Pulsed High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Therapy Enhances Targeted Delivery of Cetuximab to Colon Cancer Xenograft Model in Mice

Abstract Our aim was to evaluate whether pulsed high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy enhances the effect of an epidermal growth factor receptor–targeted chemotherapeutic drug, cetuximab, in treating human colon cancer xenografts in a mouse model. Balb/c nude mice with subcutaneous xenografts of HT-29 cells were randomly categorized into control (n = 9), pulsed HIFU alone (n = 10), cetuximab monotherapy (n = 8) or combined pulsed HIFU and cetuximab therapy (n = 9) group. Cetuximab, pulsed HIFU therapy, or both were administered three times per week starting from day 8 after tumor cell injection. Based on tumor growth curves up to 34 days, the combination therapy group showed more suppressed tumor growth than all other groups ( p