Caffeine Increased Antitumor Effects of Paclitaxel (PTX) in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells

Although progress has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, which is one of the most important causes of women's health, it is still one of the leading causes of death in women. One of the most prominent causes for this is illness resistance to the medications employed in treatment. For this reason, the trend towards combination therapy research has increased in addition to conventional therapy. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of co-administration of caffeine (CAF) and paclitaxel (PTX), which is frequently used in breast cancer, on MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells. For this purpose, 4 groups were determined as control, CAF, PTX and CAF+ PTX. MTT assay was used to assess cell viability and the appropriate dose for CAF was determined. The apoptotic effect of the drug combination on cell lines was evaluated with the TUNEL method, and it was determined at what stage it paused cell division by cell cycle analysis. According to the study's findings, the results indicated that CAF induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells and the best effect was in the group administered with PTX. Furthermore, it was discovered that CAF and PTX in the MCF-7 cell lines, both together and separately, blocked cell division in the S phase in MCF-7 cell lines. These results are promising for future studies that will prove the usefulness of CAF as an adjuvant in the treatment of breast cancer.