Exploitation of the novel therapy for the drug-resistant liver cancer using ultrasonic energy

When the multidrug resistance gene is frequently induced during the chemotherapy of cancer, it is a significant obstacle to successful treatment. In the present study, it has been shown that combination with chemotherapeutic agents and ultrasound (US) causes a synergistic enhancement in killing multidrug-resistant cancer cells, including hepatoma cells. Although the mechanism of the enhanced cytotoxicity using US has not been fully clarified, the possibility exists that increased uptake of drugs is caused by US and enhanced sensitivity to US is related to increased membrane rigidity in the multidrug resistant phenotype.