Selective photothermal laser-tissue interaction with augmentation of immunoadjuvants in treatment of DMBA-4 metastatic mammary tumors in rats

Abstract

Induced anti-tumor immunity can be the most effective and long-term cure for cancers, particularly for metastatic tumors. Laser immunotherapy has been developed to induce such immunological responses in rats bearing DMBA-4 metastatic mammary tumors. It involves an intratumoral administration of a laserabsorbing dye (indocyanine green) and a specially formulated immunoadjuvant (glycated chitosan), followed by an irradiation of a near-infrared laser (805-nm diode laser). To understand the immunity induced in this tumor model, immunization using freeze-thaw cell lysates against the DMBA-4 tumors was performed, followed by the tumor challenge twenty-one days later. Also performed is the surgical removal of the primary tumors of the rats before the observation of metastatic tumors. The immunization only delayed the emergence of the primary and metastases in the rats but did not provide immunity against the tumor challenge. After surgical removal of the primary tumors, the tumors re-emerged at the primary sites and the metastases developed at multiple remote sites. In contrast, laser immunotherapy cured rats experienced tumor regression and eradication. Our research has provided strong support for the working mechanism of laser immunotherapy. The experimental results showed that selective photothermal laser-tissue interaction with a complementary use of immunoadjuvant could be a potential therapy for treatment of metastatic tumors by inducing a tumor-specific, long-lasting immunity.