The HIFU ablation technique is limited by the long duration of the procedure, which results from the large difference between the size of the HIFU beam’s focus and the tumor size. Ablation of large tumors requires treating them with a sequence of single HIFU beams, with a specific time interval in-between. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological effects induced in a malignant solid tumor of the rat mammary gland, implanted in adult Wistar rats, during HIFU treatment according to a new ablation plan which allowed researchers to significantly shorten the duration of the procedure. We used a custom, automated, ultrasound imaging-guided HIFU ablation device. Tumors with a 1 mm thickness margin of healthy tissue were subjected to HIFU. Three days later, the animals were sacrificed, and the HIFU-treated tissues were harvested. The biological effects were studied, employing morphological, histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural techniques. Massive cell death, hemorrhages, tissue loss, influx of immune cells, and induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines were observed in the HIFU-treated tumors. No damage to healthy tissues was observed in the area surrounding the safety margin. These results confirmed the efficacy of the proposed shortened duration of the HIFU ablation procedure and its potential for the treatment of solid tumors.
高强度聚焦超声消融技术因聚焦点尺寸与肿瘤大小差异显著，导致治疗时间过长。针对较大肿瘤的消融需采用序列化单束聚焦超声治疗，且各治疗间需设定特定时间间隔。本研究旨在评估新型消融方案下，对成年Wistar大鼠乳腺恶性实体瘤实施高强度聚焦超声治疗时诱导的生物学效应，该方案可显著缩短治疗时长。研究采用定制化自动超声成像引导的高强度聚焦超声消融装置，对包含1毫米健康组织边缘的肿瘤进行靶向治疗。治疗三天后处死实验动物，采集经超声处理的肿瘤组织。通过形态学、组织学、免疫组织化学及超微结构技术对生物学效应进行系统分析。结果显示，经超声处理的肿瘤组织中出现大规模细胞死亡、出血、组织缺损、免疫细胞浸润及促炎细胞因子诱导等现象，而安全边缘周围的健康组织未观察到损伤。这些结果证实了所提出的缩短时长的高强度聚焦超声消融方案的有效性，及其在实体瘤治疗中的应用潜力。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家