Hydrogen Gas Shows Promise for Fighting Ovarian Cancer in New Study
- Authors
- Mengyue Yin, Min Liu, Chunling Zhang, Lingling Peng, Zhaolun Guo, Yafei Hao, Yongmei Wang, Xueyan Zhang, Qinghan Shi, Xiuzhen Ren, Hua Li, Lan Zhang
- Journal
- European Journal of Medical Research
- Year
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1186/s40001-025-03111-3
- Study Type
- Cell Culture
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Ovarian Cancer
- Body System
- Reproductive System
TL;DR
Hydrogen gas slowed ovarian cancer growth in cells and mice by boosting oxidative stress, reducing inflammation, and triggering cancer cell death.
Key Finding
Hydrogen gas inhibited ovarian cancer cell growth and promoted cancer cell death in both laboratory cell cultures and animal models, while also reducing tumor size in treated mice.
Summary
Researchers tested whether hydrogen gas could slow the growth of ovarian cancer cells in laboratory dishes and in mice. They found that hydrogen reduced cancer cell survival, stopped cells from spreading, triggered cancer cells to die, and changed the activity of proteins involved in tumor growth. In mice with tumors, hydrogen treatment resulted in smaller tumors and increased cancer cell death.
Practical Takeaway
This is early-stage laboratory and animal research only—it has not been tested in humans. While the results are promising for future research directions, it is far too early to draw any conclusions about whether hydrogen could help treat ovarian cancer in people. Much more research, including human clinical trials, would be needed before any therapeutic claims could be made.
Abstract
Ovarian cancer is one of the most fatal malignancies in women worldwide; current treatment approaches still struggle to effectively control tumor progression. Therefore, it is imperative to explore novel and more effective therapeutic approaches. Hydrogen shows promise as a novel adjuvant therapy, offering new perspectives for ovarian cancer treatment. This study primarily investigates the effects of hydrogen on SKOV3 ovarian cancer cell line viability, apoptosis, migration, invasion, MDA, SOD levels, and key regulatory proteins through experiments including CCK-8, flow cytometry, scratch assay, Transwell assay, immunofluorescence, Western blot, and ELISA. HE staining, TUNEL, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, Western blot, and ELISA were used to verify the antitumor effects of hydrogen in vivo. The results showed that hydrogen inhibited cell viability, migration, and invasion, promoted apoptosis, and induced G1/G2 phase arrest in SKOV3 cells. Additionally, hydrogen promoted ROS production, downregulated the expression of HIF-1α, NF-κB p65, and P-p65 proteins, decreased SOD levels, and increased MDA levels. The results of animal experiments showed that the tumor weight and volume in the hydrogen group were significantly smaller than those in the control group. At the same time, hydrogen promoted tumor cell apoptosis, reduced the levels of angiogenesis markers within the tumor, lowered the protein levels of HIF-1α and p65, increased MDA levels, and decreased SOD levels. Hydrogen provides a new approach for the treatment of ovarian cancer.