ABSTRACT

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is constantly seeking the interest of researchers as an untreatable and fatal disease, attaining second position so far worldwide. Our study provides us an opportunity to explore new potential therapeutic combinations in this regard. We hypothesized that the anticancer activity of imipramine, which is used as an antidepressant drug, can be potentiated with an adjuvant, niacin, thereby providing a better treatment approach. The combination turned out to show beneficial alterations in various liver function test, caspase 3 (antiapoptotic) activity, tumor growth and survival profile of animals, precisely in our therapeutic group involving imipramine and niacin combination post diethyl nitrosamine (DENA) dose and hepatocellular carcinoma induction. Results demonstrated a remarkable restoration in all liver enzymes in the therapeutic groups.