High-intensity focused ultrasound in the treatment of experimental liver cancer
R. Yang, C. R. Reilly, F. J. Rescorla, P. R. Faught, N. T. Sanghvi, F. J. Fry, T. D. Franklin Jr, L. Lumeng and J. L. Grosfeld
Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) was used to treat Morris rat
hepatoma 3924A implanted in the liver. Treatment was administered with a
lens-focused 4-MHz transducer that created a focused beam of 550 W/cm2 at
peak intensity. One hundred twelve rats with liver tumors were divided into
two groups of 56 each. Group 1 received HIFU therapy while group 2 (the
control group) did not. All rats were killed immediately or 1, 3, 7, 14,
21, or 28 days after treatment. Eight rats in each group were killed at
each interval for pathologic and biochemical studies. Significant
inhibition of the tumor growth was seen in the HIFU-treated group, with
tumor growth inhibition rates of 65.4% to 93.1% from the third to the 28th
day after treatment. Ultrasound-treated tumors showed direct thermal
cytotoxic necrosis and fibrosis. An additional 56 ACl rats with liver
tumors were divided into four groups of 14 each. Group 1 received
doxorubicin hydrochloride intraperitoneally and HIFU therapy; group 2, HIFU
therapy; group 3, doxorubicin hydrochloride; and group 4 (the control
group), neither HIFU nor doxorubicin hydrochloride. Significantly improved
survival rates were noted in HIFU-treated animals (groups 1 and 2) compared
with those of groups 3 and 4. These data suggest that HIFU may be a useful
method for local treatment of hepatic tumors.
