Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease that likely results frome a series of genetic events in the prostatic epithelial cells. In spite of major advances in cancer chemotherapy, effective responses have been obtained in a small proportion of metastatic prostate cancer patients. Over expression of 15-lipoxygenase -1 (15-lox-1) has been reported in prostate cancer. The inhibiting potency of farnesyioxycoumarin derivates on human 15-lox-1 has been recently proved. In present study, a synthetic compound,6-farnesyloxycoumarin(6F) was evaluated for its possible cytotoxic effects on prostate cancer cells(PC-3) and non-cancerous (HFF3) fibroblastic cells usin MTT assay. To determine the cytotoxicity of this compound, PC-3 and HFF3 cells were treated with various concentrations (3,6.25,12.5,25 and 50 micrograms per milliliters) of 6f and examined for 24, 48 and 72 h. The results of MTT test, wich is based on the activity of mithocondrial enzymes in living cells, revealed that the IC50 of 6f on PC-3 cells in 24, 48 and 72h were 38, 22, 13 micrograms per milliliters respectively, while no cytotoxic effects were observed on HFF3 cells. Morphological observations also showed that in comparison with the control, apoptotic effects were appartent in this cancerous cells. Future studies need to be focused on toxicity mechanisms of this compound in vitro and in vivo.

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