title: Morphine improved the antitumor effects on MCF-7 cells in combination with 5-Fluorouracil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The most frequently used opioid in cancer pain management is morphine which remains a cornerstone for the management of cancer pain, due to the largest experience existing among physicians and widely availability in a variety of formulation. Considering that analgesics on cancer pain is often under the condition of chemotherapy and 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is widely used today as a potent drug for the treatment of advanced cancers, whether analgesics such as morphine, interferes the chemotherapy such as 5-FU, arose as a considerable problem.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, the MCF-7 breast cancer cells were used to determine the antitumor effects of the 5-FU in combination with morphine. The cell proliferation was determined by the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and the apoptosis was determined by the Annexin V/PI staining and flow cytometry. The immunocytochemistry and western blot was used to determine the Bcl-2 and Bax expression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was shown that in MCF-7 cells, the proliferation was inhibited, the apoptosis was promoted, the Bcl-2 expression was suppressed and the Bax expression was promoted by both 5-FU alone and morphine alone, while the superior effects were achieved in combination with the two drugs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that the morphine may have the beneficial effects on the antitumor chemotherapy with 5-FU, in stead of interferential effects.
authors.affiliation: Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College, Hebei province, 067000 Chengde, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Hua
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College, Hebei province, 067000 Chengde, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Xue
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College, Hebei province, 067000 Chengde, PR China.
authors.forename: Tie-Li
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College, Hebei province, 067000 Chengde, PR China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College, Hebei province, 067000 Chengde, PR China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College, Hebei province, 067000 Chengde, PR China. Electronic address: haochanglai882@163.com.
authors.forename: Chang-Lai
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College, Hebei province, 067000 Chengde, PR China. Electronic address: cyfyzys@163.com.
authors.forename: Li-Xin
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D008297:Male; D009020:Morphine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D009020:Morphine; D005472:Fluorouracil
keywords: 5-Fluorouracil; Apoptosis; Bax; Bcl-2; Morphine; Tumor