Figure 3.

(-)-Gossypol suppresses the growth of UM-SCC-17B xenograft mouse tumors. Thirty mice were injected with 1 x 10⁶ UM-SCC-17B cells in the floor of the mouth. Eighteen days after tumor injection, the mice were randomized to three groups (n = 10 in each group), and intraperitoneal injections of the drug vehicle solution (A), 5 mg/kg (-)-gossypol (B), or 15 mg/kg (-)-gossypol (C) were initiated. Tumor growth curves (tumor volume) for the mice up to day 35 are shown. (D) The mean tumor growth for the three groups of mice is shown. Error bars indicate standard deviation. There was a significantly lower growth rate for (-)-gossypol-treated mice (both 5 and 15 mg/kg) compared to that of control mice on day 28 (P ≤ . 008 and P ≤ . 006, respectively) and day 35 (P ≤ .001 for both). The difference in tumor growth between the 5- and the 15-mg/kg (-)-gossypol groups was not significant. (E) Gross appearance of representative tumors from the control group and the 15-mg/kg (-)-gossypol treatment group, on the left and right, respectively, demonstrating the difference in tumor size between the untreated and the (-)-gossypol-treated animals.