Investigating the Mechanisms of Combined Therapy for MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells Using Arsenic Trioxide and Resveratrol through Network Pharmacology

Breast cancer (BC) remains the predominant form of cancer among women. Arsenic trioxide (ATO), an element in traditional Chinese medicine, has shown potential for treating BC, particularly when combined with resveratrol. However, the exact mechanisms of their combined action are not fully understood. This study aims to clarify their combined mechanisms through network pharmacology and experimental validation. In vitro experiments confirmed that compared with either agent alone, the combination of ATO and resveratrol more effectively inhibited the production of  estrogen receptor 1 ( ESR1 ), tumor protein P53 ( TP53 ), and v-AKT murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1 ( AKT1 ) in MCF-7 cells. Our findings indicate that the combination of ATO and resveratrol significantly promotes cell apoptosis by suppressing ESR1 , TP53 , and AKT1 . Thus, ATO and resveratrol together may offer a promising strategy for BC treatment.