Anticancer effects of brusatol in nasopharyngeal carcinoma through suppression of the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.

Purpose: Brusatol, a natural quassinoid that is isolated from a traditional Chinese herbal medicine known as Bruceae Fructus, possesses biological activity in various types of human cancers, but its effects in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) have not been reported. This study aimed to explore the effect and molecular mechanism of brusatol in NPC in vivo and in vitro.

Methods: The antiproliferative effect of brusatol was assessed by MTT and colony formation assays.