Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is a non-thermal phototherapy used in several medical applications, including wound healing, reduction of pain and amelioration of oral mucositis. Nevertheless, the effects of LLLT upon cancer or dysplastic cells have been so far poorly studied. Here we report that the effects of laser irradiation on anaplastic thyroid cancer cells leads to hyperplasia. 650nm of laser diode was performed with a different time interval (0, 15, 30, 60J/cm² , 25mW) on anaplastic thyroid cancer cell line FRO in vivo. FRO was orthotopically injected into the thyroid gland of nude mice and the irradiation was performed with the same method described previously. After irradiation, the xenograft evaluation was followed for one month. The thyroid tissues from sacrificed mice were undergone to H&E staining and immunohistochemical staining with HIF-1α, Akt, TGF-β1. We found the aggressive proliferation of FRO on thyroid gland with dose dependent. In case of 60 J/ cm² of energy density, the necrotic bodies were found in a center of the thyroid. The phosphorylation of HIF-1α and Akt was detected in the thyroid gland, which explained the survival signaling of anaplastic cancer cell was turned on the thyroid gland. Furthermore, TGF-β1 expression was decreased after irradiation. In this study, we demonstrated that insufficient energy density irradiation occurred the decreasing of TGF-β1 which corresponding to the phosphorylation of Akt/ HIF-1α. This aggressive proliferation resulted to the hypoxic condition of tissue for angiogenesis. We suggest that LLLT may influence to cancer aggressiveness associated with a decrease in TGF-β1 and increase in Akt/HIF-1α.

Date Published: 26 February 2015
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 9303, Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics XI, 930323 (26 February 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2078847

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9303:
Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics XI
Hyun Wook Kang; Brian J. F. Wong M.D.; Melissa C. Skala; Bernard Choi; Guillermo J. Tearney M.D.; Andreas Mandelis; Nikiforos Kollias; Kenton W. Gregory M.D.; Mark W. Dewhirst D.V.M.; Justus F. Ilgner M.D.; Alfred Nuttal; Haishan Zeng; Laura Marcu; Claus-Peter Richter, Editor(s)