Local tumor therapy using focused ultrasonic waves may become an important treatment option. This technique exploits the ability of mechanical waves to induce thermal and nonthermal effects noninvasively. The cytotoxicity to cultured cells and biological tissues in vivo that results from exposure to ultrasonic shock waves is considered to be a nonthermal effect that is partly a consequence of ultrasound-induced cavitation. Cavitation is defined as the formation of bubbles during the negative wave cycle; their subsequent oscillation and/or violent implosion can affect surrounding structures. To investigate cavitational effects in cells and tissues, defined cavitation doses must be applied while ideally holding all other potential ultrasound parameters constant. The application of independent cavitation doses has been difficult and has yielded little knowledge about quantitative cavitation-tissue interactions. By using a special shock-wave pulse regimen and laser optical calibration in this study, we were able to control the cavitation dose independently of other physical parameters such as the pressure amplitudes, and averaged acoustic intensity. We treated Dunning prostate tumors (subline R3327-AT1) transplanted into Copenhagen rats with shock waves at three cavitation dose levels and then determined the tumor growth delay and the histopathological changes. All of the treated animals exhibited a significant tumor growth delay compared to the controls. Higher cavitation doses were associated with a greater delay in the growth of the tumor and more severe effects on tumor histopathology, such as hemorrhaging, tissue disruption, and necrosis. In vitro, the cavitation dose level correlated with the amount of radical formation. We concluded that the process of acoustic cavitation was responsible; higher cavitation doses caused greater effects in tumors both in vivo and in vitro. These findings may prove important in local tumor therapy and other applications of ultrasound such as ultrasound-mediated drug delivery.