Induction of oxidative stress by anticancer drugs in the presence and absence of cells

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated in the cell through multiple mechanisms. Intracellular ROS are rapidly detoxified by various enzymatic and non-enzymatic mechanisms; however, disruption of the oxidant-antioxidant balance causes oxidative stress and elicits cell damage. The oxidative stress induced by chemotherapy is known to cause side effects in patients with cancer. However, few studies have examined whether anticancer drugs induce oxidative stress in cancer cells. Furthermore, the precise mechanism by which anticancer drugs induce the generation of ROS remains unclear. In the present study, to investigate whether anticancer drugs induce oxidative stress, DLD-1 human colorectal cancer cells were treated with 20 different anticancer drugs and then stained with CellROX^® ROS detection reagent. Furthermore, an oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay in the presence of copper was performed to estimate the oxidative activities of the anticancer drugs in the absence of cells. The data of the present study using assay methods in the presence and absence of cells suggest that nimustine, actinomycin D, doxorubicin, mitomycin C, mitoxantrone, carmofur, gemcitabine, mercaptopurine, camptothecin, paclitaxel, vinblastine, and vinorelbine are able to induce oxidative stress.