Anti-cancer activity of some homeopathic formulations in breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB 231.

Abstract

Due to its poor detection and prognosis, breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies globally. Homeopathy is a type of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) that works on the idea of 'like cures like' and is used to treat breast cancer as a supportive therapy. Here, the cytotoxicity of specific homeopathic formulations Iodium 30C, Echinacea Angustifolia 30C, Conium Maculatum 30C, Phytolacca 30C, Asterias Rubens 30C in MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines was assessed. Additionally, the effect of selected homeopathic formulations on the expression of cancer-related genes vegf and mmp9 was also measured. Finally, the effect of these formulations on the generation of tumor associated macrophages in vitro from peripheral blood monocytes using tumor supernatant was analysed. The results show that exposure to higher dilutions of homeopathic treatments led to high cell viability and low cytotoxicity. Homeopathic formulation of Conium and Phytolacca in the potency of 30C at 1:25 dilution showed alterations in the expression of vegf and mmp9 genes. Flow cytometry analysis showed the surface expression of CD14, MHC-II and CD206 were enhanced after macrophage differentiation by tumor supernatant. In conclusion, the data suggests that the tested formulations may have anticancer activity in breast cancer and they have the potential for use as complementary anti-cancer usage.