Oncolytic adenovirus mediated Survivin RNA interference and 5-fluorouracil synergistically suppress the lymphatic metastasis of colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is one of the leading malignancies in the world. The mortality is mainly caused by tumor metastasis. It is urgent to find new therapeutics against metastatic colorectal cancer. We constructed an adenovirus carrying a Survivin targeted shRNA, tested its effects alone or with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) both in vitro and in a nude mouse xenograft model. Results showed that the recombinant adenovirus reduced the expression of Survivin effectively, and administration of virus together with 5-FU inhibited cancer cell metastasis both in vitro and in vivo at concentrations at which each agent alone was ineffective. We conclude Survivin targeted virotherapy together with 5-FU chemotherapy may be a promising treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer.