6-shogaol is a potential treatment for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Objective: Natural products in diet have shown a potential role in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is a great candidate because of its properties of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer, but little is known about its effect on head and neck cancer. 6-Shogaol is an active compound derived from Ginger. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the possible anticancer effects of 6-shogaol, a major ginger derivate, on head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) and the underlying mechanisms. Material and Methods: Two HNSCC cell lines, SCC4 and SCC25, were used in this study. Both SCC4 and SCC25 cells were kept as control or treated with 6-shogaol for 8 and 24 hours and then the cell apoptosis and cell cycle progression of treated cells were examined by PI and Annexin V-FITC double stain and flow cytometry analysis. The Cleaved caspase 3, phosphorylations of ERK1/2 and p38 kinases were examined by Western blot analysis. Results: The results showed that 6-shogaol significantly initiated the G2/M phase arrest of the cell cycle and apoptosis to inhibit the survival of both cell lines. Moreover, these responses could be regulated by ERK1/2 and p38 signaling. And, finally, we also demonstrated that 6-shogaol could enhance the cytotoxicity of cisplatin in HNSCC cells. Conclusion: Our data provided new insights to understand the potential pharmaceutical efficacy of a ginger derivate, 6-shogaol, in antagonizing HNSCC survival. The present study suggests that 6-shogaol is a potential novel candidate for anti-HNSCCs therapy.

Clinical and Cellular Evidence of Glycyrrhiza glabra and Platycodon grandiflorus for Vocal Fold Nodules Complementary Treatment.

Vocal fold nodules (VFNs) are the most frequent cause of hoarseness. The management comprised medical, surgical and physical therapy but the effectiveness is not always satisfactory. In this study, we try to figure out an alternative treatment from our clinical experience summary. We retrospectively reviewed VFNs patients who received traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatments from July 2018 to August 2020 and traced their Chinese Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-C10) and multidimensional voice program (MDVP) analysis results. For further evaluation, we conducted an inflammatory response of porcine vocal fold epithelial (PVFE) cells with 50 ng/mL TNF-alpha. The inflamed PVFE cells were separately cultured in the aqueous extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra (G. glabra) and Platycodon grandifloras (P. grandifloras). In these VFNs patients (n = 22), the average VHI-C10 score decreased from 17.6 to 6.6 (p < 0.001). MDVP analysis revealed improvements in jitter, shimmer, noise-harmonic ratio, and GRBAS scoring system. Of the TCM prescription patterns, G. glabra and P. grandiflorus were used most frequently. In the MTT assay of PVFE cells, no adverse effects of our extracts were observed at doses of 1-200 µg/mL. Western blot analysis revealed downregulation of p65 and mitogen activated protein kinase pathway proteins. The results from both the clinical and in vitro aspects of this study revealed that the herbs G. glabra and P. grandiflorus may offer beneficial outcomes as alternative treatments for VFNs after precise diagnosis.

Dihydroisotanshinone I as a Treatment Option for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are the most common cancers of the head and neck, and their prevalence is rapidly increasing. HNSCCs present a clinical challenge because of their high recurrence rate, therapeutic resistance to radiation and chemotherapy drugs, and adverse effects. Hence, traditional Chinese herbal treatment may be advantageous to therapeutic strategies for HNSCCs. Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza), a well-known Chinese herb, has been extensively applied in treatments for various diseases, including cancer, because of its high degree of safety and low rate of adverse effects despite its unclear mechanism. Thus, we aimed to explore the possible anticancer effects and mechanisms of dihydroisotanshinone I (DT), a compound in danshen (extract from danshen), on HNSCCs. Three HNSCCs cell lines were used for in vitro studies, and a Detroit 562 xenograft mouse model was chosen for in vivo studies. Our in vitro results showed that DT could initiate apoptosis, resulting in cell death, and the p38 signaling partially regulated DT-initiated cell apoptosis in the Detroit 562 model. In the xenograft mouse model, DT reduced tumor size with no obvious adverse effect of hepatotoxicity. The present study suggests that DT is a promising novel candidate for anti-HNSCCs therapy.

Disturbance of circadian gene expression in endometrial cancer: detection by real-time quantitative RT-PCR.

Circadian genes control the daily changes of the circadian rhythms in a variety of physiological processes, which in turn regulate many functions in the human body. Disruption of circadian rhythms can have a profound influence on our well-being. We established a set of PCR primers and fluorescent probes to analyze the mRNA levels of nine different circadian genes, and used immunohistochemical methods to study four important circadian proteins in 35 endometrial cancers and their paired non-cancerous tissues. Of these, 13 cases showed reduced expression in all nine circadian genes in the cancerous tissues relative to the paired non-cancerous tissues; the remaining cases showed similar reduced expression in 4-8 of the genes analyzed. Conversely, 3 non-cancerous tissues showed reduced expression in all nine circadian genes in comparison with their respective adjacent cancerous tissues, whereas 6 other non-cancerous tissues showed reduced expression in 6-8 of the circadian genes. These results were also confirmed by immunohistochemical study. Expression of the circadian genes is perturbed in endometrial cancer. Based on these results, we suggest that different circadian rhythms occur in endometrial cancer and non-cancerous tissues. Our results may provide the molecular basis for chronotherapy of endometrial cancer.