Synergistic inhibitory effect of high-intensity focused ultrasound combined with chemotherapy on Dunning adenocarcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the therapeutic effect of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) combined with chemotherapy (paclitaxel + estramustine) on AT2 Dunning adenocarcinoma, as no satisfactory treatment for localized prostate cancer is available for patients with a poor prognosis, e.g. stage T3, a high Gleason score, or a prostate-specific antigen level of >15 ng/mL.


METHODS
Forty-one Dunning AT2 tumour-bearing Copenhagen rats were divided into four groups, i.e. control, chemotherapy, HIFU, and chemotherapy + HIFU (the last three treated for 1 week). The growth in tumour volume was recorded for 3 weeks, the point at which tumour volume was considered to have doubled (doubling time). The growth curves of each group were plotted and evaluated statistically.


RESULTS
At 30 days of follow-up the distributions of tumour volume with treatment group were significantly different (P < 0.001); volumes were significantly greater in the control than in the chemotherapy-only or in the HIFU-only group (both P = 0.006). The greatest difference was between the chemotherapy + HIFU and the control group. The tumour doubling times were 13.2 days for HIFU-only, 31.2 days for chemotherapy + HIFU and 7.7 days for the controls.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that this combined therapy could be useful for treating patients with high-risk prostate cancer.
Paparel
Philippe
P
Department of Urology, Edouard Herriot Hospital, Lyon, France. paparelphilippe@aol.com
Curiel
Laura
L
Chesnais
Sabrina
S
Ecochard
Rene
R
Chapelon
Jean-Yves
JY
Gelet
Albert
A
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000628:therapy*; D000818:Animals; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004961:Estramustine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D051381:Rats; D036761:Ultrasound, High-Intensity Focused, Transrectal
D004961:Estramustine; D017239:Paclitaxel