Abstract

Purpose: Oral cancers are one of the commonly diagnosed tumors worldwide in human and veterinary patients. Most oral cancers are surgically resected; however, obtaining an adequate margin of safety in patients without compromising their quality of life is often challenging. Herein, we investigated the ability of non-invasive focused ultrasound (FUS) to thermally ablate a biopsy confirmed canine oral cancer.

Materials and Methods: A male canine patient with a large neurilemmoma (schwannoma) mass on the left maxilla, with evidence of thinning and loss of alveolar bone and pressure necrosis, was treated with FUS ablation instead of the traditional maxillectomy procedure. FUS ablations were performed in three sessions over three weeks. Tumor remission was determined with computed tomography and histopathological examination of the treated site. Additionally, the anti-tumor immune effects of FUS were assessed by flow cytometry analysis of blood and tumor samples.

Results: Complete tumor remission was noted at the treated site. Treatment related adverse events were primarily thermal burns of the buccal mucosa, which were managed with periodic hyperbaric oxygen therapy and surgical coverage of the underlying exposed bones with gingival flaps. Enhanced proliferation of adaptive immunity cells (e.g., T-cells) was observed in tumor and blood samples.

Conclusion: Our limited investigation in a canine oral cancer patient suggests that FUS may avoid the need for large-scale resection of bony tissues, thus potentially improving quality of life.

 抽象的

目的：口腔癌是全世界人类和兽医患者中常见的肿瘤之一。大多数口腔癌可以通过手术切除；然而，在不影响患者生活质量的情况下获得足够的安全边际通常具有挑战性。在此，我们研究了非侵入性聚焦超声 (FUS) 热消融活检证实的犬口腔癌的能力。

材料和方法：一名雄性犬患者左侧上颌骨有一个大的神经鞘瘤（神经鞘瘤）肿块，有牙槽骨变薄、丢失和压力性坏死的证据，接受 FUS 消融治疗，而不是传统的上颌骨切除术。 FUS 消融在三周内分三次进行。通过计算机断层扫描和治疗部位的组织病理学检查确定肿瘤缓解。此外，通过血液和肿瘤样本的流式细胞术分析评估了 FUS 的抗肿瘤免疫作用。

结果：治疗部位的肿瘤完全缓解。治疗相关的不良事件主要是颊粘膜的热烧伤，可通过定期高压氧治疗和用牙龈瓣手术覆盖下方暴露的骨头来治疗。在肿瘤和血液样本中观察到适应性免疫细胞（例如 T 细胞）增殖增强。

结论：我们对犬口腔癌患者的有限调查表明，FUS 可以避免大规模切除骨组织的需要，从而有可能改善生活质量。