Novel therapeutic approach: organic arsenical (melarsoprol) alone or with all-trans -retinoic acid markedly inhibit growth of human breast and prostate cancer cells in vitro and in vivo

The organic arsenical known as melarsoprol (Mel-B) is used to treat African trypanosomiasis. Recently, another arsenical, As2O3was shown to be effective in treatment of acute promyelocytic leukaemia. We have investigated the anti-tumour activities of Mel-B either with or without all-trans -retinoic acid (ATRA) using the MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, as well as the PC-3 and DU 145 human prostate cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. The antiproliferative effects of Mel-B and/or ATRA against breast and prostate cancer were tested in vitro using clonogenic assays and in vivo in triple immunodeficient mice. Furthermore, the mechanism of action of these compounds was studied by examining the cell cycle, levels of bcl-2, apoptosis and antiproliferative potency using a pulse-exposure assay. Clonogenic assays showed that the cancer cell lines were sensitive to the inhibitory effect of Mel-B (effective dose that inhibited 50% clonal growth [ED50]: 7 × 10−9M for MCF-7, 2 × 10−7M for PC-3, 3 × 10−7M for DU145 cells. Remarkably, the combination of Mel-B and ATRA had an enhanced antiproliferative activity against all three cancer cell lines. Furthermore, the combination of Mel-B and ATRA induced a high level of apoptosis in all three cell lines. Treatment of PC-3 and MCF-7 tumours growing in triple immunodeficient mice with Mel-B and ATRA either alone or in combination markedly retarded tumour size and weight of the tumours without major side-effects. In conclusion, our results suggest that either Mel-B alone or with ATRA may be a useful, novel therapy for breast and prostate cancers. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Properties of melarsamine hydrochloride (Cymelarsan) in aqueous solution.

The antitrypanosomal drug melarsamine hydrochloride (MelCy) (trade name, Cymelarsan) is a melamino-phenylarsine made by conjugation of one equivalent of melarsen oxide and two equivalents of cysteamine. Immediately after it was dissolved in water, the compound was found to exist as an equilibrium mixture containing MelCy (43%), MelCy which had lost one cysteamine moiety (MelCy -1; 24%), melarsen oxide (33%), and free cysteamine. Small amounts (< 1%) of the oxidation products derived from the last two components were also formed (cystamine and sodium melarsen). On incubation at room temperature, the MelCy content decreased steadily, with an associated increase in the melarsen oxide and sodium melarsen contents. After 5 days in solution at room temperature, 27% of the arsenical agent was MelCy, 14% was MelCy -1, 42% was melarsen oxide, and 17% was sodium melarsen. Since H2O2 production was detectable in MelCy or cysteamine solutions and the addition of small amounts of exogenous H2O2 readily converted the trivalent melarsen oxide to the pentavalent sodium melarsen, it is hypothesized that the nonenzymatic conversion of cysteamine to cystamine produced H2O2, which then oxidized melarsen oxide to sodium melarsen. Similar time course experiments showed that melarsonyl potassium and melarsoprol were more stable in solution