Irreversible electroporation in the eradication of rabbit VX2 cervical tumors

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of irreversible electroporation (IRE) on the eradication of rabbit VX2 cervical tumors. A VX2 cervical cancer model was first made in 20 New Zealand rabbits. IRE ablation was performed for the cervical cancers of 15 rabbits when the diameter of the tumor was about 1.0–1.5 cm. The control group (n = 5) did not receive IRE ablation. The gross pathology, ultrasound, computed tomography, hematoxylin and eosin, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunohistochemical staining were performed to evaluate the efficacy of IRE on cervical cancer. All the rabbits tolerated the IRE ablation without serious complications. The tumors treated by IRE slightly increased in size during the first two days, but decreased gradually. IRE caused tumor cell death efficiently, mainly through cell apoptosis; however, it did not induce complete tumor ablation in our study. The results suggested that IRE could eradicate rabbit VX2 cervical tumors efficiently. However, the optimal IRE parameters remain to be determined.