Anticancer Potential of EDTA: A Preliminary in Vitro Study

To determine the potential anticancer activity of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), six cancer cell lines of human origin (U937, C-32, HeLa, HSC-2, Molt-4, and U87-MG) were treated with different concentrations of EDTA, and then assayed for cell viability. The melanoma C-32 cell line, which was found to be moderately sensitive to EDTA, was then compared to normal melanocytes, on the other hand, a relatively resistant cell line Molt-4 was then chosen for further investigation to determine the role of calcium-chelating activity of EDTA against the cells. The result showed that the cell lines had different levels of sensitivity to EDTA; and, that melanoma cells are more sensitive compared to melanocytes. Comparison of EDTA toxicity to that of a known calcium-selective chelator, BAPTA, also showed marked differences in toxicity profiles, which may suggest that the calcium chelating ability of EDTA may not be a major player in its toxicity against the cancer cells. Further study should be done to investigate how such anticancer effects work in vivo; and also, if EDTA can be utilized as an enhancer of other anticancer therapies, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hyperthermia.