In vitro and in vivo superior radiosensitizing effect of berbamine for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Background Berbamine (BBM), one of the bis-benzylisoquinoline products isolated from Berberis amurensis, has been demonstrated for its anticancer effect against leukemia, breast cancer, liver cancer, etc. There are some studies focusing on the chemosensitization effect of BBM. However, there is no report about whether BBM could enhance the anticancer effect of radiation, which made us to explore the possible radiosensitization effect of BBM.