Erlotinib induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in hepatocellular cancer cells and enhances chemosensitivity towards cytostatics

The role of signaling pathways in the development and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

“…In an in vitro study, it was shown to potently suppress the growth of human EGFR-expressing HCC cell lines (Huh-7 and HepG2) in a dose-dependent manner by inducing both apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the G1/S-transition (Huether et al, 2005). In a subsequent study, it was shown to inhibit the RAF/ MEK/ERK signaling pathway and block signal transducer and activator of transcription-mediated signaling in Huh-7 and HepG2 cells .…”

“…In an initial in vitro study, cetuximab inhibited cell growth, induced cell cycle arrest and moderately increased apoptosis in p53 wild-type HepG2 cells (Huether et al, 2005). However, it only had limited effects in Huh-7 cells that carried a mutated p53 tumor suppressor gene (a common mutation in HCC).…”

Dysregulation of growth factor signaling in human hepatocellular carcinoma

“…In HCC cells, ZD1839 (Iressa; Baselga and Averbuch, 2000), which has been primarily applied in lung and breast cancer efficiently reduces tumor cell growth and induces apoptosis (Hopfner et al, 2004) and appears to inhibit metastatic activity of HCC cells (Ueno et al, 2005). Also, OSI-774 (erlotinib;Pollack et al, 1999) inhibits tumor cell growth of HCC cells based on elevated apoptosis (Huether et al, 2005b). In vivo, these data are supported by a recently published clinical trial, which suggest a benefit of specific EGFR inhibition by the RTK inhibitor erlotinib in HCC patients (Philip et al, 2005).…”

Oridonin-induced apoptosis in SW620 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells

“…Previous data have shown that apoptosis, particularly caspase-mediated cell death, plays a significant role in the etiology, pathogenesis and therapy of a variety of human malignancies including human hepatocellular carcinoma. Additionally, the cytotoxic effects of most anti-hepatocellular carcinoma drugs are based on apoptosis induction (26). These studies indicate that the induction of apoptosis may be an index for new anti-tumor drug selection and a significant method of assessing the clinical effectiveness of numerous anti-carcinoma drugs (11).…”