Hepatogastroenterology

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To study the effect of high intensity focused ultrasound on vascular endothelial growth factor and microvessel density in the rabbit VX-2 hepatocellular carcinoma models. METHODOLOGY: Rabbit VX-2 hepatocellular carcinoma models were built by implanting VX-2 tumor cells into the hepatic left lobes of 40 rabbits. After that, the rabbits were randomly divided into four groups: the control group (n=10), the postoperative one-day group (n=10), the postoperative three-day group (n=10) and the postoperative seven-day group (n=10). The expression of VEGF and the MVD in the HCC tissues were observed and measured by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: After the HIFU treatment, the MVD and the expression of VEGF in the HCC tissues in the postoperative one-day group and post-operative three-day group decreased significantly as compared with the sham-HIFU group (p0.05), while the two groups MVD and the expression of VEGF were different with those of the postoperative seven-day group (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: HIFU causes damage to the microvessels in the HCC tissues, effectively inhibits angiogenesis and reduces blood supply in these tissues.