Mild hyperthermia (MHT) combined with radiation or chemotherapy can produce an enhanced therapeutic effect when compared to each treatment alone. However, MHT has not been widely applied in clinical cancer treatments due to practical issues of safely versus efficacy, and the selective heating of tumor tissue. The latter issue can be addressed by using photothermally active gold nanorods (GNRs) and NIR laser heating for MHT. We have investigated the synergistic effects of GNR-mediated MHT and cisplatin on SKOV3, an ovarian cancer cell line. SKOV3 cells treated with cisplatin (5 �M), PEG-coated GNRs, and NIR irradiation for mild hyperthermia (T = 41�43 oC) exhibited higher levels of cytotoxicity relative to individual monotherapies, as determined by cell viability (MTT assay) and by flow cytometry using biomarkers for apoptosis (Annexin-V). Synergistic effects were estimated to be 30�50% higher than the projected additive effect. In vivo experiments were also performed using nude Balb/C mice bearing tumor xenografts grown from implanted SKOV3 cells.  GNRs were administered by tail-vein injection, 24 hours prior to laser irradiation and intratumoral administration of cisplatin. Tumors were heated to 45 oC for 10 min, then monitored for 28 days post-treatment. Those treated with a combination of GNR, laser heating, and cisplatin exhibited significantly lower growth rates relative to controls. The GNR distribution in tumor tissue sections was imaged ex vivo by IR thermography and photoacoustic (PAT) imaging, with a strong correlation in photothermal mapping.

Synergistic effects of cisplatin and photothermally active gold nanorods on ovarian cancer cells

246th National Meeting (2013)

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