Journal
ONCOLOGY REPORTS
Volume 32, Issue 3, Pages 1057-1063Publisher
SPANDIDOS PUBL LTD
DOI: 10.3892/or.2014.3289
Keywords
methotrexate; vitamin C; apoptosis; hepatocellular carcinoma
Categories
Funding
- [NSC101-2321-B-039-004]
- [NHRI-EX102-10245BI]
- [TCRD-TPE-102-26]
- [TCRD-TPE-103-48]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Methotrexate (MTX) has been widely used for rheumatoid arthritis therapy for a long time. MTX is also used as an anticancer drug for various tumors. However, many studies have shown that high-dose MTX treatment for cancer therapy may cause liver and renal damage. Alhough the mechanisms involved in MTX-induced liver and renal damage require further research, many studies have indicated that MTX-induced cytotoxicity is associated with increases in oxidative stress and caspase activation. In order to reduce MTX-induced side-effects and increase anticancer efficiency, currently, combination treatments of low-dose MTX and other anticancer drugs are considered and applied for various tumor treatments. The present study showed that MTX induces increases in H2O2 levels and caspase-9/-3 activation leading to cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cells. Importantly, this study is the first to demonstrate that vitamin C can efficiently aid low-dose MTX in inducing cell death in Hep3B cells. Therefore, the present study provides a possible powerful therapeutic method for tumors using a combined treatment of vitamin C and low-dose MTX.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available