Implantation of VX2 Carcinoma into the Liver of Rabbits: A Comparison of Three Direct-Injection Methods

The efficacy of agarose in preventing VX2 carcinoma cell leakage was evaluoted and the results were compared with two traditional methods. Forty-five rabbits were divided into 3 groups: Group 1, VX2 tumor cells were injected directly into the liver and no special procedure after removal of the needle; Group 2, the puncture site was gently compressed, using an alcoholic cotton gauze, for three minutes; Group 3, 0.2 ml of heated liquid agarose was injected to seal the aperture after injection of VX2 cells. The leakage rates were 80%, 53.3% and 6.6% for group 1, group 2 and group 3, respectively. We consider agarose is a useful material in preventing the leakage in the establishment of VX2 liver tumor models.