ObjectiveTo study the inhibition of proliferation and stimulation of apoptosis of Hep2 laryngeal carcinoma cells by indole3carbinol (I3C) via in vitro experiments.MethodsCells were grouped according to the concentration of I3C. The proliferation capacities of Hep2 cell lines were determined at timepoints 0, 24, 48, and 72h after treatment with I3C at different concentrations of 0, 100, 200, and 300 μM. Their apoptosis rates and expressions of PI3K/Akt pathway related proteins at 48h after treatment with I3C were determined.ResultsWith the increase of I3C concentration, the proliferation abilities of Hep2 cell lines were significantly decreased with obvious increase of apoptosis rates, and the reduced expression levels of PI3K/Akt pathway related proteins were also observed.ConclusionIn vitro, I3C can effectively inhibit the growth of Hep2 laryngeal cancer cells and induce apoptosis by possible mechanism of inhibiting PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.