Drug repurposed perphenazine assessment for head and neck cancer treatment in vitro

SU, Xiaoyu (2022). Drug repurposed perphenazine assessment for head and neck cancer treatment in vitro. University of Birmingham. M.Res.

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Abstract

As the 7th most frequent type of cancer (Bray et al., 2018), head and neck cancer (HNC) is a complex group of cancers located in the upper aerodigestive tract. About 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Despite several treatments for HNC, the patient outcome is still poor. The chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin may be used in combination with radiotherapy as a primary treatment modality or in the adjuvant setting in locally advanced HNSCC. However, the high toxicity and side effects of this treatment seriously impact the quality of life of patients. Thus, repurposing drugs with lower toxicity to improve the effect of standard therapy is timely and necessary. A multistage drug discovery and repurposing platform has been developed by the InHANSE group, called AcceleraTED. According to the initial screening of 1280 FDA-approved drugs from the Prestwick library, perphenazine was identified as a potential drug to target HNC.

Here, I found that perphenazine (PPZ) reduces the viability of HNSCC FaDu and Cal27 cell lines. Thereby, both cancer cell proliferation and death can be affected by PPZ. PPZ inhibits the colony forming ability in a concentration dependent manner in both FaDu and Cal27 cell lines. Apoptosis could also be induced by PPZ.
In addition, I used Western blot immunoreactivity to evaluate the effect and possible mode of action of perphenazine in HNC, but further work is required. My study provides preliminary evidence to support further assessment of the potential therapeutic effect of perphenazine in head and neck cancer cell lines.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Masters by Research > M.Res.)

Award Type:

Masters by Research > M.Res.

Supervisor(s):