Suppression of murine melanoma growth with a combination of microwave hyperthermia and local injection of interleukin 2

Experimental approaches for the treatment of murine B16 melanomas of various sizes. II: Injection of ethanol with combinations of beta-interferon and microwaval hyperthermia for B16 melanomas with a size of greater than 10 mm in diameter

Although ethanol injection in combination with microwaval hyperthermia and systemic administration of interleukin-2 was found to be very effective in suppressing the growth of B16 melanoma nodules with a size of less than 7 mm in diameter in our previous experiments, the growth of B16 melanomas with a size of greater than 10 mm in diameter was very difficult to control with any of the therapeutic modalities examined. In subsequent experiments, we investigated whether ethanol injection (150 microliters/injection) in combination with local injection of beta-interferon (2 x 10(4) IU/injection) and local microwaval hyperthermia at 43 degrees C for 15 min was able to suppress the growth of melanoma nodules and to prolong survival times of melanoma-burdened mice. The results were that we successfully suppressed the growth of melanoma nodules of that size for the first time with combinations of the therapeutic modalities described above. Infiltration of immunocompetent cells such as T lymphocytes and NK cells was clearly observed in the melanoma tissues treated with the therapeutic combination. These experimental results should be applied to the treatment of human melanomas in advanced stages which have no indications for surgical operation.

Experimental approaches for the treatment of murine B16 melanomas of various sizes. I: Local injection of ethanol with a combination of interleukin-2 or microwaval hyperthermia for B16 melanomas with a size of less than 7 mm in diameter

The effects of local absolute ethanol injection combined with administration of interleukin-2 (IL-2) or microwaval hyperthermia in murine B16 melanomas with a size of approximately 7 mm in diameter were investigated. The groups of melanoma-burdened mice treated with both local ethanol injection and local or intra-abdominal administration of IL-2 showed clear suppression of any recurrence of melanoma once the melanomas had been destroyed by ethanol injection and a concomitant prolongation of the survival times. Also, local injection of ethanol in combination with local microwaval hyperthermia at 43 degrees C for 15 min twice a week caused complete cures in B16 melanomas with a size of less than 7 mm in diameter. The infiltrations of T lymphocytes and NK cells were augmented in the melanomas treated with ethanol injection and local injection of IL-2. However, the melanomas treated with ethanol injection and intra-abdominal injection of IL-2 hardly showed any infiltration of such immune cells, although the growth of melanomas was effectively suppressed. In the case of treatment with ethanol and hyperthermia, slight infiltration of NK cells was observed in the melanoma nests as well as in the interstitials. Thus, the direct injection of absolute ethanol in combination with IL-2 or microwaval hyperthermia is effective or even curative in the treatment of murine B16 melanomas with a size of less than 7 mm in diameter.

In vitro comparison between mouse B16 and human melanoma cell lines of the expression of ICAM-1 induced by cytokines and/or hyperthermia

The expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in mouse B16 and human melanoma cell lines was investigated by indirect immunofluorescence using a FACScan analyzer. Mouse B16 melanoma cell lines (B16-F1 and F10) did not express ICAM-1 under ordinary culture conditions. Neither in vitro hyperthermia at 41 degrees C for 3 or 6 hr nor cytokines such as gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) or tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) induced ICAM-1 expression in B16 melanoma cell lines. A combination of IFN-gamma with TNF-alpha caused slight induction of ICAM-1 expression in the B16-F10 melanoma cell line. Hyperthermia at 41 degrees C for 3 hr in combination with the cytokines induced a slight expression of ICAM-1 in the B16-F1 melanoma cell line. Hyperthermia at 41 degrees C for 3 hr or 6 hr did not induce de novo ICAM-1 expression but hyperthermia at 43 degrees C for 6 hr caused rather suppression of the expression of ICAM-1 in the three human melanoma cell lines tested. In contrast, they showed a clear increase in the expression of ICAM-1 after treatment with either with IFN-gamma or TNF-alpha, and the expression was further augmented by a combination of the two cytokines. Treatment with cytokines in combination with hyperthermia at 41 degrees C or 43 degrees C for 3 hr did not augment the expression of ICAM-1 over that in cytokine-treated human melanoma cell lines, at normal temperatures. Thus, it is concluded that mouse B16-F1 and F10 melanoma cell lines are different from human melanoma cell lines in terms of induction of ICAM-1 expression by cytokines and/or hyperthermia.

Kinetics of immunological parameters in patients with malignant melanoma treated with hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion

Kinetics of immunological parameters such as natural killer (NK) cell activity and tritium-thymidine uptake rate of T lymphocytes by phytohemagglutinin stimulation were investigated using peripheral leukocyte fractions of melanoma patients treated with hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion (HILP). Also, serum concentrations of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) were quantified during and after HILP. It was found that NK cell activity was augmented during HILP, and T lymphocyte function was stimulated 24 h and 1 week after HILP with statistical significance. NK cell activities in the cells isolated from perfused and non-perfused circulations were equally augmented during HILP in two patients examined. Serum concentrations of sICAM-1 in the patients who received HILP also increased 24 h or even 1 week after HILP. The stimulation of these immune competent cells and upregulation of sICAM-1 by HILP were independent of the stages of melanoma patients at the time of HILP or the doses of agents which were used for the infusion during HILP. The origin of cells which shed sICAM-1 into the serum of the patients who received HILP remains to be further investigated.

Rapid destruction of murine and human melanomas by local injection of absolute ethanol: augmentation of the anti-proliferative effects with a combination of biological response modifiers

Percutaneous injection of absolute ethanol was found to cause rapid destruction of murine and human melanoma nodules. It took only 24-48 hr after the ethanol injection to form ulcers or scars on the lesions. Massive necrosis of murine and human melanoma nests and interstitials and infiltration of mononuclear cells into the demaged tissue were observed histopathologically after ethanol injection. The melanomas recurred approximately 1 week after the destruction of the melanoma nodules by ethanol. Biological response modifiers such as levamisole or interleukin (IL)-2 were effective in preventing the recurrence of murine melanoma after ethanol injection. IL-2 injection caused massive infiltration of NK cells, T cells, and macrophages into the damaged melanoma tissue. The therapeutic modality of a combination of ethanol and IL-2 injections could definitely be useful for the local treatment of human metastatic melanoma, but other modalities such as local hyperthermia or radiation should be considered in combination to attain a permanent cure.

Differential cell- and immuno-biological properties of murine B16-F1 and F10 melanomas: oncogene c-fos expression, sensitivity to LAK cells and/or IL-2, and components of gangliosides

Differential cell- and immuno-biological properties of two murine melanoma B16 variants, B16-F1 and F10, were investigated. Studies focused on the expression of proto-oncogene c-fos, sensitivities to LAK cells and/or IL-2, and modulation of the expression of ganglioside components after treatment with IL-2. Proto-oncogene c-fos was found to be highly expressed in F10 lines by an in situ hybridization technique and also in F10 lung metastatic nests by immunofluorescent staining with anti-c-fos antibody. F1 melanomas were more sensitive to local injection of IL-2. F10 melanomas hardly responded to IL-2 treatment, but successive injections of a combination of LAK cells and IL-2 did cause prolongation of survival rates, even of F10 melanoma-burdened mice. A major component of gangliosides of both F1 and F10 melanomas was GM3. Production of GM3 in F10 melanomas treated with IL-2 for 4 days increased, and, if the treatment was continued for 7 days, minor components of gangliosides, such as GM2, GM1, and GD1a, appeared only in F1 melanomas, while the increase of production of GM3 disappeared in both melanomas. These experimental results may provide clues for additional mechanisms which allow these two murine melanoma variants to show different implantation and metastasis rates.