ethyl-cellulose and Carcinoma--Hepatocellular

Ethanol ablation, the injection of ethanol to induce necrosis, was originally used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma, with survival rates comparable to surgery. However, efficacy is limited due to leakage into surrounding tissue. To reduce leakage, we previously reported incorporating ethyl cellulose (EC) with ethanol as this mixture forms a gel when injected into tissue. To further develop EC-ethanol injection as an ablative therapy, the present study evaluates the extent to which salient injection parameters govern the injected fluid distribution.. Utilizing ex vivo swine liver, injection parameters (infusion rate, EC%, infusion volume) were examined with fluorescein added to each solution. After injection, tissue samples were frozen, sectioned, and imaged.. While leakage was higher for ethanol and 3%EC-ethanol at a rate of 10 mL/hr compared to 1 mL/hr, leakage remained low for 6%EC-ethanol regardless of infusion rate. The impact of infusion volume and pressure were also investigated first in tissue-mimicking surrogates and then in tissue. Results indicated that there is a critical infusion pressure beyond which crack formation occurs leading to fluid leakage. At a rate of 10 mL/hr, a volume of 50 μL remained below the critical pressure.. Although increasing the infusion rate increases stress on the tissue and the risk of crack formation, injections of 6%EC-ethanol were localized regardless of infusion rate. To further limit leakage, multiple low-volume infusions may be employed.. These results, and the experimental framework developed to obtain them, can inform optimizing EC-ethanol to treat a range of medical conditions.

Topics: Animals; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Catheter Ablation; Cellulose; Ethanol; Liver Neoplasms; Swine

Anti-tumor activity of cisplatin-capsulated microspheres with ethylcellulose (CDDPmc) was studied in Wistar rat bearing transplantable hepatocellular cancer. Seven days after inoculation into the rat's liver, normal saline, conventional cisplatin, placebo ethylcellulose microsphere and CDDPmc at comparable doses were infused into the proper hepatic artery. The results indicated that the rats treated with CDDPmc had a significantly slower tumor growth, more extensive tumor necrosis and longer survival as compared with the three other groups. It is suggested that the tumoricidal effect of arterial chemoembolization with CDDPmc be superior to arterial chemotherapy or embolization alone in the treatment of liver cancer.

Topics: Animals; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Cellulose; Cisplatin; Embolization, Therapeutic; Infusions, Intra-Arterial; Liver Neoplasms; Male; Microspheres; Neoplasm Transplantation; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Tumor Cells, Cultured