It is currently estimated that one in every five Americans will develop skin cancer during their lifetime. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a common type of skin cancer that can develop due to the skin’s exposure to the sun. Herein, we prepared a topical gel containing 0.5% v/w phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) for the treatment of SCC. PEITC is a naturally occurring isothiocyanate that has been shown to have efficacy against various types of cancer in preclinical studies. We first incorporated PEITC into a carbomer gel. A uniform formulation was prepared, and its viscosity was appropriate for topical application. We then demonstrated the release of PEITC from the gel into and through a Strat-M skin-like membrane. Finally, the effects of the PEITC-containing gel were tested against SCC and normal keratinocytes skin cells in culture, and these results were compared to those obtained for free 5-fluoruracil (5-FU), a commonly used skin-cancer drug. Our results show that a homogeneous PEITC-containing topical gel can be prepared and used to kill SCC cells. Thus, our formulation may be useful for treating SCC in the clinic.

中文翻译：

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含异硫氰酸苯乙酯的卡波姆凝胶用于鳞状细胞癌

目前估计，每五分之一的美国人在其一生中都会患上皮肤癌。鳞状细胞癌（SCC）是皮肤的常见类型，由于皮肤暴露在阳光下会发展。在这里，我们准备了一个局部凝胶，含0.5％v / w异硫氰酸苯乙酯（PEITC）用于治疗SCC。PEITC是一种天然存在的异硫氰酸酯，在临床前研究中已显示出对多种类型癌症的功效。我们首先将PEITC掺入卡波姆凝胶中。制备均匀的制剂，并且其粘度适合于局部施用。然后，我们证明了PEITC从凝胶释放到Strat-M类皮肤膜中并通过该类膜释放。最后，测试了含PEITC的凝胶对培养中的SCC和正常角质形成细胞皮肤细胞的作用，并将这些结果与游离的5-氟尿嘧啶（5-FU）（一种常用的皮肤癌药物）获得的结果进行了比较。我们的结果表明，可以制备均匀的含PEITC的局部用凝胶，并用于杀死SCC细胞。因此，我们的制剂可用于治疗临床中的SCC。