Iodine and doxorubicin, a good combination for mammary cancer treatment: antineoplastic adjuvancy, chemoresistance inhibition, and cardioprotection.

Background: Although mammary cancer (MC) is the most common malignant neoplasia in women, the mortality for this cancer has decreased principally because of early detection and the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Of several preparations that cause MC regression, doxorubicin (DOX) is the most active, first-line monotherapeutic. Nevertheless, its use is limited due to the rapid development of chemoresistance and to the cardiotoxicity caused by free radicals.

Inhibition of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mammary carcinogenesis by molecular iodine (I2) but not by iodide (I-) treatment Evidence that I2 prevents cancer promotion.

We analyzed the effect of molecular iodine (I2), potassium iodide (KI) and a subclinical concentration of thyroxine (T4) on the induction and promotion of mammary cancer induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea. Virgin Sprague-Dawley rats received short or continuous treatment. Continuous I2 treated rats exhibited a strong and persistent reduction in mammary cancer incidence (30%) compared to controls (72.