Anti-tumor activity of SL4 against breast cancer cells: induction of G/M arrest through modulation of the MAPK-dependent p21 signaling pathway.

SL4, a chalcone-based compound, has been shown to retard tumor invasion and angiogenesis by suppressing HIF1 activity and to induce apoptosis by promoting ROS release. Here, we report that SL4 is able to inhibit the proliferation of different types of breast cancer cell in vitro and in vivo by inducing G/M cell cycle arrest. Our results showed that SL4 exhibited strong anti-proliferative activity in several human breast cancer cell lines, with IC values lower than 1.