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Chemoprevention of Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Mice by a Mixture of Chinese Herbs

Authors' Affiliations: ¹ Departments of Surgery and The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine; Department of ² Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; ³ Chemoprevention Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland; and ⁴ Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

Requests for reprints: Ming You, Washington University, 660 South Eulcid Avenue, 4950 Children's Place, St. Louis, MO 63110. Phone: 314-362-9294; Fax: 314-362-9366; E-mail: youm{at}wudosis.wustl.edu.

Antitumor B (ATB) is a Chinese herbal mixture of six plants. Previous studies have shown significant chemopreventive efficacy of ATB against human esophageal and lung cancers. We have recently developed a new mouse model for lung squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). In this study, lung SCC mouse model was characterized using small-animal imaging techniques (magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography). ATB decreased lung SCC significantly (3.1-fold; P < 0.05) and increased lung hyperplastic lesions by 2.4-fold (P < 0.05). This observation suggests that ATB can block hyperplasia from progression to SCC. ATB tissue distribution was determined using matrine as a marker chemical. We found that ATB is rapidly absorbed and then distributes to various tissues including the lung. These results indicate that ATB is a potent chemopreventive agent against the development of mouse lung SCCs.

Key Words: Antitumor B • chemoprevention • lung cancer