Effects of Imatinib mesylate on the radio- and chemosensitivity of breast carcinoma cell lines

Breast cancer treatment is based on a combination of adjuvant chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. With the tyrosine kinase inhibitors new targeted drugs are available like Imatinib mesylate, a selective inhibitor of bcr-abl, PRGFR α, β and c-kit. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Imatinib has an influence on the effectiveness of radiotherapy in breast cancer cell lines and if a combination of Imatinib with standard chemotherapy could lead to increased cytoreduction. Colony-forming tests of MCF 7 and MDA MB 231 were used to study differences in cell proliferation under incubation with Imatinib…