Hydrogen-Generating Magnesium Alloy Seed Strand Sensitizes Solid Tumors to Iodine-125 Brachytherapy.
Hu P, Lin L, Chen G, Liu D, Guo H, Xiao M, Zhong Z, Yang G, Xu B, Huang D, Peng S, Li Y, Zhang Y, Huang T, Zhang F. · Advanced Science. 2025;12:2412263.
What kind of evidence is this?
Preclinical
Controlled cell and animal tumor-model study
Cancer research
Other forms
Positive preclinical signal for the combined device and brachytherapy.
Preclinical tumor, tissue and biomarker outcomes.
Methods at a glance
Tumor cell cultures, mouse xenografts and rabbit liver-tumor models.
Multiple cell and animal experiments; sample sizes were reported by experiment rather than as one consolidated total.
Approximately three to four weeks of local gas generation with model-specific follow-up.
AZ31 magnesium-alloy seed strand combined with iodine-125 brachytherapy.
Local hydrogen generation by a magnesium-alloy implant; not Brown's gas.
Intratumoral H2 was measured as elevated for approximately the first three weeks; the device also changes local magnesium and hydroxide exposure.
Not applicable — implanted seed strand.
No oxygen was co-delivered.
Sham, magnesium-alloy, iodine-125 and combination conditions as reported by model.
Outcomes and reported result
Tumor growth and response, intratumoral hydrogen, histology and safety measures.
The combined magnesium-alloy strand and iodine-125 condition produced greater tumor-control measures than iodine-125 alone in the reported models.
The full article, device characterization, model methods, figures and safety observations were checked.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit. Null findings, outcome type, study design and precision all matter.
Cautions and applicability
Preclinical combined intervention. Hydrogen cannot be separated from magnesium-alloy chemistry or brachytherapy.
The reported cell, mouse and rabbit tumor models.
SYRCLE animal-study tool — preliminary
Some concerns
Multiple model experiments with unclear allocation concealment and outcome-assessor blinding.
Randomization/allocation reporting is limited · Blinding of personnel is unclear · Attrition is incompletely reported in places · Blinding of outcome assessors is unclear · No prospectively registered analysis plan identified
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Certainty is assessed by important outcome across a complete eligible evidence set, not by attaching a final grade to one source.
Sources and record status
PMID: 39656877 · DOI: 10.1002/advs.202412263
Free full article in PubMed Central.
PubMed record and PubMed Central full text; extraction checked 9 August 2026.
2026-08-10