Activity of short lytic anticancer peptides against human head and neck cancer cells in vitro

Abstract

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (head and neck cancer) accounts for over 95% of all cancers of the oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx and hypopharynx [1] and it is the 6th most common cancer disease worldwide. It is the cause of 550 000 cancer deaths annually, the majority of these in the lesser developed world. [2] Treatment options are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. [1] There has been little improvement on survival the last decades, and loss of locoregional control and secondary tumors despite treatment are frequent. [1] Head and neck cancer also have been shown to have developed mechanisms to evade the immune system. [3] There is a great interest in finding new and more personalized treatment options for these patients, with targeted therapy and with immune therapy, to improve survival but also to decrease treatment related morbidity. [1], [3]. Cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAP`s) are a naturally occurring part of the innate immune system [4], and some have shown anticancer activity. [4] De nouvo designed shorter CAP`s have proved to kill cancer cells by cell lysis in vitro and by tumor lysis and concurrent immunization of the tumor in vivo. [5] In this study we show that two de nuovo designed antitumor peptides show efficacy against a panel of HN cancer cells in vitro, these findings indicate that treatment with lytic peptide has a therapeutic potential in head and neck cancer.