IN VITRO EFFECTS OF FLUOXETINE AND NORFLUOXETINE ON
BREAST CANCER PROLIFERATION
DIANA LUPU#, ANCA POP#, IONEL FIZEȘAN*, BELA KISS, FELICIA LOGHIN
“Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Toxicology, Cluj-Napoca,
Romania
*corresponding author: ionel.fizesan@umfcluj.ro
#Authors with equal contribution to this research paper.
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Abstract:
Pharmacological interventions in depressed cancer patients entail the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs),
of which the most prescribed is fluoxetine. This compound has been shown to interfere with oestrogen-dependent gene
transcription in vitro and also affect the proliferation of various cancer cells. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the
capacity of fluoxetine and its main metabolite, norfluoxetine, to influence breast cancer proliferation in vitro, using the MCF-
7 cell line. Both compounds exhibited anti-proliferative activity on MCF-7 cells, either alone or in combination with 17β-
estradiol. However, norfluoxetine displayed weak co-proliferative effects at (sub)micromolar, biologically relevant
concentrations.






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