Chemosensitization of paclitaxel by ginsenoside Rh2: LNCaP tumor growth suppression in vivo. Xiaowei Xie, Candice Madera, William Jia, Emma Guns. The Prostate Centre at Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada; University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Ginseng is commonly used in herbal preparations for traditional Chinese medicine. It contains more than twenty ginsenoside compounds which are reported to be the main medicinal ingredients. Rh2, a ginsenoside with a dammarane skeleton, has been shown to suppress growth and induce apoptosis in a number of cancer cell lines both in vitro and in vivo. In previous studies conducted in our lab we have demonstrated that oral administration of Rh2 (50 mg/kg) over 4 weeks has a significant growth inhibitory effect in mice bearing subcutaneously implanted LNCaP prostate tumors (Student t-test, P<0.05). To evaluate the combined efficacy of Rh2 and two chemotherapeutic agents, paclitaxel and mitoxantrone, mice bearing the LNCaP prostate tumor xenograft were treated with corn oil (po) and saline (iv), Rh2 (50 mg/kg po daily), paclitaxel (6 mg/kg iv on day 1, 4, 15 and 18), mitoxantrone (2.5 mg/kg iv on day 1, 4, 15 and 18), Rh2 + paclitaxel and Rh2 + mitoxantrone. Tumor volumes were measured twice weekly for 4 weeks and the F-test was performed on data acquired for tumor growth ratio. Results indicate that statistically test was performed on data acquired for tumor growth significant differences exist between the control group and Rh2 + paclitaxel treatment group (Tukey test, P<0.05) beginning on day 16. No statistical significant differences existed between the control group and the monotherapy groups (treated with Rh2, paclitaxel or mitoxantrone alone). No chemosensitization was observed in the group treated with Rh2 and mitoxantrone. Overall, our results suggest that oral administration of Rh2 can sensitize low dose of paclitaxel in the treatment of mice bearing subcutaneously implanted LNCaP prostate tumors and that Rh2 not only exhibits potential as a chemotherapeutic agent but also as a promising chemosensitizer of paclitaxel for the treatment of prostate cancer. (This research, under award number DAMD17-02-1-0260, was supported by the postdoctoral traineeship award from Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program, which is managed by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command) AACR Abstract Number: R2699, 2003 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.