THE OPERATION AND EFFICACY OF CRYOSURGICAL, NITROUS OXIDE-DRIVEN CRYOPROBE .1. CRYOPROBE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS - THEIR EFFECTS ON CELL CRYODESTRUCTION
Jp. Homasson et al., THE OPERATION AND EFFICACY OF CRYOSURGICAL, NITROUS OXIDE-DRIVEN CRYOPROBE .1. CRYOPROBE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS - THEIR EFFECTS ON CELL CRYODESTRUCTION, Cryobiology, 31(3), 1994, pp. 290-304
For specification of the requirements for efficient cell cryodestructi
on in tumors, we tested a N2O-driven cryoprobe on experimental models.
The cryoprobe was a 3-mm-diameter type for operation via fiber optic
bronchoscopes in respiratory medicine. The freezing process, namely th
e ''ice-ball'' formation around the cryoprobe tip, was monitored with
an impedancemeter. Physical characteristics and formation kinetics of
the ice-ball formation (volume, diameter, freezing rate) were studied
under defined experimental conditions in various biological liquids, i
ncluding saline, serum, whole blood, and tumor cell suspensions (rat a
scitic hepatoma), either plain or supplemented with gelling agents to
approximate solid tumor consistency. Cell destruction (i.e., cryotoxic
ity to cells) within the ice ball produced in rat ascitic hepatoma was
assessed in two ways: the cells, collected after ice-ball thawing, we
re (1) seeded and cultured according to methods currently in use, or (
2) injected into a rat to check for possible development of ascites. B
oth tests showed that cryotoxicity correlated with freezing rate withi
n the ice ball, cell mortality was total next to the cryoprobe tip (i.
e., site of highest freezing rate), while it was absent within the ice
-ball periphery. In the area in between, mortality varied gradually. T
ogether our experimental results show that cryotoxicity to cells may b
e improved by increasing the freezing rate (e.g., by brief precooling
of the cryoprobe). Furthermore, for tumor cryosurgery, since cell mort
ality is maximal next to the cryoprobe, we point out that higher effic
acy might be achieved by several overlapping short freezing spots in t
umoral tissue, instead of one single prolonged freeze. (C) 1994 Academ
ic Press, Inc.