lidocaine in glioma treatment.…”