Evaluation of Electrochemotherapy with Bleomycin in the Treatment of Colorectal Hepatic Metastases in a Rat Model

• Published in: Cancers Vol. 15; no. 5; p. 1598
• Main Authors: Spiliotis, Antonios E., Holländer, Sebastian, Rudzitis-Auth, Jeannette, Wagenpfeil, Gudrun, Eisele, Robert, Nika, Spyridon, Mallis Kyriakides, Orestis, Laschke, Matthias W., Menger, Michael D., Glanemann, Matthias, Gäbelein, Gereon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 04.03.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Ablation; Apoptosis; Bleomycin; Body temperature; Cancer; Care and treatment; Cell membranes; Chemotherapy; Colorectal cancer; Cytotoxicity; Development and progression; Dosage and administration; Electric fields; Electric properties; Electroconvulsive therapy; Electrodes; Electroporation; Evaluation; Experiments; Hemoglobin; Immunohistochemistry; Integrated software; Laboratory animals; Laparotomy; Liver; Liver cancer; Membrane permeability; Metastases; Metastasis; Necrosis; Oxygenation; Permeability; Skin cancer; Testing; Tumor cells; Tumors; Ultrasonic imaging; Vascularization; Germany; United States > US; electrochemotherapy; liver neoplasms; bleomycin; electroporation; rats
• ISSN: 2072-6694; 2072-6694
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers15051598

Background: The available ablative procedures for the treatment of hepatic cancer have contraindications due to the heat-sink effect and the risk of thermal injuries. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) as a nonthermal approach may be utilized for the treatment of tumors adjacent to high-risk regions. We evaluated the effectiveness of ECT in a rat model. Methods: WAG/Rij rats were randomized to four groups and underwent ECT, reversible electroporation (rEP), or intravenous injection of bleomycin (BLM) eight days after subcapsular hepatic tumor implantation. The fourth group served as Sham. Tumor volume and oxygenation were measured before and five days after the treatment using ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging; thereafter, liver and tumor tissue were additionally analysed by histology and immunohistochemistry. Results: The ECT group showed a stronger reduction in tumor oxygenation compared to the rEP and BLM groups; moreover, ECT-treated tumors exhibited the lowest levels of hemoglobin concentration compared to the other groups. Histological analyses further revealed a significantly increased tumor necrosis of >85% and a reduced tumor vascularization in the ECT group compared to the rEP, BLM, and Sham groups. Conclusion: ECT is an effective approach for the treatment of hepatic tumors with necrosis rates >85% five days following treatment.