In particular, the anti-apoptotic effect, demonstrated by induction of caspase-3/-7 and DNA fragmentation and by the release of cytochrome c, was more conspicuous and dose-dependent in U87MG than in U373MG, probably because SFN could induce apoptosis in human GBM cells via the p53-dependent mitochondrial pathway, though the precise molecular mechanism remains unknown. This evidence concerns the gene TP53 and glioblastoma.