No abstract

Ginger extract (GE) and its major component 6-gingerol (6G) have been reported to exert anti-tumor effects in various cancers. The underlying mechanism, however, has not been well demonstrated. Here, we have focused on the relationship between promotion of mitochondrial biogenesis in tumor infiltrating CD8 + T cells induced by GE and 6G and their cytotoxic effect. The results showed that GE induced 56% inhibition of tumor growth in Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) xenograft mouse model and 6G induced 33% (25 mg/kg) and 37% (50 mg/kg) inhibition. GE increased mitochondrial mass of CD8 + T cells in tumor and draining lymph nodes (DLNs) significantly, while 6G had no significant effect. GE and 6G both had no significant influence on histopathological changes of liver and kidney in mice. In the co-culture system of CTLL-2 cells and LLC cells, GE enhanced the cytotoxicity of CTLL-2 cells against LLC cells by 14% and 19% at concentrations of 2.5 and 5 mg/ml, respectively. 6G did not promote cytotoxicity of CTLL-2 cells. GE increased mitochondrial mass at 5 and 10 mg/ml and mtDNA copy number and ATP production at 2.5, 5, 10 mg/ml in CTLL-2 cells. 6G promoted mtDNA copy number at 50, 100, 150 µM and mitochondrial mass and ATP production at 25, 50, 100, 150 µM in CTLL-2 cells. These results suggest that promotion of mitochondrial biogenesis and function in tumor infiltrating CD8 + T cells may play an essential role in GE-induced inhibition of tumor growth. The current results perfect the mechanism of anti-tumor effect of ginger, which is beneficial for further application in cancer management.

Keratoacanthoma‐like squamous cell carcinoma (KA‐like SCC) is a malignant classification of KA. We report here a case of surgical combined with 5‐aminolevulinic acid‐photodynamic therapy (ALA‐PDT) to treat KA‐like SCC in an elderly male with successful tumor removal. The tumor resection was performed before ALA‐PDT. One week later, the lesion site was further treated with 20% ALA for 3 h when it was unknown whether the tumor was resected entirely or not. The irradiation was performed with a 633 nm light‐emitting diode lamp at 100 mW/cm2 for 200 J/cm2 after wiping off the ALA cream. Two sessions of ALA‐PDT were performed at a 2 weeks interval. One month after ALA‐PDT, the surgical trace of the lesion was found to have disappeared entirely, with a little scab, and the cancer did not recur. After 1 year of follow‐up, there was no recurrence. The combination with surgery and ALA‐PDT may provide a new idea for the treatment of KA‐like SCC for a wide range of patients.