Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies with high rate of mortality worldwide. Rare effective treatment is available for HCC patients especially at advanced stage. Ganji Fang (GJF), one formula of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has shown therapeutic effect on HCC in clinical application. This study aims at evaluating the anti-HCC effect and safety of GJF treatment, as well as exploring the potential underlying molecular mechanism by using HCC mouse model. Methods: HepG2 cells were subcutaneously injected into the upper flank of male BALB/c nude mice to establish the HCC Xenograft model. Mice were randomly assigned to three groups, treated respectively with high (GJF-H group) or low dose (GJF-L group) of GJF or vehicle (Control group) via gavage. The tumor volume was detected dynamically. Four weeks later, the weight and proliferation activity of tumors were measured. Western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein 19 (ARPP-19) and the regulated molecules. H&E staining of tissue section of liver and kidney was used to assess the toxicity of the formula. Foe investigation of survival time, SMMC 7721 cells were injected subcutaneously to the BALB/c-nude mice. The tumor-bearing mice were allocated into two groups (Control and GJF-H) and treated as above description. The death number of mice was recorded and the survival time was analyzed.Results: Compared with control, the body weight and activity of GJF-treated mice were improved obviously. No toxic change was observed in tissues of liver and kidney. The tumor volume and weight was significantly down-regulated by GJF dose-dependently. The mice with GJF treatment showed the tendency of prolonging survival time. The proliferation index and PCNA expression in the tumor of GJF group were lower than in control. Furthermore, GJF down-regulated levels of ARPP-19 and phospho-(Ser) CDKs substrates, up-regulated level of inactivated cyclin division cycle 2 (Cdc2). Conclusion: GJF can effectively inhibit tumor growth of HCC and improve the general condition of the nude mouse xenograft model. The mechanism of inhibiting tumor growth is partially related to down-regulating ARPP-19 to inhibit mitosis and cell proliferation of HCC.

Improving seasonal influenza vaccination coverage among adults 60 years and older under the free influenza vaccination program in Beijing would substantially reduce influenza-related morbidity and mortality and was found to be cost-effective (< 1x GDP per capita). This suggests that additional funding to increase vaccination coverage, through financial incentives to doctors or advertisement to increase public awareness for example, should be considered.