Combining cashew gum with cyclophosphamide in murine melanoma model: A strategy for the reduction of side effects.

The understanding of cancer immunity and antitumor factors generated by natural polysaccharides is not yet fully comprehended. Polysaccharides, like cashew gum (CG), can exhibit immunomodulatory action and may assist in the antitumor process and side effects relieve. This study aimed to determine the antitumor effect of CG alone or in combination with cyclophosphamide (CTX), and its interactions with immune cells, in a murine melanoma model, using the B16-F10 cell line. Tumor growth inhibition, hematological, histopathological, ELISA, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, and qRT-PCR analyses were performed to elucidate the antitumor potential, involvement of immune cells, and potential toxic effects. CG showed significant tumor growth inhibition, reaching up to 42.9 % alone and 51.4 % in combination with CTX, with mild toxicity to organs. CG enhanced leukocyte count, even in the presence of CTX. Furthermore, CG influenced the activation of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM), characterized by an increase in Il4, as well as a reduction in Ifng, Il1b, Tgfb, and Il6 gene expression. Nevertheless, these effects did not compromise the antitumor activity of CG. In summary, the combination of CG with CTX is a promising approach for leukopenia, one of the most important side effects of cancer treatment and deserves further investigation.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: JDB Marinho Filho reports financial support was provided by CAPES (Brazilian Teaching Personnel Improvement Coordination). JDB Marinho Filho reports financial support was provided by CNPQ (Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Improvement). JDB Marinho Filho reports financial support was provided by INCT BioNat (Brazilian National Institute of Science and Technology for Biodiversity and Natural Products). JDB Marinho Filho reports financial support was provided by INCT Polysaccharides (National Technology-Science Institute for Polysaccharides). If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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