The synergistic effect of organic silicone quaternary ammonium salt and 5-fluorouracil on hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common type of cancer worldwide, causing over 370,000 deaths per year, with approximately half of them in China. Chemotherapy is the optimal treatment for patients with advanced HCC, although chemoresistance has become a significant obstacle to successful liver cancer surgery. In this paper, we have assessed the characteristics of drugs to explore the effects of individual and combined action of organic silicone quaternary ammonium salt (Jieyoushen) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The results of MTT assays showed that single and combined action of Jieyoushen and 5-FU can inhibit the proliferation of liver carcinoma cell lines in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner, respectively. Electron microscopy and Hoechst 33342 staining showed characteristic apoptotic bodies in apoptotic cells treated with Jieyoushen and 5-FU. Flow cytometry results indicated that the percentage of cells at G0/G1 phase gradually increased, whereas it gradually decreased during the S phase after treatment. Taken together, these results suggest that the combination of Jieyoushen with 5-FU exerts a synergistic anticancer effect on HCC growth and that targeted therapeutic strategies may improve HCC sensitivity to chemotherapy.