Ling Rui, Li Yu, Yao Qing, Chen Tao, Zhu Desheng, Jun Yi, Chen Jianghao
Department of Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China.
J Drug Target. 2005 Feb;13(2):137-42. doi: 10.1080/10611860400027725.
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the potential of lymphatic chemotherapy in inducing apoptosis in axillary lymph node metastases in a rabbit breast cancer model. A total of 30 female New Zealand rabbits with mammary implantation of VX2 carcinomas were divided into three groups randomly, with ten in each. Treatment was carried out once axillary lymph node reached 5 mm in the maximum diameter. Group A received a subcutaneous injection of liposomal adriamycin (LADR) adjacent to the breast tumor. Group B received free adriamycin (FADR) administered into the auricular vein. Group C received a sham treatment. The dose of adriamycin in each administration was 1 mg/kg in groups A and B. Treatment was repeated every 48 h. Axillary lymph nodes were dissected out 48 h after the third treatment. The nodal sizes before and after the treatment were measured. The therapeutic effect was evaluated in terms of the node volume ratio and apoptotic index (AI) of metastatic cells in nodes identified with TUNEL technique. The significance of difference was determined with one-way ANOVA followed by the Fischer LSD test. Compared to group C, the enlargement of lymph nodes was sufficiently slowed down in both groups A and B, and group A showed a further strong inhibitory effect than group B (P = 0.002). Apparent VX2 cell apoptosis was detected in the lymph nodes of groups A and B. The average AI in group B (15.31%) was significantly higher than in group C (5.16%). The highest AI was found in animals of group A (21.73%), with a further significant difference from group B (P = 0.000). These data suggest that lymphatic chemotherapy appears to be a promising method to induce apoptosis in lymph node metastases
本研究的目的是评估在兔乳腺癌模型中，淋巴化疗诱导腋窝淋巴结转移灶细胞凋亡的潜力。总共30只植入VX2癌的雌性新西兰兔被随机分为三组，每组10只。当腋窝淋巴结最大直径达到5mm时开始治疗。A组在乳腺肿瘤旁皮下注射脂质体阿霉素（LADR）。B组经耳静脉注射游离阿霉素（FADR）。C组接受假治疗。A组和B组每次给药时阿霉素的剂量均为1mg/kg。每48小时重复治疗一次。第三次治疗后48小时取出腋窝淋巴结。测量治疗前后淋巴结大小。根据TUNEL技术鉴定的转移细胞的淋巴结体积比和凋亡指数（AI）评估治疗效果。采用单因素方差分析和Fischer LSD检验确定差异的显著性。与C组相比，A组和B组淋巴结的增大均得到充分减缓，且A组的抑制作用比B组更强（P = 0.002）。在A组和B组的淋巴结中均检测到明显的VX2细胞凋亡。B组的平均AI（15.31%）显著高于C组（5.16%）。A组动物的AI最高（21.73%），与B组有进一步的显著差异（P = 0.000）。这些数据表明，淋巴化疗似乎是诱导淋巴结转移灶细胞凋亡的一种有前景的方法。
