Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted therapy has been widely accepted as a promising treatment for solid tumors. Steroid treatment is used to prevent adverse effect of anti-EGFR antibody; however, influence of steroids in the antitumor activity of targeted antibody remains poorly understood. Herein, we demonstrated the impact of steroids in induced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity of natural killer (NK) cells by cetuximab.
Methods: Various numbers of NK cells from healthy donors were co-cultured with tumor and/or cetuximab with or without dexamethasone. After incubation, NK cells, ADCC activity, survival, and activation markers expression were determined.
Results: Clinical concentration of dexamethasone treatment clearly inhibited cetuximab-induced ADCC activity of NK cells against head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and colon cancer. Dexamethasone decreased the activation marker CD69 expression on NK cells.
Conclusion: This is the first report that shows the negative affect of steroids in cancer treatment using therapeutic antibody. Attention needs to be paid for using steroids in tumor treatment.
Keywords: antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC); cetuximab; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC); natural killer (NK) cells; steroid.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.