The palladacycle, AJ-5, exhibits anti-tumour and anti-cancer stem cell activity in breast cancer cells

Abstract Breast cancer is the most common malignancy amongst women worldwide but despite enormous efforts to address this problem, there is still limited success with most of the current therapeutic strategies. The current study describes the anti-cancer activity of a binuclear palladacycle complex (AJ-5) in oestrogen receptor positive (MCF7) and oestrogen receptor negative (MDA-MB-231) breast cancer cells as well as human breast cancer stem cells. AJ-5 is shown to induce DNA double strand breaks leading to intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis and autophagy cell death pathways which are mediated by the p38 MAP kinase. This study provides evidence that AJ-5 is potentially an effective compound in the treatment of breast cancer.