δ-Tocotrienol inhibits pancreatic cancer growth.

<p><b>A</b>, Chemical structures of tocotrienols. <b>B</b>, δ-tocotrienol selectively inhibits pancreatic cancer cell proliferation. HPDE6 C7 and human pancreatic cancer cell lines MIAPaCa2, BXPC3, and SW1990 were treated with increasing concentrations of δ-tocotrienol or vehicle and analyzed by MTT at 24, 48, and 72 hours. Results demonstrate selective inhibition of pancreatic cancer cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. <b>C</b>, δ-tocotrienol inhibits anchorage-independent growth of transformed MIAPaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cells. Number of colonies was normalized and compared to vehicle. *Concentration at which statistical significance begins. <b>D</b>, effects of δ-tocotrienol on cell cycle progression. Pancreatic cancer cells and HPDE6 C7 cells were incubated in the presence of δ-tocotrienol (IC₅₀) (gray) or vehicle (black) as control for 24 hours. Cells were collected for determination of cell cycle distribution by FACS analysis after cell staining with propidium iodide. Each analysis represents means ± SD of 3 independent experiments. δ-Tocotrienol inhibits G₁-to-S cell cycle progression selectively in transformed pancreatic cancer cell lines.