Huaier Granule Combined with Tegafur Gimeracil Oteracil Potassium Promotes Stage IIb Gastric Cancer Prognosis and Induces Gastric Cancer Cell Apoptosis by Regulating Livin

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, with high morbidity and poor survival rate. Its prognosis remains unsatisfactory, with a 5-year survival rate of <30%. Studies have indicated that Huaier granules have good antitumor efficacy and safety in several solid malignant tumors. Recent studies have also found that Huaier polysaccharides can promote apoptosis in numerous tumor cells, although only few studies have focused on the effects of Huaier granules on gastric cancers and the mechanisms underlying their antitumor role. We retrospectively evaluated stage IIb gastric cancer patients at Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, through our outpatient system from January 2013 to December 2015. Fifty-four patients were in the Huaier+Tegafur Gimeracil Oteracil Potassium (TGOP) group and 72 in the TGOP group. Further, we conducted CCK8, colony formation, Annexin V-FITC/PI, Western blot, RT-PCR, and plasmid transfection assays to analyze the mechanism by which Huaier polysaccharides play an antitumor role. We confirmed that Huaier granules combined with Tegafur Gimeracil Oteracil Potassium could promote patient prognosis, with a better disease-free survival rate (51.32 ± 2.23 vs. 44.19 ± 2.26, p = 0.034) and overall survival rate (56.81 ± 1.32 vs. 51.32 ± 1.69, p = 0.020). Moreover, through cell proliferation assays, Western blot, RT-PCR, and detection of Livin expression at the mRNA and protein levels, we found that Huaier polysaccharides could promote gastric cancer cell apoptosis and inhibit gastric cancer cell proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Finally, we demonstrated that Huaier polysaccharides promote gastric cancer cell apoptosis through the regulation of Livin expression. Overexpression of Livin reversed the gastric cell apoptosis induced by Huaier polysaccharides. Huaier granules combined with Tegafur Gimeracil Oteracil Potassium ameliorated stage IIb gastric cancer prognosis and induced gastric cancer cell apoptosis by regulating Livin.