The effect of a hyaluronan-carboxymethylcellulose membrane vs. polyglactin 910 mesh on intra-abdominal tumor formation in mice

PURPOSE: Hyaluronan mediates growth of SW620 colon cancer cells. Because hyaluronan is the active ingredient in Seprafilm®, we hypothesized that Seprafilm® would affect intraperitoneal tumor growth in a mouse model of peritoneal seeding. METHODS: Immunodeficient mice underwent laparotomy and intraperitoneal inoculation of 10⁵ SW620 cells. Seprafilm® (n = 22), Vicryl mesh (foreign body control; n = 24), or no material (sham; n = 19) was placed under the incision. Mice were killed after four weeks and tumors were dissected, counted, and weighed. RESULTS: Ninety-five percent of mice in the sham group and 96 percent in the Vicryl group developed intraperitoneal tumors. In contrast, only 64 percent of mice in the Seprafilm® group developed tumors (P = 0.024), and these tumors were smaller than those in the sham group; (Seprafilm® = 42 ± 9 mg vs. sham = 82 ± 17 mg; P = 0.05). In contrast, tumors in the Vicryl group were dramatically larger (349 ± 49 mg; P < 0.001 vs. sham or Seprafilm®). CONCLUSIONS: Despite previous data that suggested that hyaluronan increases colon cancer cell growth, we found that Seprafilm® decreased tumor formation and tended to decrease size in this model. In contrast, Vicryl mesh increased tumor formation and size. Our results suggest that Seprafilm® does not promote intraperitoneal tumor growth, especially compared with Vicryl mesh.