An expandable stainless steel stent was formulated for use in the treatment of tracheobronchial stenosis, tracheomalacia, and airway collapse following tracheal reconstruction. The stents were placed through an endotracheal tube into the trachea and bronchi of 11 healthy dogs. The stents expanded over time, substantially increasing the diameter of the lumen. Slight migration occasionally occurred, while an inflammatory reaction was noted in each animal. The stents were successfully used in the treatment of two cancer patients to dilate a postoperative bronchial stenosis that caused pneumonia and to support a tracheal graft that collapsed with respiration. Because of the stent migration in experimental studies, designs are being tested to develop stents with greater stability. These stents may be effective in overcoming stenosis caused by scarring, extrinsic compression, and collapse of reconstructed tracheobronchial structures.
The dynamics of blood circulation in three experimental animal models of hepatic metastasis were investigated with in vivo microscopy. It was demonstrated that the tumor vasculature communicated with the portal venules and hepatic sinusoids that surrounded the tumors. The hepatic artery was not seen to connect to the tumors directly. However, it was demonstrated that arterial blood entered tumors through the portal venules and that the hepatic arterial flow entered the tumor without resistance, while blood from the portal vein met great resistance at the tumor border, with only small amounts entering the tumor. Interruption of either the hepatic artery or the portal vein did not result in cessation of the blood circulation in hepatic tumors. A reciprocal relationship between the hepatic arterial and portal venous supplies to hepatic tumors was suggested, and it was hypothesized that arterioportal communications play an important role in the arterial and portal venous supply of blood to hepatic tumors. A comprehensive understanding of the blood supply of hepatic tumors is important for improving clinical treatment of hepatic tumors.
Purpose
This study was designed to investigate the intratumoral uptake of hollow gold nanospheres (HAuNS) after hepatic intra-arterial (IA) and intravenous (IV) injection in a liver tumor model.
Materials and Methods
Fifteen VX2 tumor-bearing rabbits were randomized into five groups (N=3 in each group) that received either IV 64Cu-labeled PEG-HAuNS (IV-PEG-HAuNS), IA 64Cu-labeled PEG-HAuNS (IA-PEG-HAuNS), IV cyclic peptide (RGD)-conjugated 64Cu-labeled PEG-HAuNS (IV-RGD-PEG-HAuNS), IA RGD-conjugated 64Cu-labeled PEG-HAuNS (IA-RGD-PEG-HAuNS), or IA 64Cu-labeled PEG-HAuNS with lipiodol (IA-PEG-HAuNS-lipiodol). The animals underwent PET/CT 1 hour after injection, and uptake expressed as percentage of injected dose per gram of tissue (%ID/g) was measured in tumor and major organs. The animals were euthanized 24 hours after injection, and tissues were evaluated for radioactivity.
Results
At 1 hour after injection, animals in the IA-PEG-HAuNS-lipiodol group showed significantly higher tumor uptake (P < 0.001) and higher ratios of tumor-to-normal liver uptake (P < 0.001) than those in all other groups. The biodistribution of radioactivity 24 hours after injection showed that IA delivery of PEG-HAuNS with lipiodol resulted in the highest tumor uptake (0.33 %ID/g; P < 0.001) and tumor-to-normal liver ratio (P < 0.001) among all delivery methods. At 24 hours, the IA-RGD-PEG-HAuNS group showed higher tumor uptake than the IA-PEG-HAuNS group (0.20 %ID/g vs. 0.099 %ID/g; P < 0.001).
Conclusion
Adding iodized oil to IA-PEG-HAuNS maximizes nanoparticle delivery to hepatic tumors and therefore may be useful in targeted chemotherapy and photoablative therapy. PET/CT can be used to noninvasively monitor the biodistribution of radiolabeled HAuNS after IV or IA injection.
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