The Effects of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) on the Mechanical Properties of Breast Cancer Epithelial Cells

 Clinical and laboratory studies show that taking aspirin and ibuprofen during chemotherapy or before breast cancer reduces the number of cancer cells and prevents their transmission. This study aimed to investigate the mechanical properties of cells after cell treatment with these two drugs.

 This study examined the effects of aspirin and ibuprofen, in combination and independently, at two concentrations of 5 µL and 10 µL on the mechanical properties of MCF-7 cancer cells. Next, it compared them with the mechanical properties of healthy MCF-10 cells. The mechanical properties of the cells were measured using an atomic force microscopy (AFM) device. Finally, the Young’s modulus and the deformation of all cell groups were calculated and examined.

 Our results showed that the deformation chart of cancer cells approached that of healthy cells using aspirin and ibuprofen. In addition, the numerical value of Young’s modulus in MCF-7 when using 10 µL of aspirin compared to other treatment groups had the highest value close to Young’s modulus of healthy cells.

 Using the separate or combined use of aspirin and ibuprofen, the mechanical properties of cancer cells were closer to those of healthy cells. The viable metastatic cell count probably decreased due to increased stiffness in cancer cell lines using aspirin and ibuprofen.