Growth inhibitory effect of diheptyl diselenide on various human cancer cell lines.

We tested the antiproliferative effects of Diheptyl Diselenide (DHDSe) on several different human cancer cell lines. Cells derived from human cancer (CG5), colon cancer (WIDR), laryngeal cancer (Hep-2), ovarian cancer (OV 166, OV 1225) and IM-9 lymphoblastoid cells were used. In all cell lines DHDSe inhibited cell growth in a dose dependent manner. At the highest concentration tested, an inhibition of cell proliferation ranging from 48% to 75% compared with control cells was observed. Our results show that DHDSe exerts a direct antiproliferative effect on human cancer cells in vitro and suggest that it may represent the parent compound of a new group of anticancer agents.