Abstract: Objective To investigate the antineoplastic effects of 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) combined with Taxol on
orthotopically transplanted breast cancer in C3H mice and explore the mechanism. Methods C3H mice bearing orthotopically
transplanted breast cancer xenograft were randomly divided into 4 groups, namely the control group, 2-DG group, Taxol
group, and 2-DG+Taxol group. The corresponding drugs were administered intraperitoneally every 3 days for 18 consecutive
days, and the tumor volume was measured every 3 days to draw the tumor growth curve. The mice were then sacrificed to
measure the tumor weight on day 19 and examine tumor cell apoptosis with TUNEL assay and VEGF expression using
immunohistochemistry. Results 2-DG combined with Taxol obviously suppressed the tumor growth with a tumor inhibition
rate of 66.06% as compared to the rate of 36.97% in Taxol group. The combined treatment also caused more obvious cell
apoptosis and significantly reduced VEGF expression in the tumor cells as compared with the other groups. Conclusion 2-DG
can enhance the inhibitory effect of Taxol on orthotopically transplanted breast cancer xenograft in C3H mice probably by
inducing tumor cell apoptosis and lowering VEGF expressions.