关键词：乳腺癌；辐射损伤；放射治疗；超声细胞
摘 要：Several in vitro studies have demonstrated the non-thermal (< 42 deg C) cell killing effect of pulsed HIFU, which resembles high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation cell damage that is not not affected by the local biochemical environment and shows less radiation resistance. However, there have been no in vivo animal studies performed on non-thermal HIFU using an animal model by comparing it with well-established treatment modalities such as radiation therapy. This project has two aims: (1) to determine if non-thermal HIFU can cause significant tumor growth delays in vivo as compared to radiotherapy using an animal model; and (2) to determine potential normal tissue toxicities, if any, associated with non-thermal HIFU treatment for breast cancer. Extensive phantom studies have been completed to determine suitable ultrasound parameters for the in vivo animal experiments demonstrated significant tumor growth delay by non-thermal HIFU that are comparable to radiotherapy without damage to overlapping tissues, which warrant future feasibility studies to determine optimal HIFU treatment parameters for human treatments and to quantify normal tissue toxicities associated with non-thermal HIFU treatments.