EVALUATION OF LOCAL AND IMMUNOLOGIC EFFECTS OF BORON NEUTRON CAPTURE THERAPY (BNCT) COMBINED WITH BACILLUS CALMETTE-GUERIN (BCG) IN AN ECTOPIC COLON CANCER MODEL

VERÓNICA A. TRIVILLIN,; YANINA LANGLE ; ANA MARIA EIJAN; LUCAS L. COLOMBO ; EMILIANO C.C. POZZI ; SILVIA I. THORP, ; MÓNICA A. PALMIERI, ; DEBORA N. BENITEZ FRYDRYK, ; MARCELA A. GARABALINO, ; ANDREA MONTI HUGHES, ; PAULA CUROTTO,, ; IARA S. SANTA CRUZ,; PAULA RAMOS ; M.E. ITOIZ ; AMANDA E. SCHWINT,

Congreso; Reunion Anual de Sociedades de Biomediciencia; 2019

BNCT combines selective tumor uptake of 10B compounds and neutron irradiation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the local therapeutic efficacy, abscopal effect and cytotoxicity of BNCT combined with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) as immunotherapy in the BDIX rat ectopic colon cancer model. BDIX rats were inoculated with syngeneic colon cancer cells in the right hind flank. Four weeks post-inoculation the tumor bearing rats were treated, i.e. BNCT-group: BNCT mediated by borono-phenyl-alanine (BPA) at RA-3 Nuclear Reactor; BNCT+BCG-group: BNCT+three intratumoral applications of BCG; BCG-group: BCG only; Beam only-group (BO-group): irradiated without BPA; BO+BCG-group; Sham-group: same manipulation, no treatment. Two weeks post-BNCT, colon cancer cells were inoculated in the contralateral left hind flank to assess abscopal effect. Tumor volume was measured in both legs weekly. Seven weeks post-BNCT the animals were euthanized, samples were taken for histology and proximal lymph nodes were evaluated. A cytotoxicity test was carried out with splenocytes and colon tumor cells. BNCT, BCG and BNCT+BCG groups exhibited significantly greater local tumor response and abscopal effect vs Sham-group (p