The cytotoxic effect of ferrocene derivatives in combination with radiotherapy against cervical carcinoma cells

Cervical cancer is the the second most frequent female malignancy. Despite the availability of preventive screening program and vaccination against most prevalent „high-risk“ human papillomaviruses (HPV), approximately 400 women die due to cervical cancer each year in the Czech Republic. Optimal treatment choice depends on the stage of the disease. Early stages are treated by surgery. More advanced stages are usually treated with a combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Most commonly used chemotherapeutic drug is still cisplatin, which has a good antitumor effect but also serious toxicity. This fact led us to the synthesis and testing of new potential anti-cancer organometallic compounds. A series of new structures based on ferrocene moiety was tested in vitro and showed even better efficiency than cisplatin.