Combination of Vitamin C and Lenvatinib potentiates antitumor effects in hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro

Xinyue Wang; Songyi Qian; Siyi Wang; Sheng Jia; Nishang Zheng; Qing Yao; Jian Gao

doi:10.7717/peerj.14610

Combination of Vitamin C and Lenvatinib potentiates antitumor effects in hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro

PeerJ. 2023 Jan 25:11:e14610. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14610. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xinyue Wang^#¹, Songyi Qian^#², Siyi Wang¹, Sheng Jia¹, Nishang Zheng¹, Qing Yao¹, Jian Gao³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition, Xiamen Clinical Research Center for Cancer Therapy, Zhongshan Hospital (Xiamen), Fudan University, Xiamen, Fujian province, China.
² Department of Cardiac Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital (Xiamen), Fudan University, Xiamen, Fujian province, China.
³ Department of Nutrition, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Lenvatinib has become a first-line drug in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Investigating its use in combination with other agents is of great significance to improve the sensitivity and durable response of Lenvatinib in advanced HCC patients. Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid, ascorbate, VC) is an important natural antioxidant, which has been reported to show suppressive effects in cancer treatment. Here, we investigated the effect of the combination of VC and Lenvatinib in HCC cells in vitro. We found that treatment of VC alone significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion in HCC cells. Additionally, VC was strongly synergistic with Lenvatinib in inhibition of the proliferative, migratory and invasive capacities of HCC cells in vitro. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the combination of VC and Lenvatinib has synergistic antitumor activities against HCC cells, providing a promising therapeutic strategy to improve the prognosis of HCC patients.

Keywords: Invasion; Lenvatinib; Migration; Proliferation; Vitamin C.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antineoplastic Agents* / pharmacology
Ascorbic Acid / pharmacology
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / drug therapy
Cell Line, Tumor
Humans
Liver Neoplasms* / drug therapy

Substances

lenvatinib
Antineoplastic Agents
Ascorbic Acid

Grants and funding

This research is supported by the Incubation Fund of Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University (Xiamen Branch) (No. 2020ZSXMYS24). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.