Bang MH, Van Riep T, Thinh NT, Song Le H, Dung TT, Van Truong L, Van Don L, Ky TD, Pan D, Shaheen M, Ghoneum M. “Arabinoxylan Rice Bran (MGN-3) Enhances the Effects of Interventional Therapies for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Three-year Randomized Clinical Trial Ant, Anticancer Research. Dec; 30 (12): 5145-51., 2010.
In this study, the contribution of rice bran arabinoxilane (MGN-3) to the efficacy of interventional treatment (IT) in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma patients was investigated. Patients and Methods: Sixty-eight patients (stage I and II) with hepatocellular carcinoma were included in the study. Patients were randomized to receive either IT (30 patients, control group) or IT + MGN-3 (38 patients) and were randomly divided into two groups using a computer-based randomization list. Patients and researchers were prevented from knowing whether the patients in the study were in the experimental or control group. IT included transarterial fatty chemoembolization (TOCE) or a combination of TOCE and percutaneous ethanol injection (PEIT). Results: (i) 46.7% (14/30) of the control group compared to control group had lower disease recurrence 31.6% (12/38) in the IT + MGN-3 group; (ii) higher survival (35%) in the MGN-3 group after the second year than in the control group (6.7%); (iii) alpha-fetoprotein levels were not significantly different in the control group, whereas in the MGN-3 group a 38% decrease compared to baseline (p = 0.0001); and (iv) unlike the control group, there was a significant reduction in tumor volume in the MGN-3 group. When the results were analyzed according to each IT method, MGN-3 + IT subgroups responded more to treatment than IT subgroups. However, patients in the MGN-3 + TOCE + PEIT subgroup showed more reduction in AFP levels and longer survival than the MGN-3 + TOCE subgroup. Conclusion: MGN-3 may be useful in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with interventional therapies and deserves further clinical studies.