Synergistic antitumor effect of adenovirus-mediated hING4 gene therapy and 125I radiation therapy on pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis, even with surgery. ING4 is a member of the inhibitor of growth (ING) tumor suppressor family that has potent inhibitory effects on a variety of tumors; meanwhile, radiotherapy is a common adjunctive therapy for pancreatic cancer. Prior to this study, the effectiveness of a combination of ING4 gene-therapy and radiotherapy against pancreatic cancer had been unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that either ING4 or 125I radiotherapy treatment could induce Panc-1 pancreatic cancer cell growth suppression and apoptosis in vitro. Furthermore, both treatments inhibited tumor growth and angiogenesis of Panc-1 pancreatic cancer subcutaneously xenografted in vivo. Moreover, the combination therapy had a synergistic effect.