Animal models for treatment of unresectable liver tumours: a histopathologic and ultra-structural study of cellular toxic changes after electrochemical treatment in rat and dog liver

Introduction: Electrochemical treatment (EChT) has been taken under serious consideration as being one of several techniques for local treatment of malignancies. The advantage of EChT is the minimal invasive approach and the absence of serious side effects. Macroscopic, histopathological and ultra-structural findings in liver following a four-electrode configuration (dog) and a two-electrode EChT design (dog and rat) were studied. Materials and methods: 30 female Sprague–Dawley rats and four female beagle dogs were studied with EChT using Platinum:Iridium electrodes and the delivered dose was 5, 10 or 90 C (As). After EChT, the animals were euthanized. Results: The distribution of the lesions was predictable, irrespective of dose and electrode configuration. Destruction volumes were found to fit into a logarithmic curve (dose–response). Histopathological examination confirmed a spherical (rat) and cylindrical/ellipsoidal (dog) lesion. The type of necrosis differed due to electrode polarity. Ultra-structural analysis showed distinct features of cell damage depending on the distance from the electrode. Histopathological and ultra-structural examination demonstrated that the liver tissue close to the border of the lesion displayed a normal morphology. Conclusions: The in vivo dose-planning model is reliable, even in species with larger tissue mass such as dogs. A multi-electrode EChT-design could obtain predictable lesions. The cellular toxicity following EChT is clearly identified and varies with the distance from the electrode and polarity. The distinct border between the lesion and normal tissue suggests that EChT in a clinical setting for the treatment of liver tumours can give a reliable destruction margin.