calcipotriene and Breast-Neoplasms

Hair loss from cytotoxic drugs is classically ascribed to the loss of fractured hairs (anagen effluvium). Telogen hair loss has also been described but some authors have denied any effect on the hair cycle. There are conflicting reports on a protective effect of pretreatment with a vitamin D analogue on cytotoxic drug-induced hair loss in rodents.. To investigate the process of cytotoxic hair loss and any protective effect on the hair of pretreatment with topical calcipotriol.. Breast cancer patients who were about to receive cycles of chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide 600 mg m(-2), methotrexate 40 mg m(-2) and 5-fluorouracil 600 mg m(-2) were recruited and randomized to receive calcipotriol scalp solution 50 microg mL(-1) or vehicle. The solution was applied twice daily from 4 days prior to chemotherapy and continued for 14 days in each treatment cycle. Shed, plucked and cut hairs were sampled. Absolute shed rates, the proportion of major hair types, the presence of proximal hair shaft changes, regrowth (using the new anagen hair count) and hair density were assessed.. Ten patients receiving calcipotriol and 14 receiving vehicle completed three treatment cycles and nine from both groups completed six cycles. There was no detectable effect of calcipotriol on the proportion of patients experiencing minimal hair loss from chemotherapy, shed rates, plucked telogen and fractured hair counts, the morphology of shed and plucked hair, hair regrowth or hair density. Combining results of the treatment groups, there was a large variation in the impact of chemotherapy on hair loss, from total loss in five patients to no obvious loss in five. Excluding the latter, during chemotherapy shed telogen hairs (mean 81% of shed hairs) predominated over fractured (12%) and anagen hairs (6%) (P = 0.0002). The major pathological change was proximal hair shaft tapering, baseline mean 3% of shed hairs rising to 48% (P = 0.0005) during treatment, and there was a consequent decrease in normal telogen hairs, baseline mean 98% of all telogen hairs falling to 55% (P = 0.0005) during treatment. The pathological tapered telogen hairs had normal or small, sometimes diminutive, bulbs. Fracturing of hairs with diminutive bulbs produced typical 'exclamation mark' hairs.. The cardinal effects of cytotoxic drugs found in this study were tapering of the proximal hair shaft and premature entry of the follicle into telogen, conflicting with the conventional view that affected hair follicles continue in anagen. There was a resulting effluvium of a mixture of tapering telogen hairs and fractured hairs. As entry into telogen is an integral part of the process, cytotoxic hair loss may be regarded as a variant of the conventional 'telogen effluvium' and we propose the term 'atrophic telogen effluvium'. There was no obvious protective effect on the hair loss of prior treatment with topical calcipotriol.

Topics: Administration, Topical; Adult; Alopecia; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Breast Neoplasms; Calcitriol; Cyclophosphamide; Dermatologic Agents; Double-Blind Method; Female; Fluorouracil; Hair; Humans; Methotrexate; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies

Topics: Anastrozole; Animals; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Breast Neoplasms; Calcitriol; Dihydroxycholecalciferols; Female; Humans; MCF-7 Cells; Mice; Mice, SCID; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is recognized as a potential target for the treatment of breast cancer which is the most common malignancy among women in the world. In this study, a series of nonsecosteroidal VDR agonists with a novel diarylmethane skeleton was designed, synthesized and the anti-tumor activities of these compounds were determined. Compound 28 was identified as the most effective agents in reducing the viability of MCF-7 cells, with a low IC

Topics: Apoptosis; bcl-2-Associated X Protein; Breast Neoplasms; Cell Cycle Checkpoints; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; Female; Humans; Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; Hypercalcemia; MCF-7 Cells; Methane; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; Receptors, Calcitriol

Topics: Adult; Breast Diseases; Breast Neoplasms; Calcitriol; Dermatologic Agents; Diagnosis, Differential; Eczema; Female; Humans; Hyperpigmentation; Keratosis; Nipples; Paget's Disease, Mammary

Vitamin D (VD) reduces the risk of breast cancer and improves disease prognoses. Potential VD analogs are being developed as therapeutic agents for breast cancer treatments. The large-conductance Ca

Topics: Breast Neoplasms; Calcitriol; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival; Down-Regulation; Female; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channel alpha Subunits; Leupeptins; Neoplasm Proteins; Proteasome Inhibitors; Proteolysis; Receptors, Calcitriol; RNA, Messenger; RNA, Small Interfering

Approximately 30% of breast tumors do not express the estrogen receptor (ER) α, which is necessary for endocrine therapy approaches. Studies are ongoing in order to restore ERα expression in ERα-negative breast cancer. The aim of the present study was to determine if calcitriol induces ERα expression in ER-negative breast cancer cells, thus restoring antiestrogen responses.. Cultured cells derived from ERα-negative breast tumors and an ERα-negative breast cancer cell line (SUM-229PE) were treated with calcitriol and ERα expression was assessed by real time PCR and western blots. The ERα functionality was evaluated by prolactin gene expression analysis. In addition, the effects of antiestrogens were assessed by growth assay using the XTT method. Gene expression of cyclin D1 (CCND1), and Ether-à-go-go 1 (EAG1) was also evaluated in cells treated with calcitriol alone or in combination with estradiol or ICI-182,780. Statistical analyses were determined by one-way ANOVA.. Calcitriol was able to induce the expression of a functional ERα in ER-negative breast cancer cells. This effect was mediated through the vitamin D receptor (VDR), since it was abrogated by a VDR antagonist. Interestingly, the calcitriol-induced ERα restored the response to antiestrogens by inhibiting cell proliferation. In addition, calcitriol-treated cells in the presence of ICI-182,780 resulted in a significant reduction of two important cell proliferation regulators CCND1 and EAG1.. Calcitriol induced the expression of ERα and restored the response to antiestrogens in ERα-negative breast cancer cells. The combined treatment with calcitriol and antiestrogens could represent a new therapeutic strategy in ERα-negative breast cancer patients.

Topics: Breast Neoplasms; Calcitriol; Cell Line, Tumor; Cyclin D1; Estradiol; Estrogen Receptor alpha; Estrogen Receptor Modulators; Female; Fulvestrant; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Receptors, Calcitriol

Topics: Administration, Topical; Biopsy; Breast Neoplasms; Calcitriol; Drug Administration Schedule; Female; Humans; Keratosis; Nevus, Pigmented; Nipples; Precancerous Conditions; Skin Neoplasms; Young Adult

The role of vitamin D3 in cancer prevention and its potential as an anticancer therapeutic agent have been researched and are well established. However, the clinical use of the natural vitamin D3 metabolite, 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3 or calcitriol] is limited by a possible cause of hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria. A new 24-chloro calcipotriene-based vitamin D3 analog (BGP-15) was synthesized and examined for antiproliferative activity in the androgen-dependent cell lines of prostate cancer (LNCaP) and breast cancer (MCF-7). The new analog led to significant decrease in cell viability in cultured LNCaP and MCF-7 cell lines compared with calcipotriene and 1,25(OH)2D3. We observed elevated vitamin D receptor protein levels in both LNCaP and MCF-7 cells, which were treated with 5 micromol/l of 1,25(OH)2D3, calcipotriene or BGP-15 for 20 h, indicating vitamin D receptor-binding ability. Treatments of LNCaP and MCF-7 cells with 5 micromol/l BGP-15 and calcipotriene for 20 h generated procaspase-3 cleavage and therefore, apoptosis. Interestingly, BGP-15, and to a lesser extent calcipotriene, but not 1,25(OH)2D3, activated caspase-3 in MCF-7 cells, a cell line that normally lacks this specific caspase (and procaspase). It is presumed that management of MCF-7 with BGP-15 modulates procaspase-3 expression and cleavage, and a subsequent activation of caspase-3. Similar treatments of LNCaP cells induced procaspase-9 cleavage and therefore caspase-9 activation, whereas similar treatments of MCF-7 cells failed to induce caspase-9 activation. Cytochrome c release was, however, detected in both cell lines, LNCaP and MCF-7. In-vivo results suggested that BGP-15 (similar to its parent drug) did not cause calcium-related toxic side effects after chronic treatment.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Apoptosis; Breast Neoplasms; Calcitriol; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Female; Humans; Male; Prostatic Neoplasms; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Analogs of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 with a reversed configuration at C-1 or C-24 and E or Z geometry of the double bond at C-22 in the side chain or at C-5 in the triene system were examined for their antiproliferative activity in vitro against a spectrum of various human cancer cell lines. The analogs coded PRI-2201 (calcipotriol), PRI-2202 and PRI-2205, such as calcitriol and tacalcitol (used as a referential agents), revealed antiproliferative activity against human HL-60, HL-60/MX2, MCF-7, T47D, SCC-25 and mouse WEHI-3 cancer cell lines. The toxicity studies in vivo showed that PRI-2202 and PRI-2205 are less toxic than referential agents. Even at total doses of 2.5-5.0 mg/kg distributed during 5 successive days, no changes in body weight were observed. Calcitriol and tacalcitol showed toxicity in the same protocol at 100 times lower doses. Calcipotriol was lethal to all mice after administration of a total dose of 5.0 mg/kg. The analog PRI-2205 appeared to be more active in mouse Levis lung cancer tumor growth inhibition than calcitriol, calcipotriol or PRI-2202. This analog did not reveal calcemic activity at doses which inhibit tumor growth in vivo nor at higher doses.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Breast Neoplasms; Calcitriol; Calcium; Carcinoma, Lewis Lung; CD11b Antigen; Cell Cycle; Cell Differentiation; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Cholecalciferol; Coloring Agents; Female; Fibroblasts; HL-60 Cells; Humans; Lipopolysaccharide Receptors; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred DBA; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Prostatic Neoplasms; Rhodamines; Stereoisomerism; Tetrazolium Salts; Thiazoles

We have analyzed the effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on the expression of the gene encoding apolipoprotein D (apoD), a protein component of the human plasma lipid transport system that is overproduced by a specific subset of breast carcinomas. Northern blot analysis revealed that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 strongly up-regulated apoD mRNA levels in T-47D human breast cancer cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The potency of this vitamin as an inducer of apoD expression was stronger than the effect observed for such steroid hormones as androgens and progesterone, described previously as hormonal up-regulators of apoD expression in these cells. A time course study demonstrated that the induction of apoD mRNA reached a level of 5-fold over the untreated cells after 48 h of incubation in the presence of 10(-7) M 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. A dose-response analysis showed that a 10(-6) M concentration of this vitamin consistently induced a maximal accumulation of 7-fold over the control cells. Similar up-regulatory effects on the apoD gene expression were obtained by treatment of T-47D cells with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 analogues, including MC 903, which is relatively devoid of hypercalcemic side effects in clinical applications. Western blot analysis revealed that the inductive effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 was also reflected at the protein level as an increase of immunoreactive protein in the conditioned media of vitamin-treated cells. This increased expression of apoD was accompanied by an inhibition of cell growth and morphological changes in T-47D cells. By contrast, we did not detect any inductive effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on apoD gene expression in MDA-MB-231 cells, which are refractory to the growth-inhibitory effects of this compound. On the basis of these results, we propose 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 as an important regulator of the expression of the apoD gene in breast carcinomas. We also suggest that apoD may be of interest as a biochemical marker of the action of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 derivatives in current studies using these compounds as inhibitors of breast cancer cell growth or as chemotherapeutic agents in the prevention of breast cancer.

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Apolipoproteins; Apolipoproteins D; Breast Neoplasms; Calcitriol; Carcinoma; Cycloheximide; Dactinomycin; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Growth Inhibitors; Humans; Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; RNA, Messenger; RNA, Neoplasm; Time Factors; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Breast Neoplasms; Calcitriol; Dermatologic Agents; Humans; Middle Aged; Skin Neoplasms

Calcipotriol (MC903) is a novel vitamin D analogue which effects cellular differentiation and proliferation in vitro and has reduced effects on calcium metabolism in vivo. In the present study its in vitro activity was evaluated using the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, and its effects on calcium metabolism and mammary tumour growth were measured in vivo in adult female rats. Calcipotriol was compared to the natural metabolite of vitamin D3, 1 alpha,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol [1,25(OH)2D3] and its synthetic analogue 1 alpha hydroxycholecalciferol [1 alpha(OH)D3]. Both calcipotriol and 1,25(OH)2D3 produced significant inhibition of MCF-7 cell proliferation at a concentration of 5 x 10(-11) M. Intraperitoneal administration of calcipotriol to normal female rats showed that the analogue was 100-200 times less active than 1,25(OH)2D3 in raising serum calcium concentration and urinary calcium excretion. Anti-tumour activity of the vitamin D analogues was investigated in vivo using the nitrosomethylurea-induced rat mammary tumor model. Rats, maintained on a low calcium diet, were treated with 1 alpha(OH)D3 (0.25 and 1.25 micrograms/kg). Both doses produced a response rate of 25% but hypercalcaemia developed. Treatment with calcipotriol (50 micrograms/kg) of rats maintained on a normal laboratory diet caused inhibition of tumour progression (response rate 17%) without the development of severe hypercalcaemia. This study supports the concept that vitamin D derivatives may inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation in vivo.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Breast Neoplasms; Calcitriol; Calcium; Cell Division; Estradiol; Humans; Hydroxycholecalciferols; Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental; Rats; Receptors, Calcitriol; Receptors, Estrogen; Receptors, Steroid; Time Factors; Tumor Cells, Cultured

19 patients with locally advanced or cutaneous metastatic breast cancer were treated with the topical vitamin D analogue calcipotriol 100 micrograms daily. 14 patients completed 6 weeks' treatment; 3 showed a 50% reduction in the bidimensional diameter of treated lesions and 1 other patient showed a minimal response. 2 patients became hypercalcaemic during treatment. In all patients who responded the tumours contained receptors for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, shown by immunocytochemistry.

Topics: Administration, Topical; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Breast Neoplasms; Calcitriol; Carcinoma; Drug Administration Schedule; Drug Evaluation; Female; Humans; Hypercalcemia; Middle Aged; Receptors, Calcitriol; Receptors, Estrogen; Receptors, Steroid; Skin Neoplasms