Ultrasound effect on cancerous versus non-cancerous cells

Aharon Azagury, Eliz Amar-Lewis, Yana Yudilevitch, Carol Isaacson, Brenda Laster, Joseph Kost

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Previous studies have found that cancer cells whose metastatic potential is low are more vulnerable to mechanical stress-induced trauma to their cytoskeleton compared with benign cells. Because ultrasound induces mechanical stresses on cells and tissues, it is postulated that there may be a way to apply ultrasound to tumors to reduce their ability to metastasize. The difference between low-malignant-potential cancer cells and benign cells could be a result of their different responses to the mechanical stress insonation induced. This hypothesis was tested in vitro and in vivo. Low-malignant-potential cells were found to be more sensitive to insonation, resulting in a significantly higher mortality rate compared with that of benign cells, 89% versus 21%, respectively. This effect can be controlled by varying ultrasound parameters: intensity, duration, and duty cycle. Thus, the results presented in this study suggest the application of ultrasound to discriminate between benign and malignant cells.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1560-1567
Number of pages8
JournalUltrasound in Medicine and Biology
Volume42
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jul 2016

Keywords

  • Cancer cells
  • Cancer treatment strategy
  • In vivo experiments
  • Ultrasound
  • Ultrasound effect on biological membrane

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biophysics
  • Radiological and Ultrasound Technology
  • Acoustics and Ultrasonics

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