High-intensity focused ultrasound in ovarian cancer xenografts

Introduction The purpose of this study was to determine whether highintensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is an effective treatment for ovarian carcinoma in an athymic nude mouse model. Methods Thirty-nine female athymic nude mice were inoculated subcutaneously with 5–7xx10 6 SKOV3 human ovarian cancer cells. Thirty-two animals developed tumours and were randomly divided into three groups: HIFU ( n =18), sham treatment ( n =8) and control ( n =6). The sonographic appearance of the tumours during therapy was recorded. After therapy, the tumours were examined transcutaneously by ultrasound every 4 days for 4 weeks. Tissue samples were taken from the treatment sites and histopathologically examined by light or electron microscopy. Results Three weeks after HIFU treatment, a 100% reduction in tumour volume was observed in all animals in the HIFU group, whereas tumours in the sham-treated and control groups continued to grow. Pathological examination of HIFU-treated tumour tissue samples showed complete coagulation necrosis of the tumour. Conclusion Our results indicate that HIFU appears to be an effective therapy for ovarian carcinoma tumours in the athymic nude mouse model. We suggest that it may hold promise for the clinical treatment of late-stage and recurrent ovarian cancer.