Rapid destruction of murine and human melanomas by local injection of absolute ethanol: augmentation of the anti-proliferative effects with a combination of biological response modifiers.

Abstract

Percutaneous injection of absolute ethanol was found to cause rapid destruction of murine and human melanoma nodules. It took only 24-48 hr after the ethanol injection to form ulcers or scars on the lesions. Massive necrosis of murine and human melanoma nests and interstitials and infiltration of mononuclear cells into the demaged tissue were observed histopathologically after ethanol injection. The melanomas recurred approximately 1 week after the destruction of the melanoma nodules by ethanol. Biological response modifiers such as levamisole or interleukin (IL)-2 were effective in preventing the recurrence of murine melanoma after ethanol injection. IL-2 injection caused massive infiltration of NK cells, T cells, and macrophages into the damaged melanoma tissue. The therapeutic modality of a combination of ethanol and IL-2 injections could definitely be useful for the local treatment of human metastatic melanoma, but other modalities such as local hyperthermia or radiation should be considered in combination to attain a permanent cure.