Figure 8
In vivo antitumor effects of sorafenib plus mIFN-β treatment in the mouse xenograft model. Five weeks after inoculation of Hep3B cells, tumor-bearing mice were randomized into four groups (PBS control, mIFN-β treatment, sorafenib treatment and sorafenib plus mIFN-β treatment). Sorafenib (30 mg/kg) was administered orally for two weeks. PBS or mIFN-β (1 × 104 IU/site) was administered via daily peritumoral injection for two weeks. The Hep3B tumors that developed in the mouse xenograft model were used for the histological evaluation (N = 6 per each group). (a) The tumor volume in the mouse Hep3B cell-xenograft model was not significantly different among the four groups. (b) Sections of Hep3B tumors were stained with hematoxylin-eosin. The necrotic areas are surrounded by the dot lines. (c) The necrotic areas were measured in 10 sections randomly selected in each specimen of tumors. Treatment with mIFN-β or sorafenib resulted in increased the necrotic areas compared with that observed in the tumors that developed in the control (PBS treatment) mice (*P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01). Combination therapy with sorafenib plus mIFN-β showed more evident tumor necrotic effects than treatment with mIFN-β or sorafenib alone (##P < 0.01).
