Fig. 1: Huaier inhibits the progression of lung cancer.

a Schematic timeline of the lung cancer therapy strategy, showing urethane, Huaier, or vehicle (0.9% NaCl) treatment and Micro-CT scans at 180, 210, and 240 days. b Micro-CT images at 180, 210, and 240 days, with yellow triangles indicating primary lung tumors. n = 6. c, d Tumor volume and count from Micro-CT scans of mice at 180, 210, and 240 days. Data are shown as mean ± SD, n = 6, **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001. e, f, g At 240 days post-treatment, lung tissues were isolated and analyzed: e Representative images lung surface, with yellow triangles marking primary lung tumors. f H&E staining and necrosis in lung tumor sections from urethane-treated mice, with or without Huaier treatment; yellow triangles highlight necrotic regions. n = 6. Scale bar: 50 µm. g Quantification of necrotic regions. Data are shown as mean ± SD, n = 6, **p < 0.01. h Schematic representation of Huaier administration protocols in the urethane-induced lung cancer mouse model. i Micro-CT images and 3D reconstructions of lungs from Huaier-treated (0.5, 1.5, 4.5 g/kg) urethane-induced mice at 180 days, with yellow triangles indicating primary lung tumors. n ≥ 7. j Tumor volume in mice scanned by Micro-CT. Data are shown as mean ± SD, n ≥ 7 per group, ****p < 0.0001. k, l Tumor counts and weight in urethane-treated mice. Data were shown as mean ± SD, n ≥ 7 per group, *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001. m Lifespan of mice treated with urethane, with or without Huaier. Data were shown as mean ± SD, n = 10 mice per group, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001.