Synergisms of genome and metabolism stabilizing antitumor therapy (GMSAT) in human breast and colon cancer cell lines: a novel approach to screen for synergism

Background Despite an improvement of prognosis in breast and colon cancer, the outcome of the metastatic disease is still severe. Microevolution of cancer cells often leads to drug resistance and tumor-recurrence. To target the driving forces of the tumor microevolution, we focused on synergistic drug combinations of selected compounds. The aim is to prevent the tumor from evolving in order to stabilize disease remission. To identify synergisms in a high number of compounds, we propose here a three-step concept that is cost efficient, independent of high-throughput machines and reliable in its predictions. Methods We created dose response curves using MTT- and SRB-assays with 14 different compounds in MCF-7, HT-29 and MDA-MB-231 cells. In order to efficiently screen for synergies, we developed a screening tool in which 14 drugs were combined (91 combinations) in MCF-7 and HT-29 using EC25 or less. The most promising combinations were verified by the method of Chou and Talalay. Results All 14 compounds exhibit antitumor effects on each of the three cell lines. The screening tool resulted in 19 potential synergisms detected in HT-29 (20.9%) and 27 in MCF-7 (29.7%). Seven of the top combinations were further verified over the whole dose response curve, and for five combinations a significant synergy could be confirmed. The combination Nutlin-3 (inhibition of MDM2) and PX-478 (inhibition of HIF-1α) could be confirmed for all three cell lines. The same accounts for the combination of Dichloroacetate (PDH activation) and NHI-2 (LDH-A inhibition). Our screening method proved to be an efficient tool that is reliable in its projections. Conclusions The presented three-step concept proved to be cost- and time-efficient with respect to the resulting data. The newly found combinations show promising results in MCF-7, HT-29 and MDA-MB231 cancer cells.