SOHO 2021: Preclinical Look at Myeloma Cell Viability With Metformin Plus Lenalidomide
Posted: Monday, September 27, 2021
Ali Zahit Bolaman, MD, of Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, Turkey, and colleagues aimed to determine whether the oral antidiabetic drug metformin could improve the effectiveness of the immunomodulatory agent lenalidomide in the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma. Based on their preclinical research findings, presented during the 2021 Society of Hematologic Oncology (SOHO) Annual Meeting (Abstract MM-033), these investigators suggest that the addition of metformin is safe. However, further clinical research is needed to determine whether there are any real therapeutic benefits.
The U266 myeloma cell line was utilized, with Trypan blue being used to confirm cell viability. At 10,000 cells per well, different concentrations of metformin, lenalidomide, or a lenalidomide/metformin combination were added to each well, excluding controls. Direct microscopic evaluation was carried out to evaluate the cells.
Compared with the control group, there was an observed decrease in cell viability among all treated groups when the experiment was performed at IC50 (half maximal inhibitor concentration) doses. Of note, cells treated with metformin alone and the combination therapy experienced a similar viability rate, yet both rates were lower than cells treated with lenalidomide alone.
Annexin fluorescein isothiocyanate staining, which reveals apoptosis, was not observed in control groups. However, significant staining was detected in the lenalidomide, metformin, and lenalidomide-plus-metformin groups (P < .001). Furthermore, the lenalidomide-plus-metformin combination did not appear to improve cell viability when compared with either agent alone (P = .39).
Disclosure: No disclosure information was provided.
