Conclusion
According to our preclinical study, NS-based PTT seems promising as an add-on treatment for liposomal chemotherapy and potentially other systemic therapies, and could be relevant for future application in a clinical setting.
Methods
First, NS-based PTT was performed on tumor-bearing mice. Radiolabeled liposomes were then injected at different timepoints to follow their accumulation in the tumor and determine the ideal injection time after PTT. In addition, fluorescent liposomes were used to observe the liposomal distribution in the tumor after PTT. Finally, we combined PTT and doxorubicin-loaded liposomes and studied the effect of the treatment strategy on the mice by following tumor growth and survival.
Results
PTT significantly improved liposomal accumulation in the tumor, but only when the liposomes were injected immediately after the therapy. The liposomes accumulated mostly in regions adjacent to the ablated areas. When PTT was combined with liposomal doxorubicin, the mice experienced a slowdown in tumor growth and an improvement in survival.