MAPK8 and liver cancer: Moreover, luteolin can function as a sensitizer in liver cancer when combined with sorafenib or tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), a cytokine that initiates cancer cell apoptosis, synergistically causing cell apoptosis by activating the JNK signaling pathway (Feng et al., 2018; Nazim and Park, 2019a).