Treatment of Adenocarcinoma of the Liver with Mitomycin, Hyaluronidase, and Ethanol: An Experimental Study in the Rat

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of intratumorally injected ethanol, mitomycin, mitomycin with hyaluronidase, and hyaluronidase on tumor growth in an experimental model. Methods: A suspension of 1 × 106 cells of chemically induced adenocarcinoma was implanted into the liver of 52 rats. Seven days later the rats were divided into groups according to treatment and injected via a midline laparotomy with ethanol, mitomycin, mitomycin with hyaluronidase, or hyaluronidase. A control group was treated with saline. The rats were killed 7 days after treatment. The tumor growth ratio was calculated, and the results compared for the different groups. Wilcoxon's rank sum test was used for statistical evaluation. Results: The tumor growth ratio was significantly reduced after injection of mitomycin (p < 0.01) but not after ethanol. Hyaluronidase alone did not reduce the tumor growth ratio and had no synergetic effect with mitomycin. Conclusion: In an animal model intratumoral treatment of adenocarcinoma of the liver with mitomycin was significantly more efficient than similar treatment with saline or ethanol.