Thermal ablation is widely used in the treatment of lung cancer and is beneficial for the overall survival of patients in clinic. However, there is barely a priority in which ablation system should be chosen under different periods of tumor progression in lung cancer. The present study investigated different modes of thermal ablation systems in mice with transplanted Lewis lung carcinoma tumors and their various biological effects in local regions using untargeted metabolomics. The results showed that thermal ablation could significantly suppress tumor growth and the differentially expressed metabolites of tumors after ablation relative to untreated tumors concentrated on organic compounds, organic acids and derivatives, nucleosides, nucleotides, and lipids. The upregulated metabolites indicated an inflammatory reaction in the ablation groups at an early stage after ablation. Steroid hormone and tryptophan metabolism, which are associated with immune responses, were modulated after both cryoablation and hyperthermal ablation. Characteristically, the results also indicated that cryoablation suppressed glucose oxidation and carbohydrate metabolism of tumor, while hyperthermal ablation suppressed lipid metabolism of tumor. In conclusion, thermal ablation could inhibit tumor growth under either freezing or heating modes with characteristic different biological effects on tumors.
Keywords: Thermal ablation; cryoablation; hyperthermal ablation; lung cancer; metabolomics.