Methylglyoxal at metronomic doses sensitizes breast cancer cells to doxorubicin and cisplatin causing synergistic induction of programmed cell death and inhibition of stemness.

This report documents for the first time the preferential targeting of breast cancer stem cells by methylglyoxal. Combination treatment with doxorubicin or cisplatin hindered mammosphere forming efficiency and inclusively eliminated both cancer stem as well as non-stem cancer cells. The synergistic effect was validated in Ehrlich mammary carcinoma cell induced murine ascites model and the combination advantage in vivo was achieved without any additional deleterious effect to liver and kidney. Our present study evidences the implications of methylglyoxal inclusion in adjuvant multimodal chemotherapeutics against breast cancer and offers noteworthy insights into the possible outcome. PMID: 30170097 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Biochemical Pharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Biochem Pharmacol Source Type: research