Morphine improved the antitumor effects on MCF-7 cells in combination with 5-Fluorouracil.

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.