PROLIFERATION OF TUMOR SPHEROIDS AFTER SHOCK-WAVE TREATMENT

Multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) grown from the bladder cancer cel l line RT112 and from the prostate cancer cell line PCA were exposed t o 200 or 800 electromagnetically generated focused ultrasound shock wa ves. RT112 cells showed a distinct but transient decrease in prolifera tion whereas the effect of PCA cells was less pronounced. Flow-cytomet ric measurements of DNA content and Ki67 expression revealed no signif icant changes in the cell cycle distribution. The capacity of RT112 ce lls exposed to 800 shock waves to re-grow as MCTS was markedly decreas ed, indicating an alteration of intercellular adhesion.