Antitumor effect of fever range whole body hyperthermia with curcumin in breast cancer-induced mice

Abstract

Breast cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease and also one of the major cancer types among female worldwide. Fever range whole-body hyperthermia and curcumin as a single treatment have been tested against breast cancer and showed some promising anti-tumor effect. However, their combination as an effective anti-tumor treatment against breast cancer has never been explored. The effects of combined whole-body fever range hyperthermia and curcumin on tumor growth was examined in this study. Mice were inoculated with EMT6 cells subcutaneously and allocated to 4 treatment groups: (i) control (control), (ii) curcumin (50mg/kg bodyweight), (iii) twice fever range whole-body hyperthermia 39.0°C (± 0.5) for 15 minutes, (iv) a combination of curcumin (50mg/kg bodyweight) and twice fever range whole-body hyperthermia 39.0°C (± 0.5) for 15 minutes. Following treatment, mice body weight and tumor volume were measured. The greatest tumor growth inhibition exhibited in combination treatment (68.45%, p<0.05) and showed no general toxicity. As conclusion, the combination treatment can be a potential anti-tumor treatment of breast cancer.