Abstract

This study investigated whether a microbubble-containing ultrasound contrast agent had a role in the antivascular action of physiotherapy ultrasound on tumor neovasculature. Ultrasound images (B-mode and contrast-enhanced power Doppler [0.02 mL Definity]) were made of 22 murine melanomas (K1735 22). The tumor was insonated (I SATA = 1.7 W cm –2, 1 MHz, continuous output) for 3 min and the power Doppler observations of the pre- and postinsonation tumor vascularities were analyzed. Significant reductions ( p = 0.005 for analyses of color-weighted fractional area) in vascularity occurred when a contrast-enhanced power Doppler study occurred before insonation. Vascularity was unchanged in tumors without a pretherapy Doppler study. Histologic studies revealed tissue structural changes that correlated with the ultrasound findings. The underlying etiology of the interaction between the physiotherapy ultrasound beam, the microbubble-containing contrast agent and the tumor neovasculature is unknown. It was concluded that contrast agents play an important role in the antivascular effects induced by physiotherapy ultrasound. (E-mail: sehgalc@uphs.upenn.edu)

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