Abstract
The survival rate for head and neck cancer patients has not substantially changed in the last two decades. We previously showed that two rV-neuT intratumoral injections induced an efficient antitumor response and rejection of transplanted Neu (rat ErbB2/neu oncogene-encoded protein)-overexpressing salivary gland tumor cells in BALB-neuT mice (BALB/c mice transgenic for the rat ErbB2/neu oncogene). However, reiterated poxviral vaccinations increase neutralizing antibodies to viral proteins in humans that prevent immune response against the recombinant antigen expressed by the virus. Curcumin (CUR) is a polyphenol with antineoplastic and immunomodulatory properties. The aim of this study was to employ CUR administration to boost the anti-Neu immune response and anticancer activity induced by one rV-neuT intratumoral vaccination in BALB-neuT mice. Here, we demonstrated that the combined rV-neuT+CUR treatment was more effective at reducing tumor growth and increasing mouse survival, anti-Neu humoral response, and IFN-γ/IL-2 T-cell release in vitro than the individual treatment. rV-neuT+CUR-treated mice showed an increased infiltration of CD4+/CD8+ T lymphocytes within the tumor as compared to those that received the individual treatment. Overall, CUR enhanced the antitumoral effect and immune response to Neu induced by the rV-neuT vaccine in mice. Thus, the combined treatment might represent a successful strategy to target ErbB2/Neu-overexpressing tumors.