The aim of this dissertation was to evaluate the results of diagnostic imaging after electroporation (EP) and electrochemotherapy (ECT) of porcine liver to investigate the safety aspect of ECT of deep-seated liver tumors and the results of dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE US) after ECT and gene electrotransfer (GET) of murine and canine tumors as potential predictive factors in treatment.
Radiological findings after EP and ECT with bleomycin (BLM) on the hepatic parenchyma and major blood vessels of the liver of a healthy pig with potentially dangerous insertion of the electrodes into the major hepatic vessels were examined by ultrasound immediately after ECT and by computed tomography from 60 to 90 minutes and one week after ECT with linear and hexagonal electrodes. The results of diagnostic imaging of the porcine liver after ECT showed decreased blood flow in the treated area. The changes were not due to the use of BLM, as they were the same in the experimental and control groups, where only electrical pulses were administered. Intentional insertion of electrodes and application of electrical pulses directly into the lumen of large vessels did not result in thrombosis, haemorrhage, or other hemodynamically significant injury.
Mice with induced melanoma were used as a model to investigate the utility of DCE-US as a prognostic factor for treatment with EP-based therapies. In the first study in a mouse model treated with irradiation and GET of plasmid DNA that silences the melanoma cell adhesion molecule, we observed a decrease in tumor perfusion in the treatment groups compared with the control groups, and the results of DCE US correlated with decreased vessel density detected histologically. Furthermore, mean values of parameters describing flow volume were significantly lower in tumors with complete response, and they showed a trend toward correlation with antitumor efficacy. In the second study, mouse melanomas were treated with ECT in combination with GET of plasmid DNA encoding interleukin-12 (pIL-12). DCE US showed reduced perfusion in groups with longer tumor volume doubling time, and the predicted DCE US value was confirmed by statistically significant Pearson coefficients. In addition, greater tumor perfusion heterogeneity was associated with shorter tumor doubling time.
The clinical study included dogs with cutaneous and subcutaneous neoplasms treated with a standard procedure combining ECT and GET pIL-12. We also found a number of differences in DCE-US parameters between tumors with complete response and tumors with incomplete response in the clinical study: Perfusion and perfusion heterogeneity were lower in tumors with complete response.
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