The Chinese herbs Scutellaria baicalensis and Fritillaria cirrhosa target NFκB to inhibit proliferation of ovarian and endometrial cancer cells.

The herbs Scutellaria baicalensis (SB) and Fritillaria cirrhosa (FC) are widely used in Chinese medicine to treat several aliments and as an adjuvant to chemotherapy of lung cancer. No information is available regarding the two herbs' influence on ovarian and endometrial cancer. To fill this data gap we compared cell growth responses to SB and FC in ovarian and endometrial cancer cell lines.

Progesterone enhances calcitriol antitumor activity by upregulating vitamin D receptor expression and promoting apoptosis in endometrial cancer cells.

Human studies suggest that progesterone and calcitriol may prove beneficial in preventing or inhibiting oncogenesis, but the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. The current study investigates the effects of progesterone, calcitriol, and their combination on immortalized human endometrial epithelial cells and endometrial cancer cells and identifies their targets of action. Combination treatment with both agents enhanced vitamin D receptor expression and inhibited cell proliferation through caspase-3 activation and induction of G0-G1 cell-cycle arrest with associated downregulation of cyclins D1 and D3 and p27 induction.

Progesterone and calcitriol attenuate inflammatory cytokines CXCL1 and CXCL2 in ovarian and endometrial cancer cells.

Cytokines/chemokines are key players in cancer-related inflammation. Increasing evidence suggests that chemokines produced by tumor cells are the mediators of metastasis. Thus, agents that can downregulate chemokines expression have potential against cancer metastasis.

Progesterone and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ inhibit endometrial cancer cell growth by upregulating semaphorin 3B and semaphorin 3F.

Class 3 semaphorins (SEMA), SEMA3B and SEMA3F, are secreted proteins that regulate angiogenesis, tumor growth, and metastasis by binding to their transmembrane receptor complex consisting of plexins and neuropilins (NP). Expression of SEMAs and their receptors was assessed in tissue microarrays by immunohistochemistry. SEMA3B, SEMA3F, and plexin A3 were expressed strongly in normal endometrial tissues, whereas grade-dependent decreases were found in endometrial carcinomas.