Högskolan i Skövde

In the early 1900s, cancer patients were often treated by inducing a bacterial infection that stimulated an immune response which lead to a spontaneous passive cancer regression. This discovery lead to today’s modern cancer immunotherapy – an approach in which medical interventions stimulate the body’s own immune system to fight cancer cells. Digitoxin glycosides, a sodium pump inhibitor used mainly to treat heart-related diseases has been reviewed in clinical trials for its anti-tumor like properties. Moreover, A new drug to aid in the war against progressive inoperable metastatic cancers was approved 2014 by FDA. Keytruda was the first monoclonal non-chimeric human IgG4 antibody drug to restore the immune response to activated T-cells by interfering with the tumours’ programmed death ligands (PD-L1) and (PD-L2). Cancer cells express an increased level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that promote cancer cell proliferation and development. However, in too low or high levels, ROS promote oxidative damage in favour of anti-tumor properties. This study evaluated Digitoxin glycosides and Keytruda as potential anti-tumor therapies and any eventual synergic effects. Digitoxin, as mono-therapy, promoted apoptotic behaviour in pancreatic cancer cells when administrated in the mid- to high-end dosage range. Respectively, this study suggests a combination-therapy using a sub-physiological Keytruda-concentration together with a relatively high Digitoxin concentration produce a significant antiproliferative effect.