Efficacy studies of anti-cancer drugs and hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment is important for cancer cell survival and proliferation as it activates hypoxia inducible factor (HIF1á) that triggers a plethora of processes including anti-apoptosis, angiogenesis, metabolic adaption to limited food supply and others. Therefore reduction of tissue hypoxia would inhibit many of those processes and help the organism to battle the tumor. We and others have previously shown inhibition of tumor growth by induction of hyperoxia using hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO). Arctic Pharma has developed a series of potential drugs that target the glycolytic pathway which is crucial for the growth of many cancer types but not for the maintenance of healthy cells and tissues. In the current project we would like to support in vitro observations and show efficacy of these drugs to inhibit proliferation metastasis and induce apoptosis of tumor cells. Moreover, we believe that introduction of HBO will allow doses of these drugs to be reduced as well as increase responsiveness to anti-cancer treatment. The results of the project will contribute to the understanding of tumor oxygenation and anti-tumor drug response.