Combined HIF-1α siRNA and Cisplatin in a Nude Mice Model of Esophageal SCC

Squamous cell carcinoma is the main histological subtype of esophageal cancers in China. Clinically, cisplatin-based chemotherapy is the main approach for many patients with advanced esophageal cancer. Most patients with advanced esophageal cancer experienced chemotherapy failure, however, mechanisms for chemotherapeutic resistance have not been completely understood (Bazarbashi et al., 2008; Cho et al., 2008; Takashima et al., 2008). The transcription factor hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), one heterodimer composed of HIF-1α and HIF-1β, is a critical mediator of the response to hypoxia. Recent studies revealed that hypoxia was associated with poor responses to chemotherapy in esophageal cancers (Koukourakis et al., 2001). More recently, evidences showed that increased expression of HIF-1α was closely correlated with the growth, invasion and resistance to chemotherapeutic agents of human cancer cells including ESCC. In contrast, the loss of HIF-