In a study of the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis in HepG2 cells, Chang et al. [76] reported that Norcantharidin, the demethylated analog of cantharidin derived from a traditional Chinese medicine, Mylabris, exerts its anti-cancer effects through induction of oxidative stress leading to loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria to the cytosol, down-regulation of Bcl-2, up-regulation of Bax , caspase 3 and caspase 9, and subsequent cleavage of PARP. This evidence concerns the gene CASP3 and cancer.