Antitumoral action of 2-deoxy-D-glucose tetraacetate in human melanoma cells

The ester 2-deoxy-D-glucose tetraacetate (2-DOGTA) was recently shown to display cytostatic and cytotoxic activity in various lines of tumoral cells. In the present work, it was found to inhibit cell growth and confer chemosensitivity to cisplatin in two lines of human melanoma cells, poorly responsive to cisplatin. The inhibition of cell growth by 2-DOGTA was apparently not attributable to alteration of either D-glucose utilization or oxidation in these melanoma cell lines. In freshly isolated human melanoma cells, 2-DOGTA also inhibited cell growth, even in cells resistant to standard chemotherapeutic agents, such as temozolomide, cisplatin and/or vindesine. It is proposed, therefore, that 2-DOGTA should be further investigated for the treatment of melanoma patients, whether alone or in combination with known chemotherapeutic agents.