Effects of a high-voltage electrical impulse and an anticancer drug on in vivo growing tumors.

Application of a high-voltage electrical impulse (5 kV/cm, 2 msec) after bleomycin administration resulted in a significant size decrease of subcutaneously inoculated AH-109A hepatocellular carcinoma in Donryu rats. The tumor size decreased to an average of 17% of the initial mass 4 days after the treatment. Neither the high-voltage electrical impulse nor bleomycin administration alone showed an inhibitory effect on the tumor growth. It was concluded that the concomitant use of a high-voltage electrical impulse and an anticancer drug has the potential to be applicable for cancer treatment.