Synergistic Effects of Niraparib and Anlotinib on Suppressing the Growth of Ovarian Cancer and Stem-Like Cells by Inhibiting PI3K/Akt Signalling

Identifying novel and effective treatments is urgent to reduce the recurrence rates and drug resistance of patients with ovarian cancer, given the deficiencies of traditional treatments. In this study, we evaluated the synergistic effects of combining niraparib (NIR) and anlotinib (ANL) on their anti-proliferative, anti-migratory, anti-stem cell, and pro-apoptotic abilities on ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo . In vitro , NIR combined with ANL inhibited clone formation, proliferation, and migration and promoted apoptosis of A2780 cells through the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway. The combination of the two drugs also inhibited the sphere-forming ability of ovarian cancer stem cells and reduced the expression of SOX2 and ALDH1A1, two markers related to stem cells. In vivo , NIR combined with ANL inhibited the growth of solid tumours and stem-like cells through the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway. Our study suggests that the efficacy of combining NIR and ANL in treating ovarian cancer is superior to that of monotherapy, identifying it as a novel therapeutic modality for treating the disease.