Silymarin inhibites both MCF-7 and SK-BR-3 breast cancer cell lines A low dose of silymarin can strongly inhibit MCF-7, leading to cell autophagy and apoptosis by down-regulating the expression of Estrogen Receptor α (ERα) in MCF-7 cells (Zheng et al., 2017). Here, ESR1 is linked to breast carcinoma.