Percutaneous ethanol injection is an established management of nonresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) because of its high effectiveness and minimal invasiveness. However, ethanol has many disadvantages like less anti-tumoral necrotic effectivity, unequal permeation and local diffusion. The aim of this study is to compare hepatic tissue effects of percutaneous Ankaferd Blood Stopper (ABS) injection in comparison to ethanol in rat liver tissue.

Twenty-one healthy rats were randomly divided into three groups, each containing seven animals. Group I received 0.1cm³ percutaneous injection of isotonic saline, group II received 0.1cm³ ethanol, and group III received 0.1cm³ ABS. At the 5th day, the livers were dissected. Macroscopic and histopathological features of the liver lesions were documented.

All the rats in the group I and II lived during study period; one rat died in the ABS group. Macroscopic pale yellow coloration was observed within 2minutes in both ethanol and ABS groups. Necrosis was observed in both Group II and III. The necrosis volumes of the ABS group (volume: 1475.00±697.16cm³) were significantly higher than the ethanol group (volume: 60.714±26.277cm³) (P=0.002). In the histopathological analyses of the liver tissues, aggregated erythrocytes in sinusoidal spaces and bile duct proliferation have been detected in ABS group.

ABS may be considered as a possible percutaneous treatment in HCC instead of or as an alternative to ethanol. With its unique hemostatic actions and the safety profile, ABS can be considered as a useful novel agent for the percutaneous therapy of HCC instead of ethanol in the future.