Destructive effects of therapeutic ultrasound and gold nanoparticles on a breast carcinoma tumor model in BALB/c mice

Acoustic cavitation which occurs at high intensities of ultrasound waves can be fatal for tumor cells; however, it can be used to destroy cancer cells as an efficient therapeutic method. On the other hand, it is known that the existence of nanoparticles in a liquid decreases the acoustic cavitation onset threshold.

In this work, the combined effects of therapeutic ultrasound and gold nanoparticles (GNPs) on a breast carcinoma tumour model in BALB/c mice were studied. The tumour-bearing mice were divided into 4 groups (1) Control, (2) GNPs, (3) Ultrasound alone and (4) Ultrasound in the presence of GNPs. In groups 2 and 4, GNPs were injected into tumours. Therapeutic effects on tumours were evaluated by measuring relative tumour volume (RTV), doubling time (T2) and 5-folding time (T5) for tumours volume.

The T5 showed a significant difference between ultrasound in the presence of GNPs group and the other groups. The maximum T2 and T5 were found in the ultrasound in the presence of GNPs group.

Combined effects of ultrasound and GNPs can be used as a method for increasing the therapeutic efficiency on tumor cells.