Abstract
IntroductionThe aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 131I gelatin microspheres (131I-GMS) on human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) in nude mice and the biodistribution of 131I-GMSs following intratumoral injections.MethodsA total of 20 tumor-bearing mice were divided into a treatment group and control group and received intratumoral injections of 2.5 mci 131I-GMSs and nonradioactive GMSs, respectively. Tumor size was measured once per week. Another 16 mice received intratumoral injections of 0.4 mci 131I-GMSs and were subjected to single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans and tissue radioactivity concentration measurements on day 1, 4, 8 and 16 postinjection. The 20 tumor-bearing mice received intratumoral injections of 0.4 mci [131I] sodium iodide solution and were subjected to SPECT scans and intratumoral radioactivity measurements at 1, 6, 24, 48 and 72 h postinjection. The tumors were collected for histological examination.ResultsThe average tumor volume in the 131I-GMSs group on post-treatment day 21 decreased to 86.82 ± 63.6%, while it increased to 893.37 ± 158.12% in the control group (P < 0.01 vs. the 131I-GMSs group). 131I-GMSs provided much higher intratumoral retention of radioactivity, resulting in 19.93 ± 5.24% of the injected radioactivity after 16 days, whereas the control group retained only 1.83 ± 0.46% of the injected radioactivity within the tumors at 1 h postinjection.Conclusions131I-GMSs suppressed the growth of MCF-7 in nude mice and provided sustained intratumoral radioactivity retention. The results suggest the potential of 131I-GMSs for clinical applications in radiotherapy for breast cancer.
Highlights
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 131I gelatin microspheres (131I-Gelatin microspheres (GMSs)) on human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) in nude mice and the biodistribution of 131I-GMSs following intratumoral injections
Studies have shown that intraarterial infusion of 90Y microspheres is an effective and safe alternative for treating patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic liver cancer originating from colorectal carcinoma, breast cancer and endocrine system cancers [2,3,10,11,12,13]
We injected 131I labeled gelatin microspheres and 131I, 125I dual-labeled gelatin microspheres into the liver parenchyma of rabbits, and we found that the injected microspheres mainly accumulated around the injection site, and the small amount of de-labeled radioiodine did not cause severe damage to other tissues [27,28]
Summary
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 131I gelatin microspheres (131I-GMS) on human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) in nude mice and the biodistribution of 131I-GMSs following intratumoral injections. Direct intratumoral injection of radiolabeled microspheres or particles is an effective and safe method for treating malignancies [5,14], and this treatment is especially suitable for treating solid tumors characterized by hypo-vasculature [15] or for which intraarterial interventional therapy is infeasible, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer. Radioembolization is defined as the injection of radiolabeled microspheres or particles by use of percutaneous superselective catheterization of the tumor vasculature, so it is a very challenging work and it may result in severe adverse effect once the nontarget vessels are embolized. Percutaneous radioembolization is only used in the internal radiotherapy of liver malignant tumors, and it is infeasible in the treatment of many other tumors, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, in which image-guided superselective catheterization of the tumor vessels almost can’t implement
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