Isoflurane enhances malignancy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines: a preliminary study in vitro

The objective of this study was to explore the influence of isoflurane on the cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion of Tca8113 and HSC2 cell lines in vitro. MTT test was used to detect the cell proliferation. It was performed 72h after exposure to isoflurane to make sure that a time for normal cell cycle progression was allowed. The cell apoptosis of Tca8113 and HSC2 cell lines were detected by flow cytometry. We used transwell chamber to detect the cell invasion of Tca8113 and HSC2 cell lines. There was a statistically significant increase of cell proliferation in Tca8113 and HSC2 cell lines after exposure to 2% isoflurane for 3 and 6h. The difference between 3 and 6h group is statistically significant in Tca8113 and HSC2 cell lines. Flow cytometry showed that there was a decrease of cell apoptosis in Tca8113 and HSC2 cell lines after exposure to 2% isoflurane for 3 and 6h. Transwell test showed there was a statistically significant increase of cell invasion in Tca8113 and HSC2 cell lines after exposure to 2% isoflurane for 3 and 6h, and it showed a significant difference between 3h group and 6h group of Tca8113 cell line. Our results demonstrated that isoflurane increased malignancy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines in vitro. Isoflurane might enhance tumor development and promote metastasis of tumor cells in HNSCC patients. It is suggested that it might be more suitable to choose total intravenous anesthesia for HNSCC patients.