Sodium metavanadate (NaVO₃) exhibits important physiological effects including insulin-like, chemoprevention and anticancer activity. However, the effects of NaVO₃ on breast cancer and underlying mechanisms are still unclear. In this study, our results revealed that NaVO₃ was able to inhibit proliferation of murine breast cancer cells 4T1 with IC₅₀ value of 8.19 μM and 1.92 μM at 24 h and 48 h, respectively. The mechanisms underlying the inhibition activity were that NaVO₃ could increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in a concentration-dependent way, arrest cells at G2/M phase, diminish the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), finally promote the progress of apoptosis. Furthermore, NaVO₃ also exhibited a dose-dependent anticancer activity in breast cancer-bearing mice that led to the shrinkage of tumor volume (about 50%), lower microvessel density, less propagating cells and more apoptotic cells in vivo, as compared to the saline group. Therefore, NaVO₃ may act as a potential chemotherapeutic agent in breast cancer treatment.

偏钒酸钠 (NaVO ₃ ) 具有重要的生理作用，包括胰岛素样、化学预防和抗癌活性。然而，NaVO ₃对乳腺癌的影响及其潜在机制仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们的结果显示，NaVO ₃能够抑制小鼠乳腺癌细胞 4T1 的增殖，24 h 和 48 h 的 IC ₅₀值分别为 8.19 μM 和 1.92 μM。_{NaVO 3}抑制活性的机制是浓度依赖性地增加活性氧（ROS）水平，使细胞停滞在G2/M期，降低线粒体膜电位（MMP），最终促进细胞凋亡的进程。此外，NaVO_{与生理盐水组相比，图3}在荷乳腺癌小鼠中还表现出剂量依赖性抗癌活性，导致肿瘤体积缩小（约 50%）、微血管密度降低、增殖细胞减少和凋亡细胞增多。因此，NaVO ₃可作为乳腺癌治疗的潜在化疗剂。