title: Effects of photodynamic therapy with hypericin in mice bearing highly invasive solid tumors.
abstract: The tumoricidal properties of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with hypericin (HY) were evaluated in a highly metastatic adenocarcinoma (DA3Hi) and anaplastic squamous cell carcinoma (SQ2) tumors in vivo. Photosensitization of the tumor site with hypericin (HY-PDT) reduced primary tumor development and significantly prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing (TB) mice. Of these two tumors the squamous cell carcinoma emerged as more sensitive to HY-PDT compared with DA3Hi adenocarcinoma both in vitro and in vivo. HY-PDT caused extensive tumor necrosis that was followed by local, intratumoral, and systemic inflammatory reactions. Analyses of cytokine mRNA profiles reveal increases in mRNA levels of expression confined to inflammation-related cytokines both within the tumor and also systemically (measured in spleens). However, there was no evidence for any HY-PDT-induced antitumoral immune reactions. Our results suggest that PDT with hypericin can be considered as a supplementary treatment in the management of some invasive and metastatic cancers such as squamous carcinoma and similar tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Microbiology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blank
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lavie
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mandel
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Keisari
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy; D000818:Animals; D000873:Anthracenes; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D010569:Perylene / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013997:Time Factors; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000873:Anthracenes; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D016207:Cytokines; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents; D010569:Perylene; C004965:hypericin