Patients were classified according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM system [16] to stage 0 (3 patients), stage I (9 patients), stage II (12 patients), stage III (13 patients) and stage IV (38 patients). The patients and controls do not have renal, liver disorders or any other type of malignancies. Recorded clinical and pathological features for each patient were obtained from Oncology Center including age, grade, stage, serum

Cinnamaldehyde (CA) is a natural compound that has promising biological activity. The current study investigates the antitumor activity of CA in thioacetamide induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in rats through targeting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and evaluates the capability of CA to relieve hepatocytes oxidative stress in the HCC-rat model. After 16 weeks of HCC induction by thioacetamide (TAA), rats were treated for 7 consecutive weeks with CA daily; i.p. injection, Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level, necroinflammatory score and fibrosis percentage were measured to assess HCC development. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway was evaluated by measuring the hepatic protein level of Wnt-3a, β-catenin, cyclin D, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Furthermore, hepatocytes’ oxidative stress was assessed by measuring hepatic GSH and MDA contents. Results showed that CA was significantly inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway through the downregulation of hepatic Wnt-3a, β-catenin, cyclin D, MMP-9, and VEGF. Moreover, CA ameliorates hepatocytes’ oxidative stress via lowering hepatic MDA content and rising hepatic GSH content. Thus, in conclusion, CA is a promising treatment for HCC. It not only has an effective antitumor activity but also ameliorates hepatocytes’ oxidative stress.