Liposome encapsulation of doxorubicin and celecoxib in combination inhibits progression of human skin cancer cells

Abstract

Therapeutic agents aimed at inhibiting a single molecular target have not been successful in cancer therapy, but rather they impart resistance. However, multi-target inhibitors have shown promising results in circumventing the development of resistance and inducing apoptosis in cancer cells/tissues. In this study, we encapsulated doxorubicin and celecoxib in a single liposome at a ratio of 1:10. These dual drug-encapsulated liposomes showed excellent anticancer activity compared to individually encapsulated liposomes. The expression of key proteins such as AKT and COX-2 was suppressed, which suggests that doxorubicin and celecoxib synergistically inhibit multiple key signaling pathways.