Anticancer drugs with chemotherapeutic interactions with thymoquinone in osteosarcoma cells

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant tumor of the bone. Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Following surgery, multi-agent chemotherapy drugs are effective but are associated with significant side effects and toxicity. Thymoquinone (TMQ) is a pharmacological component of black cumin that has multiple anti-tumorigenic effects. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of TMQ in combination with chemotherapy drugs on the growth inhibition of osteosarcoma and the potential clinical utility of TMQ in the treatment of OS.

We evaluated the effects on the MG63 OS cell line when TMQ, 5-fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin combinations were applied that MG63 OS cell line viability was measured with the cell proliferation and apoptosis assay according to dose and time-dependent effects.

Application of 10 µM TMQ combined with 5FU and OXA at a low concentration of 1 µM that was discovered an ineffective dose of the used drugs as anticancer decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis in cells at a significant rate at 48 and 72 h.

TMQ has potential benefits in preventing the onset and progression of chemotherapy drug-induced toxicity and side effects, and may reduce resistance to chemotherapy drugs. We consider that TMQ may be a potential therapeutic drug for OS and/or other cancers.