Background: Glucocorticoids are the most important group of drugs used in the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), however, resistance to this group remains the main obstacle in curing the disease. One of the possibilities to circumvent glucocorticoid resistance is the use of new compounds, such as cortivazol (CVZ), which has two binding sites for the glucocorticoid receptor.
Aim: Analysis of ex vivo sensitivity to cortivazol and other glucocorticoids in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, as well as the relationship to anticancer therapy outcome.
Patients and methods: Leukemic samples from 60 children with ALL were tested by the M7T assay for glucocorticoid resistance. Cell cycle before and after ex vivo glucocorticoid treatment was analyzed by flow cytometry.
Results: Although all tested glucocorticoids presented significant cross-resistance, CVZ showed high antileukemic activity. The equivalent activity of CVZ was 165-fold higher than prednisolone, 7.ZS5-fold higher than dexamethasone and 2.8-fold higher than betamethasone. CVZ showed relatively better cytotoxicity than other glucocorticoids in prednisolone-poor-responders. CVZ, like other glucocorticoids, caused cell cycle arrest in the GI-phase, and increased the percentage of apoptotic cells to a greater extent than other glucocorticoids. The results of antileukemic therapy were strongly related to the ex vivo resistance to all tested glucocorticoids.
Conclusion: Cortivazol has potent antileukemic activity in childhood ALL. Its activity is related to cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis.