Abstract
BackgroundResistance of breast cancer cells to the available chemotherapeutics is a major obstacle to successful treatment. Recent studies have shown that magnetic nanoparticles might have significant application in different medical fields including cancer treatment. The goal of this study is to verify the ability of magnetic nanoparticles to sensitize cancer cells to the clinically available chemotherapy.MethodsThe role of iron oxide nanoparticles, static magnetic field, or a combination in the enhancement of the apoptotic potential of doxorubicin against the resistant breast cancer cells, MCF-7 was evaluated using the MTT assay and the propidium iodide method.ResultsIn the present study, results revealed that pre-incubation of MCF-7 cells with iron oxide nanoparticles before the addition of doxorubicin did not enhance doxorubicin-induced growth inhibition. Pre-incubation of MCF-7 cells with iron oxide nanoparticles followed by a static magnetic field exposure significantly (P < 0.05) increased doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity. Sensitization with pre-exposure to the magnetic field was dose-dependent where the highest cytotoxicity was seen at 1 tesla. Further experiments revealed that the anti-proliferative effect of this treatment procedure is due to induction of apoptotic cell death.ConclusionsThese results might point to the importance of combining magnetic nanoparticles with a static magnetic field in treatment of doxorubicin-refractory breast cancer cells.
Highlights
Resistance of breast cancer cells to the available chemotherapeutics is a major obstacle to successful treatment
The cure rate from excision of the primary tumor is high, once the disease spreads to distant sites it is usually incurable by current systemic therapies, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy and immunotherapy
In the present study, we evaluated the potential of spherical iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3) to sensitize MCF-7 breast cancer cells to doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity
Summary
Resistance of breast cancer cells to the available chemotherapeutics is a major obstacle to successful treatment. The goal of this study is to verify the ability of magnetic nanoparticles to sensitize cancer cells to the clinically available chemotherapy. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among females world-wide. There are currently more than one million women worldwide fighting breast cancer, accounting for more than one-fifth of the global burden of cancers. In Europe, 421,000 cases of breast cancer among women were estimated in 2008 [2] and it is estimated that 184,450 new cases of invasive stages were diagnosed in the USA in 2008 and 230,480 in 2011 [3]. Resistance of breast cancer cells to available chemotherapeutics is a major obstacle to successful treatment. The development of a novel approach for early detection, treatment and overcoming resistance of cancers is potentially required [5]
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