Avaliação dos efeitos do agente citoprotetor amifostina na mucosite oral e disfunção da barreira intestinal : modelos experimentais em ratos e em pacientes portadores de câncer submetidos à quimioterapia antineoplásica

Abstract

Mucositis induced by antineoplastic drugs is an important dose-limiting and costly side effect of câncer therapy. The ulcerative lesions produced by stomatotoxic chemotherapy are painful, restrict oral intake and importantly, act at sites of secondary infection and portals of entry for the endogenous oral flora. Our principal objective was to determine if amifostine, a tiol derivate citoprotection, could reduce the oral mucositis simptoms and to prevent intestinal barrier disfunction in animal models and patients with cancer submitted a chemotherapy treatment. It was injected 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU 60 and 40 mg/Kg i.p) on days 0 and 2. The cheek pouch mucosa was superficially irritated on day 4. This technique has been repeatedly demonstrated to produce ulcerative mucositis which mimics the human condition. In these experiments it was used male Golden Siriam hamsters. Methotrexate (MTX 2,5 mg/Kg – s.c) was used in male rats to induced intestinal mucositis. Hamsters groups were treated with diferent doses of amifostine (100, 200, 400mg/Kg s.c), SAL, interleukin-11 (IL-11 10, 30 90 and 100 µg/day – s.c) or AMF (400 mg/Kg s.c) plus IL-11 (90µg/day – s.c) 30 minutes before the 5-FU injection. Differents parameters were evaluated: macroscopic and histopathological analyses, leucogram and body mass variation. Our results demonstrated that amifostine was efficient to prevent the mucositis symptoms in oral affections [AMF 400mg/kg: Md=1,5 (1-3) AMF 200mg/kg: Md 1,5 (1-2) e SAL: Md=3 (2-3)], this results were confirmated by histophatologycal anlyses [AMF 400mg/kg: Md=1(1-2); AMF 200mg/kg: Md=1(1-2) e SAL: Md=3 (2-3)]; but no significant protection was evident in intestinal model. The association AMF plus IL-11 demonstrated significant protection [AMF: Md 1,5(1-3); AMF+IL-11: Md 1(1-2); SAL: Md 3(3-3)], but this protection was not diferent for single dose of AMF (400 mg/Kg). All animals demonstrated a decrease in weight when use IL-11, so AMF in lower doses (100 and 200 mg/Kg) demonstrated significant effect in conservation the weight. The hemathologycal protection was evident in animals when has used AMF in diferent models. 30 cancer’s patients, submitted to treatment with various antineoplasic agents in presence or ausence of amifostine were compared with 20 healthy individuals, in a prospective case-control study, taking in consideration sex, age, type of neoplasia, antineoplasic used, diagnosis of clinical mucositis and detection of alterations in the intestinal permeability through urinary fathoming of lactulose and manitol by the HPLC-PAD. There was no difference in the groups regarding the demographic characters. The mannitol captation did noer in the tests realized, being, however, a considerable increase in the urinary recuperation of lactulose, identifying a broad passage of this sugar through the junction nexuses damaged (p<0,001). The reason lactulose-mannitol decrease in patientes treated with amifostine (p<0,001). When analysed patients that used cisplatin or derivates the citoprotection demontrated significant protection and the sugar captation was simmilar to the control group. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that amifostine is able to reduces the incidence and severity of mucositis associated with chemotherapy treatment. Efficacy appears clinically acceptable at a relatively low dose that offers superior tolerability. Fhurther randomized studies are now required to determine the exactily mechanism of action and optimal dose of amifostine versus no treatment for this indication.