Investigation of synergistic effects of silver nanoparticles with sorafenib on in vitro prostate and head and neck cancer model

Prostate cancer, one of the most common cancers in men. Hypopharyngeal cancer is a rare malignant cancer. Because traditional cancer treatments have side effects, most of the current studies are directed towards finding new approaches in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Therapies based on nanotechnology have attracted much attention with minimal side effects and high specificity. In recent years, research has focused on the anticancer properties of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Furthermore, sorafenib therapy, which inhibits tyrosine kinase signaling pathways, is already used in cancer treatments. According to literature review, we determined that the synergistic effects of AgNP and sorafenib on PC3 (prostate cancer) and FaDu (pharyngeal cancer) cells were not studied. In this thesis, AgNP and sorafenib were applied individually and together to PC3 and FaDu cells, their effects were examined at cellular and molecular levels. The IC20 concentrations of each agents against PC3 and FaDu cells were determined by CVDK-8 assay. Apoptosis effects were measured colorimetrically and changes in caspase-3 expression levels were determined by western blot. In both cells, AgNP and sorafenib alone caused a concentration-dependent decrease in cell viability. It was observed that AgNP-Sorafenib combination was more effective in cell proliferation inhibition in FaDu cells compared to PC3 cells. According to Western blot analysis, a significant change in apoptosis was observed in the AgNP and AgNP-Sorafenib groups in FaDu cells, while no significant change was observed in the sorafenib group. It is expected data of this study will provide new perspectives on nanocarrier drug systems.