Antitumor Activity of Colloidal Silver on MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cells
In this study published in 2010 in the Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research, the study authors decided to test colloidal silver against human breast cancer cells. According to the study authors, “The aim of this study was to determine if colloidal silver had cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 breast cancer cells and its mechanism of cell death.”
The breast cancer cells were treated with colloidal silver ranging from 1.75 ppm to 17.5 ppm in concentration, for five hours. Results: “Colloidal silver demonstrated dose-dependent cytotoxic effect in MCF-7 breast cancer cells through induction of apoptosis.” In essence, this means the colloidal silver created changes in the cancer cells that led them to commit cellular suicide. The researchers also discovered that colloidal silver killed the breast cancer cells without causing toxicity or harm to normal control cells, i.e., “Our in vitro studies showed that colloidal silver induced a dose-dependent cell death…without affecting the viability of normal PBMC control cells.” Finally, the researchers concluded, “The overall results indicated that the colloidal silver has antitumor activity through induction of apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, suggesting that colloidal silver might be a potential alternative agent for human breast cancer therapy.”
