Intratumoral Doxycycline for Skin Metastases of Human Malignancies

OKUYAMA, S., MISHINA, H., YOSHIZUMI, A., USUBA, Y. and TAKAHASHI, M. Intratumoral Doxycycline for Skin Metastases of Human Malignancies. Tohoku J. exp. Med., 1987, 151(2), 241-244-As soon as its inducibility of lethality via prompt deprivation of heavy metals and HDL-cholesterol was born out, an intratumoral administration of doxycycline, an anti-prokaryotic agent, was undertaken in 7 patients presenting with skin metastases from a variety of malignancies. Complete remission of these lesions was attained in 6. The histological observation of elongated areas of acellularity along with central vessels appeared to suggest doxycycline-mediated cellular disintegration, resulting in empty tumor cords. Specific tumor selectivity of the treatment can be sustained by the intra-and/or peri-tumoral confinement of the agent. The technique may constitute a novel mode of cancer cell elimination.