QUERCETIN ENHANCES THE ANTI-TUMOR ACTIVITY OF DOXORUBICIN IN IMR-32 NEUROBLASTOMA CELLS

Neuroblastoma (NB) represents one of the most frequently diagnosed pediatric cancers, currently being a worldwide health problem. Due to the development of resistance to existing treatments, the necessity for new therapeutic strategies with improved effects in NB therapy is increasing. The aim of this study is to evaluate in vitro the therapeutic efficacy of the combination of a natural origin compound, quercetin (QUE) and a chemotherapeutic agent, doxorubicin (DOX), as a potential alternative treatment of NB. The results obtained revealed that the combination QUE (10 mu M) and DOX (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 mu M) leads to a higher cytotoxic effect on IMR-32 NB cells compared to individual treatments by significantly reducing viability and confluency, degrading cellular membrane, altering cell morphology and inducing apoptotic changes at the nuclear level. The toxic effects of the combination of QUE (10 mu M) and DOX (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 mu M) were less toxic on healthy HaCaT cell line. These results provide the basis for future studies related to the potential of QUE in enhancing the antitumor effect of DOX in NB treatment.