Selective nanoparticle-directed photothermal ablation of the canine prostate

This study adapted AuroLase® Therapy, previously reported for the treatment of brain tumors, to the treatment of prostate disease by 1) using normal canine prostate in vivo, directly injected with a solution of nanoparticles as a proxy for prostate tumor and, 2) developing an appropriate laser dosimetry for prostate which is which is subablative in native prostate while simultaneously producing photothermal coagulation in prostate tissue containing therapeutic nanoshells. Healthy, mixed-breed hound dogs were given surgical laparotomies during which nanoshells were injected directly into one or both prostate hemispheres. Laser energy was delivered percutaneously to the parenchyma of the prostate along 1-5 longitudinal tracts via a liquid-cooled optical fiber catheter terminated with a 1-cm isotropic diffuser after which the incision was closed and sutured using standard surgical techniques. The photothermal lesions were permitted to resolve for up to 8 days, after which each animal was euthanized, necropsied, and the prostate taken for histopathological analysis. We developed a laser dosimetry which is sub- to marginally ablative in native prostate and simultaneously ablative of prostate tissue containing nanoshells which would indicate a viable means of treating tumors of the prostate which are known from other studies to accumulate nanoshells. Secondly, we determined that multiple laser treatments of nanoshell-containing prostate tissue could be accomplished while sparing the urethra and prostate capsule thermal damage. Finally, we determined that the extent of damage zone radii correlate positively with nanoshell concentration, and negatively to the length of time between nanoshell injection and laser treatment.