CASP9 and cancer: In another recent study, Su et al. [18] reported that polysaccharides extracted from Sipunculus nudus showed anti-cancer effects in HepG2-bearing mice by inducing the apoptosis of tumor cells through the up-regulation of caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9 and Bax, and down-regulation of B-cell lymphoma-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor protein expression.