الفهرس 
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Abstract
Head and neck cancer ranks the sixth most common cancer worldwide and still remains a major cause of death. Unfortunately, the traditional methods of treatment were not satisfactory, at all times. Consequently, the development of new therapeutic agents capable of treating cancer with little or no side effects became an urgent need. The use of natural extracts for cancer treatment is one of the alternative treatment options, and among these extracts is oridonin.
The aim of the present study was to examine the anti-proliferative and apoptotic properties of oridonin (ORI), cetuximab and their combination on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell line. The cell line used was SCC15 derived from tongue squamous cell carcinoma. It was divided into 4 groups, three of which were subjected to ORI, cetuximab and a combination of both, respectively, while the fourth remained untreated and was used as a control.
Doses of ORI, cetuximab and their combination were prepared according to the IC50 values, which were measured using MTT viability assay. In all the study groups, RT-PCR was performed to measure the levels of caspase-3 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression was assessed using Elisa.
Results of the current work revealed that ORI, cetuximab and their co-treatment have promising effects in treating cancer. A cytotoxic and apoptotic effect were seen towards the cancer cells. The viability results of the present study showed that the combination of ORI and cetuximab had a higher cytotoxic effect than ORI and cetuximab alone.
Regarding the levels of caspase-3, it was elevated in the treated groups when compared to the untreated control group. The highest level of detection was seen in the group receiving combination therapy The expression of EGFR was lowered in all the treated groups, with the lowest level of expression in the mix group.
In conclusion, the present study revealed that ORI and its combination with cetuximab have a cytotoxic and apoptotic effect on SCC15 cells and can therefore be a useful additive mean in the treatment of oral cancer.