Chemotherapy for malignant tumours has diversified,
and recognizing its side effects has become more
important than ever. Capecitabine (Xeloda) was
established as a treatment option in colorectal cancer
in 2001, and more recently for adjuvant treatment of
colon cancer and treatment of metastatic breast
cancer, but this was associated with severe toxicities.
The present work investigated the protective role of
vitamin C against CapecitabineĀinduced liver toxicity
in rats. Forty male albino rats were randomly divided
into four groups of 10 animals each. Group I
represents the control group; Group II were
administrated Capecitabine (3 mg/m2 twice daily) via
gavage for two weeks. The animals of Group III
received vitamin C (100 mg/kg BW) before
Capecitabine administration; the animals of Group IV
received vitamin C alone (100 mg/kg BW). At the end
of the 2nd week, the general status of the rats,
histopathology and Immunohistochemistry of the liver,
and the levels of serum alanine aminotransaminase
(ALT), aspartate aminotransaminase (AST), and
alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels were detected.
The present results showed that Capecitabine caused
significant increases in serum ALT, AST, and ALP.
Also, the results of the present study showed that
Capecitabine produced a severe inflammatory lesion
to the liver compared to the control group. PCNA
expression was increased in the liver of
Capecitabine-treated rats. Administration of vitamin C
exhibited significant reversal of Capecitabine-induced
toxicity in the hepatic tissue. In conclusion, these
results suggest that vitamin C has a protective role
towards Capecitabine toxicity in the rat.
Key words: Rat, hepatotoxicity, Immunohistochemistry,
Capecitabine, Vitamin C
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