Evaluation of antineoplastic effects of Zebularine on childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines.

Abstract

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common hematologic malignancy in childhood and represents a heterogeneous disease in relation to its biology and prognosis. The treatment is divided into remission induction therapy, intensification or consolidation and maintenance (administration of mercaptopurine and methotrexate). Despite advances in treatment about 20% of patients with disease recurrence and / or death indicating the need for different therapies for this group. Recently, drugs such epigenetic inhibitors of DNA-methyltransferase (iDNMTs) have shown anti-neoplastic and promising results for the treatment of several types of neoplasms including the LLA. Whereas a portion of patients with ALL have a poor response to chemotherapy, this study aims to evaluate the effects of a iDNMT (Zebularine) associated with chemotherapy (mercaptopurine and methotrexate) ALL cell lines, as possible adjuvant therapy to acute lymphoblastic leukemia instead of conventional treatment.