Proceedings of the XXXV National Conference of the Italian Society of Cytometry

Since survival of melanoma patients remain poor (5-year survival below 25%), there is continued need for new therapeutic approaches. Many studies have shown that plants are a potential source of natural molecules than can be used as agent in cancer treatment. Cinnamon is a small and evergreen plant belonging to Lauraceae family, native to Asia, whose medical properties are still under investigation. In particular, Cinnamomum zeylanicum besides anti-microbial, anti-mycotic and anti-inflammatory properties, have been demonstrated to have an antitumor effect. In this study we investigated the anti-melanoma cell activity of C. zeylanicum essential oil on an in vitro established melanoma cell line. The results revealed that this agent has an antiproliferative effect as evaluated by colony forming assay and cell cycle analysis. We also found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was augmented by the treatment with C. zeylanicum essential oil indicating its pro-oxidant effect in melanoma cells. In addition, C. zeylanicum essential oil was able to improve the effect of a conventional antitumor drug such as Tamoxifen used at low doses. An interesting indication of the possible mechanism involved in the observed effects is the C. zeylanicum essential oil capacity to regulate the melanoma Labile Cell Iron (LCI) amount and to modulate a group of Iron metabolism genes. Our results strongly support the potential use of this plant in combination cancer therapy.