Evaluation of Depressive and Anxious Behavior with the Use of Propranolol in Melanoma-Bearing Mice

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Tumor progression and anxiety and depression behaviors under evaluation during propranolol use in murine melanoma.

• Evaluation of anxiety and depression through forced swimming behavior tests, elevated plus maze, open field and marble-burying test.

Abstract

Melanoma, a severe form of skin cancer, has rapid growth and has been prone to behavioral disorders that worsen the patient's prognosis and survival. Among these psychic disorders can occur anxiety and depression, in addition to cognitive deficit. In order to try to elucidate the neuropsychological disorders that occur in melanoma, the objective of this study was to evaluate propranolol in tumor progression and in anxious and depressive behaviors in an animal model with melanoma. B16F10 cells were injected into C57BL6/J mice subsequently treated with propranolol at doses of 1.43 mg/kg and 5.71 mg/kg and evaluated for tumor growth and in open field, forced swimming, elevated plus maze and marble-burying test at initial time and consolidated tumor. As a result, the group treated with propranolol at a dose of 5.71 mg/kg showed less tumor growth. In the initial behavioral tests, melanoma altered the animals' motility, but anxious behavior was not detected. Depressive behavior was detected in the forced swimming test in the two doses of the treatment used. When taking time with consolidated tumor, there was a reduction in the locomotor activity of the animals in the open field test, impairing the analysis of anxious and depressive behavior. The data suggest that there was a reduction in the progression of melanoma, there was no anxious behavior in the animals, only the depressive behavior and the use of propranolol did not improve the evaluated behavior.

Keywords:
melanoma; depression; anxiety