Antitumour effect of electrochemotherapy with bleomycin on human prostate cancer xenograft.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the antitumour effect of electroporation (EP), a drug delivery system that has been shown to be effective synergistically with antitumour drugs, with bleomycin on the growth of prostate cancer xenografts in nude mice.


METHODS
PC-3 cells were implanted subcutaneously into nude mice. After determination of the optimal conditions of electric pulse voltage and bleomycin dose, tumour growth in mice treated with EP plus bleomycin was compared with that in mice receiving EP alone, bleomycin alone or no treatment. In all four groups, apoptosis in the tumours was assessed.


RESULTS
There was a significant reduction in tumour growth in mice that received EP with bleomycin. Apoptotic cells in tumours at 24 h after treatment with EP plus bleomycin showed a significant difference compared with the other three groups, but not at 12 h after treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate the possibility that EP with bleomycin could be effective as an ablation therapy for prostate cancer, especially androgen-independent cancer.
Department of Urology, Yokohama City University, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan.
Tei-ichiro
T
Ueki
Hiroji
H
Uemura
Yoji
Y
Nagashima
Shinsuke
S
Ohta
Hitoshi
H
Ishiguro
Yoshinobu
Y
Kubota
D000818:Animals; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017209:Apoptosis; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D053672:Electrochemotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D001761:Bleomycin