Combination therapy of HCC in a rat model

Aim: Our in vitro data on hepatoma (HCC) cells showed that the anti-tumoral effects of a combination therapy of the anti-estrogen Tamoxifen (TAM) and the retinoid 9cis retinoic acid (CRA) is superior to monotherapy. Therefore we tested the combination therapy in vivo. Methods: Morris hepatoma cells were cultured in vitro (15th passage) and implanted into the liver of (300g) immuncompetent Buffalo rats (n/group=12). Between the 7th and the 21th postoperative day the rats received TAM (3mg/kg BW i.p.) and CRA (30mg/kg BW i.p.) alone or in combination. After euthanasia (at the 28th postoperative day) tumor growth o…