Phenylboronic acid selectively inhibits human prostate and breast cancer cell migration and decreases viability.

We compared the in vitro effect of boric acid (BA) versus phenylboronic acid (PBA) on the migration of prostate and breast cancer cell lines and non-tumorigenic cells from the same tissues. Treatment at 24 hours with BA (< or =500 microM) did not inhibit chemotaxis on fibronectin in any cell line. However, treatment over the same time course with concentrations of PBA as low as 1 muM significantly inhibited cancer cell migration without effecting non-tumorigenic cell lines. The compounds did not affect cell adhesion or viability at 24 hours but did alter morphology; both decreased cancer cell viability at eight days. These results suggest that PBA is more potent than BA in targeting the metastatic and proliferative properties of cancer cells.