Treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in a rat model using electrochemotherapy.
The effectiveness of antineoplastic agents has been augmented by applying pulsed electric fields directly to tumours after the administration of the drug. This treatment, known as electrochemotherapy (ECT), has been successful for cutaneous malignancies in animal models and in recent clinical trials. This study was aimed at investigating the applicability of ECT in a surgical setting for hepatocellular carcinomas induced in the livers of rats. Established tumours were injected with bleomycin, and electric pulses were then administered locally. Animals were followed based on tumour volumes and histological samples. Dose response data were obtained for both electric field intensity and bleomycin. Complete response rates for animals treated with electrochemotherapy ranged from 26.67% to 93.33 and were durable. In contrast, tumours that received no treatment, pulses only or drug only responded minimally. This supports the feasibility of using a ECT as a modality for treating hepatocellular carcinoma.
Department of Surgery, MDC Box 16, College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33612-4799, USA. mjarosze@com1.med.usf.edu
M J
MJ
Jaroszeski
D
D
Coppola
C
C
Pottinger
K
K
Benson
R A
RA
Gilbert
R
R
Heller
D000818:Animals; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D018274:Electroporation / Q000379:methods; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D001761:Bleomycin