CASP3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Artemisinin and its derivatives have been studied in HCC models (21) and are claimed to exert cytotoxicity in HCC primarily by inducing apoptosis through modulation of cell cycle regulators like cyclin D1 and E, cyclin-dependent kinase 2 and 4, E2F1, p21, p27 and apoptotic drivers such as caspase 3, Bax and Bcl2 (22, 23).