Naked DNA injection for liver metastases treatment in rats

The cytosine deaminase (CD) gene converts the nontoxic prodrug, 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC), into 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). We previously showed that injection of CD-bearing cancer cells followed by 5-FC treatment can act as an autologous tumor vaccine in a syngenic liver metastasis model in rats. In the present work, we analyzed the antitumor efficiency of a direct intratumoral injection of a CD-expressing plasmid. In rats bearing microscopic or macroscopic metastases in right and left liver lobes, an injection of a CD-expressing plasmid was performed in the left lobe tumor, followed by 5-FC treatment of the animals. A significant regression of the DNA-injected tumor was observed in 5-FC-treated rats, both in microscopic (P =.007) or advanced (P <.0001) tumor models. Moreover, this treatment also induced a potent distant bystander effect on untreated controlateral liver tumors and extrahepatic metastases, resulting in an increased survival compared with control animals in both tumor models (P <.05). In conclusion, these data suggest that direct intratumoral injection of a CD-expressing plasmid, associated to 5-FC administration, can constitute a powerful and innocuous alternative treatment for unresectable liver metastases from colon carcinoma.