Background: Cell viability assays are important tools in oncological research. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of docetaxel, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide on the metabolic activity of MCF-7 breast cancer cell line.
Materials and methods: Antiproliferative effect of cytostatics on MCF-7 cells was measured using the standard colorimetric test. The MCF-7 cell line was exposed to cytostatics for 24 hours. The metabolic activity was evaluated over the 24 hours.
Results: According to the statistical analysis, the change in the growth rate was significant (p<0.05) for the 120 nM docetaxel and above the 200 nM doxorubicin treatment in comparison with sensitive MCF-7 cells. When considering drugs in combination (60 nM docetaxel with 200 nM doxorubicin and 60 nM docetaxel with 500 nM doxorubicin) after the addition of 600 nM cyclophosphamide, we found a statistically significant decrease of metabolic activity of the MCF-7 cell line (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Cyclophosphamide at 600 nM seems to enhance the influence of docetaxel when combined with doxorubicin.