Treatment of Murine Cutaneous Melanoma with Near Infrared Light¶

Abstract

Treatment of cutaneous melanoma (M-3 and B16-F10 implanted in mice) with rapidly-scanned, tightly-focused near infrared light elicits selective destruction of tumor tissue. A single laser treatment yielded complete eradication in >90% of B16-F10 tumors with thicknesses of approximately 3 mm; amelanotic M-3 tumors proved less responsive (ca 25% clearance rate). In addition to local tumor destruction, laser treatment of B16-F10 tumors in immunocompetent mice stimulated enhanced cytokine levels (interleukin-2 and interleukin-10) within treated tumor tissues and rejection of tumor cells upon a subsequent challenge dose. Such an antitumor immune response may lead to improved outcomes at both the treatment site and at sites of distant metastasis.

Non-Thermal Effects of Near-Infrared Irradiation on Melanoma

“…NIR irradiation induces strand breaks and apoptosis (Tirlapur & König, 2001) as well as cell death of cancer cells and bone marrow cells (Tanaka et al, 2010b(Tanaka et al, , 2011b. NIR irradiation is used as a therapeutic option in the treatment of wound healing disorders (Danno et al, 2001;Horwitz et al, 1999;Schramm et al, 2003) and malignant tumors (Bäumler et al, 1999;Dees et al, 2002;Kelleher et al, 1999;Orenstein et al, 1999). While NIR irradiation appears to damage tumor tissue, it has also been shown to reduce cellular protein damage produced by biological oxidants in normal cells (Kujawa et al, 2004).…”

“…Actively proliferating cells show increased sensitivity to red and IR irradiation (Karu et al, 1994;Tafur & Mills, 2008). IR irradiation alone appears to induce DNA strand breaks and apoptosis (Tirlapur & König, 2001), which elicits photodisruptive destruction of tumor tissue (Dees et al, 2002). While IR irradiation appears to damage tumor tissue, it has also been shown to reduce cellular protein damage produced by biological oxidants in normal cells (Kujawa et al, 2004).…”

“…disorders (Danno et al, 2001;Horwitz et al, 1999;Schramm et al, 2003) and malignant tumors (Bäumler et al, 1999;Kelleher et al, 1999;Dees et al, 2002;Orenstein et al, 1999). Despite the widespread therapeutic potential of NIR, the mechanisms responsible for the therapeutic actions of photobiomodulation with NIR have not been elucidated in detail.…”

The Necessity of Near-Infrared Protection

“…NIR can stimulate wound healing [8][9][10] and treat malignant tumors [11][12][13][14]. NIR can also achieve skin rejuvenation and skin tightening [7], induce long-lasting vasodilation that is beneficial for ischemic disorders [3,5], and relax and weaken dystonic and hypertrophic muscles to reduce wrinkles and myalgia [3,5].…”

Non‐thermal DNA damage of cancer cells using near‐infrared irradiation

“…(12,13) It appears that NIR irradiation induces DNA strand breaks and cell death by apoptosis, (14) and can elicit photodisruptive destruction of tumor tissue. (15) However, in-depth studies to date have not explored the optimal NIR wavelength that is most effective for treating cancer.…”