The effect of different drugs on the ablation of subcutaneous insulinoma in nude mice

Abstract Background Endoscopic ultrasound-guided local ablation therapy stands as one of the most important approach for the treatment of insulinomas. We aimed to compare the effects of four drugs (anhydrous ethanol, lauromacrogol, polidocanol, and paclitaxel) as local ablative agents on subcutaneous insulinomas in nude mice. Additionally, we aimed to determine the diffusion rate of these drugs within tumors by utilizing methylene blue as a tracer. Methods Insulinoma cells were inoculated subcutaneously into nude mice, and the successful construction of an animal model of insulinoma was confirmed by testing blood glucose, insulin levels, and transplantation tumor pathology. The tumor-forming nude mice were ablated with different doses of saline, anhydrous ethanol, lauromacrogol, polidocanol and paclitaxel. The tumor necrosis percentages were determined to assess the therapeutic efficacy. Methylene blue was added to the ablative drug solution at a concentration of 10% to follow ablation treatments, and the diffusion rates in tumors were estimated by calculating the diffusion area of the drug. Results The tumor necrosis percentages in each group were paclitaxel: 93.20%, ethanol: 86.51%, polidocanol: 70.48%, lauromacrogol: 34.26%, and saline: 3.29%. The paclitaxel and ethanol group percentages were significantly higher than the rest of the groups, but there was no significant difference between them. In tumors, paclitaxel was the fastest to disperse, followed by ethanol and polidocanol, while lauromacrogol was the slowest. Conclusions Paclitaxel and polidocanol may potentially serve as local ablative agents for the treatment of insulinomas.