ENHANCEMENT OF ANTITUMOR-ACTIVITY OF CISPLATIN OR SN-38 BY JUZENTAIHO-TO, A HERBAL MEDICINE IN LUNG-CANCER CELL-LINES

The present study demonstrates the enhancement of antitumor activity o f cisplatin(CDDP) or SN-38, which are two of the key drugs of chemothe rapy for lung cancer, by Juzentaiho-to(TJ-48, a herbal medicine) in 5 human lung cancer cell lines. TJ-48 by itself at high concentrations p ossessed only negligible activity on the human lung cancer cells used. However, a 24-h post-incubation with TJ-48 significantly potentiated the activity of a 24-h CDDP or SN38 treatment in these cell lines. The (CDDP IC50 values reduced 1.7 to 6.6-fold, the SN38 IC50 values were reduced 1.1 to 48.5-fold in these cell lines. These results suggest th at TJ-48 might enhance the antitumor activity of CDDP and SN-38.