Norcantharidin inhibits growth of human HepG2 cell-transplanted tumor in nude mice and prolongs host survival

Abstract

In this study, norcantharidin was compared with adriamycin and mitomycin C for its inhibitory action in the growth of cultured human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. The IC 50 of adriamycin and mitomycin C on HepG2 cells was 7.3 μM and 27 μM, respectively, whereas the IC 50 of norcantharidin for inhibiting the growth of HepG2 cells was as high as 1900 μM. After HepG2 tumor-bearing nude mice were treated with 12 daily intraperitoneal injections of norcantharidin (2 mg/kg), the increase in tumor size was significantly slower than that of untreated controls. The mean survival time of untreated tumor-bearing nude mice was 129 days, whereas in the tumor-bearing nude mice treated with norcantharidin, the mean survival time was significantly prolonged to 194 days (P < 0.0001). It is concluded that norcantharidin may have a potential role in the treatment of human hepatocellular carcinoma.