Therapeutic Effects of Microbubbles Added to Combined High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound and Chemotherapy in a Pancreatic Cancer Xenograft Model

摘要

Objective To investigate whether high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) combined with microbubbles enhances the therapeutic effects of chemotherapy. Materials and Methods A pancreatic cancer xenograft model was established using BALB/c nude mice and luciferase-expressing human pancreatic cancer cells. Mice were randomly assigned to five groups according to treatment: control (n = 10), gemcitabine alone (GEM; n = 12), HIFU with microbubbles (HIFU + MB, n = 11), combined HIFU and gemcitabine (HIGEM; n = 12), and HIGEM + MB (n = 13). After three weekly treatments, apoptosis rates were evaluated using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling assay in two mice per group. Tumor volume and bioluminescence were monitored using high-resolution 3D ultrasound imaging and in vivo bioluminescence imaging for eight weeks in the remaining mice. Results The HIGEM + MB group showed significantly higher apoptosis rates than the other groups ( p Conclusion High-intensity focused ultrasound combined with microbubbles enhances the therapeutic effects of gemcitabine chemotherapy in a pancreatic cancer xenograft model.