Chemosensitizing effects of beta-caryophyllene oxide in liver cancer
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most frequent malignant tumor, and the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the world. The response of HCC to conventional chemotherapy is very poor. Currently, sorafenib is the only drug available for this condition, even if its efficacy is modest due in part to the strong multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype of HCC, in which the enhanced activity of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) proteins, which actively pump out lipophilic drugs across the plasma membrane of tumor cells, play and important role.