Evaluating the echogenicity of ethyl cellulose-ethanol gel for tracking biodistribution during liver ablation
Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. While surgery and liver transplantation are curative treatments for HCC, many tumors are unresectable due to co-morbidities or advanced stage. Ethanol ablation is an established alternative ablative th...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11336-9 |
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| author | Jeffrey Yang Xihan Ma Andrew S. Mikhail William F. Pritchard Bradford J. Wood Haichong K. Zhang Jenna L. Mueller |
| author_facet | Jeffrey Yang Xihan Ma Andrew S. Mikhail William F. Pritchard Bradford J. Wood Haichong K. Zhang Jenna L. Mueller |
| author_sort | Jeffrey Yang |
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| description | Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. While surgery and liver transplantation are curative treatments for HCC, many tumors are unresectable due to co-morbidities or advanced stage. Ethanol ablation is an established alternative ablative therapy for HCC that is typically paired with ultrasound imaging to visualize tumors and enable precise ethanol delivery. However, ethanol has the propensity to leak from the injection site and is not inherently echogenic, making biodistribution difficult to monitor. To address these limitations, we added ethyl cellulose (EC) with ethanol to form a gel that improves ethanol retention and generates an echogenic depot in tissue. We performed studies in tissue phantoms and liver tissue to characterize the acoustic profile of the EC-ethanol depots. Studies in phantoms showed that the EC-ethanol depots were 1.5x more echogenic when EC-ethanol ratios increased from 6 to 12% (p < 0.001). EC-ethanol depots in excised liver tissue and in swine liver post-mortem were acoustically discernable and generated 4 cm2 depots, which are of clinically relevant size for HCC treatment. In summary, this study established the echogenic properties of EC-ethanol for spatiotemporal analysis of injectate distribution, demonstrating its translational potential for tracking biodistribution during liver ablation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6c6d49085f4e4352b3a1b52ec73aaedd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-6c6d49085f4e4352b3a1b52ec73aaedd2025-08-20T04:01:52ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111210.1038/s41598-025-11336-9Evaluating the echogenicity of ethyl cellulose-ethanol gel for tracking biodistribution during liver ablationJeffrey Yang0Xihan Ma1Andrew S. Mikhail2William F. Pritchard3Bradford J. Wood4Haichong K. Zhang5Jenna L. Mueller6Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of MarylandDepartment of Robotics Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic InstituteCenter for Interventional Oncology, Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Clinical Center, National Institutes of HealthCenter for Interventional Oncology, Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Clinical Center, National Institutes of HealthCenter for Interventional Oncology, Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Clinical Center, National Institutes of HealthDepartment of Robotics Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic InstituteFischell Department of Bioengineering, University of MarylandAbstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. While surgery and liver transplantation are curative treatments for HCC, many tumors are unresectable due to co-morbidities or advanced stage. Ethanol ablation is an established alternative ablative therapy for HCC that is typically paired with ultrasound imaging to visualize tumors and enable precise ethanol delivery. However, ethanol has the propensity to leak from the injection site and is not inherently echogenic, making biodistribution difficult to monitor. To address these limitations, we added ethyl cellulose (EC) with ethanol to form a gel that improves ethanol retention and generates an echogenic depot in tissue. We performed studies in tissue phantoms and liver tissue to characterize the acoustic profile of the EC-ethanol depots. Studies in phantoms showed that the EC-ethanol depots were 1.5x more echogenic when EC-ethanol ratios increased from 6 to 12% (p < 0.001). EC-ethanol depots in excised liver tissue and in swine liver post-mortem were acoustically discernable and generated 4 cm2 depots, which are of clinically relevant size for HCC treatment. In summary, this study established the echogenic properties of EC-ethanol for spatiotemporal analysis of injectate distribution, demonstrating its translational potential for tracking biodistribution during liver ablation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11336-9Ethanol ablationEthyl celluloseLiver ablationUltrasound imagingUltrasound image segmentation |
| spellingShingle | Jeffrey Yang Xihan Ma Andrew S. Mikhail William F. Pritchard Bradford J. Wood Haichong K. Zhang Jenna L. Mueller Evaluating the echogenicity of ethyl cellulose-ethanol gel for tracking biodistribution during liver ablation Scientific Reports Ethanol ablation Ethyl cellulose Liver ablation Ultrasound imaging Ultrasound image segmentation |
| title | Evaluating the echogenicity of ethyl cellulose-ethanol gel for tracking biodistribution during liver ablation |
| title_full | Evaluating the echogenicity of ethyl cellulose-ethanol gel for tracking biodistribution during liver ablation |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the echogenicity of ethyl cellulose-ethanol gel for tracking biodistribution during liver ablation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the echogenicity of ethyl cellulose-ethanol gel for tracking biodistribution during liver ablation |
| title_short | Evaluating the echogenicity of ethyl cellulose-ethanol gel for tracking biodistribution during liver ablation |
| title_sort | evaluating the echogenicity of ethyl cellulose ethanol gel for tracking biodistribution during liver ablation |
| topic | Ethanol ablation Ethyl cellulose Liver ablation Ultrasound imaging Ultrasound image segmentation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11336-9 |
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