Effects and possible anti-tumor immunity of electrochemotherapy with bleomycin on human colon cancer xenografts in nude mice

AIM: To evaluate the anti-tumor effects and possible involvement of anti-tumor immunity of electrochemotherapy (ECT) employing electroporation and bleomycin in human colon cancer xenografts in nude mice, and to establish the experimental basis for clinical application of ECT. METHODS: Forty nude mice, inoculated subcutaneously human colon cancer cell line LoVo for 3 wk, were allocated randomly into four groups: B+E+ (ECT), B+E-(administration of bleomycin alone), B-E+ (administration of electric pulses alone), and B-E- (no treatment). Tumor volumes were measured daily. The animals were killed on the 7(th) d, the weights of xenografts were measured, and histologies of tumors were evaluated. Cytotoxicity of spleen natural killer (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells was then assessed by lactic dehydrogenase release assay. RESULTS: The mean tumor volume of group B+E+ was statistically different from the other three groups after the treatment (F = 36.80, P<0.01). There was one case of complete response, seven cases of partial response (PR) in group B+E+, one case of PR in group B+E- and group B-E+ respectively, and no response was observed in group B-E-. The difference of response between group B+E+ and the other three groups was statistically significant (chi(2) = 25.67, P<0.01). Histologically, extensive necrosis of tumor cells with considerable vascular damage and inflammatory cells infiltration were observed in group B+E+. There was no statistical difference between the cytotoxicity of NK and LAK cells in the four treatment groups. CONCLUSION: ECT significantly enhances the chemosensitivity and effects of chemotherapy in human colon cancer xenografts in nude mice, and could be a kind of novel treatment modality for human colon cancer. The generation of T-cell-dependent, tumor-specific immunity might be involved in the process of ECT. (C) 2005 The WJG Press and Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.