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Updated: May 17, 2026

Tumor Transplantation for Assessing the Dynamics of Tumor-Infiltrating CD8+ T Cells in Mice
Published on: June 12, 2021
Glucocorticoids augment survival and proliferation of tumor cells
Sibylle Gündisch1, Eva Boeckeler, Uta Behrends
1Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.
Background:
Glucocorticoids are widely used for cancer patients, although they can reduce the efficacy of anticancer treatment.
Materials And Methods:
We characterized non-apoptotic actions of glucocorticoids on tumor cell lines, primary tumor cells and an in vivo model, together with molecular signaling studies.
Results:
Glucocorticoids enhanced cell proliferation in 9/17 cell lines and significantly promoted tumor cell proliferation in a pre-clinical mouse model of lung carcinoma. 65/139 primary acute childhood leukemia samples were glucocorticoid-resistant. Both dexamethasone and prednisolone increased in vitro survival in 21/65 samples from glucocorticoid-resistant primary leukemias, revealing a completely new action of glucocorticoids. Dexamethasone-induced proliferation was mediated by glucocorticoid receptor and activated the proliferation signaling pathways of protein kinase B/AKT and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase.
Conclusion:
Our data suggest that restriction of the use of glucocorticoids during anticancer treatment might improve the outcome of patients with solid tumors.
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