2025, Volume 18, Issue 8, pp 804 – 810

Recent investigations on the impact of levonorgestrel and 17β-ethinylestradiol on melanoma

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Authors and Affiliations

* Corresponding author Alexandra-Denisa Semenescu, Faculty of Pharmacy, Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania; Research Center for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluations, Faculty of Pharmacy, Victor Babeș, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania E-mail: alexandra.scurtu@umft.ro

Abstract

Skin cancer is one of the most aggressive types of neoplasms, with high morbidity and mortality. Numerous factors are associated with the development of melanoma, including exposure to UV radiation and the use of exogenous hormones. Some studies suggest that oral contraceptives can influence the development of skin cancer, but the evidence is insufficient and contradictory. Our study aimed to initially evaluate the safety profile of the combination of levonorgestrel and 17β-ethinylestradiol on healthy cell lines (HaCaT and JB6 Cl 41-5a) and to further determine the possible association with skin cancer by investigating the effect of the combination on the murine melanoma tumor line (B164A5). The data obtained showed that levonorgestrel-ethinylestradiol (LG-EE) did not have a toxic effect on healthy cells (HaCaT and JB6 Cl 41-5a) but exhibited a slight proliferative effect on murine skin tumor cells at increasing concentrations. LG-EE on healthy lines did not significantly decrease viability and did not induce a cytotoxic effect. On the B164A5 tumor line, the hormonal combination at a concentration of 5 µM slightly decreased viability and degraded the cell membrane, observing a decrease in confluence and number of cells, as well as the presence of apoptotic bodies, while at the highest dose tested of 15 µM, an opposite effect was recorded with a slight stimulation of murine tumor cells. The results suggest that LG-EE may influence the development of melanoma; however, the evidence is insufficient, and further studies are necessary.

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About this article

PMC ID: PMC12467436
PubMed ID: 41020076
DOI: 10.25122/jml-2025-0125

Article Publishing Date (print):
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Journal information

ISSN Printing: 1844-122X
ISSN Online: 1844-3117
Journal Title: Journal of Medicine and Life

Copyright License: Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.

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