Combined Caffeine and Cisplatin Treatment Induces Synergistic Cytotoxicity in Hela Cell Line

Abstract

Cisplatin is a common alkylating anticancer agent that has been used to treat several cancers. However, the efficiency of cisplatin treatment is limited due to the severe side effects and the resistance to the drug, which eventually results in treatment failure. Caffeine is a natural ingredient contained in many food sources. Caffeine has been shown to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in different cancer cell types. The effect of caffeine on cisplatin treatment on cervical cancer cells is not well known. Here we examined the combined effect of caffeine and cisplatin in human Hela cells. The cancer cells were exposed to different concentrations of caffeine and cisplatin and IC₅₀’s were determined by MTT assay. Cell number and viability were measured by cell counting and trypan blue assays. Data obtained show that, caffeine treatment enhances the anti-proliferation effect of cisplatin and lowered the IC₅₀ of cisplatin from 8.93 µM to be 2.75 µM. These results suggest that caffeine-assisted chemotherapy is useful for cervical cancer treatment.