Co-delivery of etoposide and curcumin by lipid nanoparticulate drug delivery system for the treatment of gastric tumors.

Context: Gastric carcinoma (GC) is one of the most common cancers and the second most frequent cause of cancer-related deaths. Chemotherapy is an important therapeutic modality for GC. However, chemoresistance limited its success rate. Combination chemotherapy is often applied to prevent drug-induced resistance in cancers.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the co-delivery of etoposide (ETP) and curcumin (CUR) with one nanoparticle can result in synergistic effects of both drugs.

Methods: ETP- and CUR-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (ETP-CUR-NLC) were prepared by the solvent injection technique. Their average size, zeta potential and drug loading were evaluated. Human gastric cancer cell lines (SGC7901 cells) were used for the testing of in vitro cytotoxicity studies, and in vivo anti-tumor efficacies of the carriers were evaluated on mice bearing SGC7901 cells xenografts.

Results: ETP-CUR-NLC has a particle size of 114 nm, EPT-loading quantity of 83% and CUR-loading quantity of 82%. ETP-CUR-NLC displayed high cytotoxicity and enhanced antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo. Meanwhile, ETP-CUR-NLC displayed low cytotoxicity in normal tissues in vivo.

Discussion And Conclusion: The results demonstrate that ETP-CUR-NLC can achieve impressive anti-tumor activity. By combining CUR, an effective NF-κB inhibitor, with ETP, a powerful anticancer drug, in NLC, we could improve the therapeutic efficacy in cancer treatments. Our results showed that such co-loaded delivery systems could serve as a promising therapeutic approach to improve clinical outcomes against various malignancies.