CASP3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: After applying chrysin to early hepatocellular carcinoma cells induced by N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN), the expression of COX-2 and NF-κB was significantly reduced at both mRNA and protein levels, similarly, the level of the anti-apoptotic marker Bcl-xL was decreased, whereas the expression of p53, Bax, and caspase-3 was elevated, which inhibited DEN-induced hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and apoptosis (Khan et al., 2011b; Batlle and Massagué, 2019).