Fig. 6

The radiosensitization effect of apatinib on HCC through in vivo xenograft tumor model. a The diagram of therapy design was showed. At day 0, SMMC7721 tumor cells were subcutaneously inoculated in the right flanks of mice. Mice were randomly divided into four groups when mice first developed a palpable mass ( 4mm in diameter) at day 7: Ctrl (n = 8), apatinib (n = 8), irradiation (n = 8), and irradiation with apatinib (n = 7). From day 7 onwards, apatinib was given gavage consecutively for 4 weeks with a daily dosage of 150 mg/kg until the end point at day 34. At day 13, irradiation (7 Gy) was delivered for the first time and the second one was conducted at day 15. Tumor xenografts (b), tumor weight (c), the growth curves (d) of each group were shown. e Body weight was measured during the treatment and shown as mean ± SEM. f The TUNEL and Ki67 staining showed that combination treatment group presented with significantly increased cell apoptosis and reduced expression of proliferation marker Ki67. *p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001