SST and hepatocellular carcinoma: In HepG2 and HepB3 HCC cell lines, AN-238, which is a cytotoxic agent consisting of 2-pyrrolino-doxorubicin (AN-201) conjugate to a well-characterized somatostatin octapeptide carrier, RC-121 (binding SSTR2 and 5)[198,199], was able to inhibit cell proliferation by inducing cell cycle block in sub-G1 phase and to induce apoptosis by triggering DNA fragmentation and cleavage of poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) protein[157].