ABSTRACT
Despite substantial advances in diagnosis and treatment, liver cancer, particularly hepatocellular carcinoma, continues to be a leading cause of death worldwide. Chemotherapy is the most commonly used treatment modality today, although its efficacy is restricted by side effects and drug resistance. Ginseng is a well-known South Asian herbal medication, and ginsenosides appear to be important in the prevention and treatment of a variety of malignancies, including liver cancer. Ginsenoside activities in hepatic cancer are discussed in this chapter, including differentiation, antiproliferation, cell cycle arrest induction, anti-invasion, antimetastasis, activation of tumor suppressor genes, microRNA activity downregulation, and regulation of intestinal bacterial dysbiosis, as well as cellular and molecular mechanisms using cell and animal models. Ginsenosides, notably Rg3 and Rd, improve the efficacy of current medicines including sorafenib, cyclophosphamide, and combretastatin A4 phosphate. Scarce available information on clinical data pertaining to ginseng and Rg3 has been included. In future, more human studies with better ginsenoside bioavailability are needed.
