Differential effect of intraperitoneal albendazole and paclitaxel on ascites formation and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in ovarian cancer cell-bearing athymic nude mice

Objectives: The purposes of our study were to evaluate the effect of intraperitoneal albendazole on tumor growth, ascites formation, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA expression, and to assess the synergistic effect of paclitaxel in OVCAR-3-bearing nude mice. Methods: In all, 4 groups of mice were injected intraperitoneally with weekly albendazole (450 mg/kg per week), paclitaxel (30 mg/kg per week), albendazole plus paclitaxel, or normal saline for 4 weeks. Results: Ascitic fluid accumulation (2.47, 2.65, 2.88, and 5.90 mL, respectively) and in ascitic VEGF levels were significantly reduced in the 3 treatment groups compared to the control group (170.83, 229.16, 267, and 1625 pg/mL, respectively). However, complete tumor suppression was more prominent in the paclitaxel group, and VEGF mRNA expression was more strongly inhibited in the albendazole group (P <.05). No synergistic effect of albendazole and paclitaxel was observed. Conclusion: We demonstrated a differential effect of albendazole and paclitaxel in a xenograft model of ovarian carcinoma; albendazole suppressed ascites formation by inhibiting VEGF secretion, and paclitaxel exerted its effects by direct cytotoxicity.