Published online Jan 14, 2021. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i2.152
Peer-review started: October 14, 2020
First decision: December 3, 2020
Revised: December 15, 2020
Accepted: December 22, 2020
Article in press: December 22, 2020
Published online: January 14, 2021
The infusion of triolein emulsion (TE) induced increased vascular permeability and a negligible and temporary decrease in liver function without specific histopathological damage.
A technique of increased vascular permeability could be used for chemotherapy in hepatic malignancy.
The present study aimed to assess changes in doxorubicin concentration with TE infused via the hepatic artery in rabbit liver.
The TE was infused into each rabbit through a microcatheter via the hepatic artery. Immediately after the infusion of emulsified triolein (group 1, 0.3% TE, n = 13; group 2, 0.6% TE, n = 6; group 3, 0.9% TE, n = 8; group 4, 1.5% TE, n = 6) or saline (group 0), doxorubicin was infused through the same catheter. The concentrations of doxorubicin in the liver and lungs were measured by fluorometry. Two hours after the injection of TE, 100 mg of liver tissue, identified by evans blue staining, was harvested from all rabbits. Doxorubicin concentrations were quantified using a fluorometer. Statistical analysis was performed using the nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test (SPSS version 26.0; IBM Corp., Armonk, United States). P-values of < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
The mean doxorubicin concentrations were 1.66 to 2.16 times higher in the TE groups than in the control group and significantly different in the TE groups (P < 0.05).
TE infusion into the hepatic arteries significantly increased the doxorubicin concentration.
TE infusion might be a useful adjuvant treatment for liver tumors.