Gold Nanorod-Assisted Photothermal Therapy Decreases Bleeding during Breast Cancer Surgery in Dogs and Cats

Abstract

For localized tumors, gold nanorod (AuNR)-assisted plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT) is a potentially effective alternative to traditional surgery, in which AuNRs absorb near-infrared light and convert it to heat in order to kill cancer cells. However, for large tumors (volume ≥ 20 cm3), an uneven distribution of AuNRs might cause inhomogeneity of the heat distribution inside the tumor. Surgery is frequently recommended for removing large tumors, but it is associated with a high risk of cancer recurrence and metastasis. Here, we applied PPTT before surgery, which showed improved treatment for large tumors. We divided the animals (eight cats/dogs) into two groups: Group I (control), where three cases were solely treated with surgery, laser, or AuNRs alone, resulting in recurrence and metastasis; and Group II, where animals were treated with PPTT before surgery. In Group II, four out of the five cases had tumor regression without any recurrence or metastasis. Interestingly, we observed that applying PPTT before surgery displayed reduced bleeding during tumor removal, supported by histopathology that showed altered blood vessels. In conclusion, our study showed that applying AuNR-assisted PPTT (AuNRs-PPTT) before surgery could significantly affect blood vessels inside the tumor, leading to a decreased amount of bleeding during surgery, which can potentially decrease the risk of metastasis and blood loss during surgery.

The implication of autoantibodies in early diagnosis and monitoring of plasmonic photothermal therapy in the treatment of feline mammary carcinoma

“…El-Sayed; Laser Dynamics Laboratory, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. In the TS group, the mastectomy operations were performed as previously described 17 . Mastectomy operations were conducted by members of the surgery, anesthesiology, and radiology department of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University.…”

The Implication of Autoantibodies in Early Diagnosis and Monitoring of Plasmonic Photothermal Therapy in the Treatment of Feline Mammary Carcinoma

“…El-Sayed; Laser Dynamics Laboratory, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. In the TS group, the mastectomy operations were performed as previously described [18]. ) and maintained by ketamine HCl [19].…”

Optimization of Nonspherical Gold Nanoparticles for Photothermal Therapy

“…Therefore, they can easily penetrate a tumor upon systemic delivery and can be easily conjugated to cancer cells. Based on the above-mentioned properties, gold nanoparticles can be used as an effective therapeutic agent for the photothermal therapy (PTT) of cancer [1][2][3][4]. The enhancement of the light absorption ability of gold nanoparticles reduces the dosage of gold, shortens the illumination time, and decreases the damage of healthy cells.…”