Destructive effects of therapeutic ultrasound and goldnanoparticles on a breast carcinoma tumor model inBALB/c mice

Background: acoustic cavitation which occurs at high intensities ofultrasound waves can be fatal for tumor cells; however, it can be used todestroy cancer cells as an efficient therapeutic method. on the other hand, itis known that the existence of nanoparticles in a liquid decreases the acousticcavitation onset threshold. materials and methods: in this work, the combinedeffects of therapeutic ultrasound and gold nanoparticles (gnps) on a breastcarcinoma tumour model in balb/c mice were studied. the tumour-bearingmice were divided into 4 groups (1) control, (2) gnps, (3) ultrasound aloneand (4) ultrasound in the presence of gnps. in groups 2 and 4, gnps wereinjected into tumours. therapeutic effects on tumours were evaluated bymeasuring relative tumour volume (rtv), doubling time (t2) and 5-foldingtime (t5) for tumours volume. results: the t5 showed a significant differencebetween ultrasound in the presence of gnps group and the other groups. themaximum t2 and t5 were found in the ultrasound in the presence of gnpsgroup. conclusion: combined effects of ultrasound and gnps can be used as amethod for increasing the therapeutic efficiency on tumor cells.