Application of a Nitric Oxide-Releasing Pro-drug for Halting Growth of Human Breastand Canine Mammary Carcinoma Cells

Breast carcinomas remain one of the most common forms of cancer among women. Likewise, mammary cancers are one of the leading causes of death in dogs. Among the principal challenges in tumor therapies, resistance to cytotoxic therapeutics represents a major bottleneck in the fight against cancer. The development of novel delivery methods for nitric oxide has fueled the re-emergence of nitric oxide as a potential adjuvant for enhancing sensitivity of cancer cells to traditional therapeutics. More importantly, when delivered under the right conditions, nitric oxide exhibits the capacity to reduce or altogether halt tumor cell proliferation. Here, we present a new class of nitric oxide-releasing pro-drugs using non-cytotoxic S-nitrosothiol nitric oxide donors to deliver nitric oxide in a controlled manner to halt the growth of both human breast and canine mammary carcinoma cells.