Abstract: BACKGROUND ＆ AIM: To investigate the effects of α-tocopheryl succinate(α-TOS) on S180 sarcoma and immune functions in tumor-bearing mice. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The experimental animals were divided into 5 groups, negative control, tumor model, α-TOS treatment at dose 40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg, and cyclophosphamide positive group.α-TOS was injected intramuscly into the transplanted S180 sarcoma on mice for 5 days. The inhibitory rates of α-TOS on tumor and subsequent changes in hemogram were observed;nature killer(NK) cell cytotoxicity and the proportion of T lymphocyte subsets were detected by lactate dehydrogenase method and Flow Cytometer, respectively. RESULTS: The inhibitory rate of α-TOS at dose 40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg on S180 sarcoma were 32.38 ％ and 38.92 ％, respectively; the amounts of leucocytes in α-TOS treatment groups were much higher than positive control (P<0.01); the NK cytotoxicity and the proportions of CD3＋ became much higher in α-TOS treatment groups compared with the tumor model(P<0.05 and P<0.01), CD4＋/CD8＋ ratios were closed to the negative control. CONCLUSION: α-TOS could be a potent cancer chemotherapeutic agent through inhibiting the growth of S180 sarcoma and improving the immunal function in tumor-bearing mice, without interfering the number of leucocytes.

Key words: α-Tocopheryl succinate, S180 sarcoma, antineoplastic effect