In vitro and in vivo evaluation and a case report of intense nanosecond pulsed electric field as a local therapy for human malignancies

• Published in: International journal of cancer Vol. 121; no. 3; pp. 675 - 682
• Main Authors: Garon, Edward B., Sawcer, David, Vernier, P. Thomas, Tang, Tao, Sun, Yinghua, Marcu, Laura, Gundersen, Martin A., Koeffler, H. Phillip
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.08.2007; Wiley-Liss
• Subjects: Animals; basal cell carcinoma; Biological and medical sciences; Carcinoma, Basal Cell - therapy; Cell Line, Tumor; Electric Stimulation Therapy - methods; Female; Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen; Hematologic Neoplasms - therapy; Humans; Liver. Biliary tract. Portal circulation. Exocrine pancreas; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Nude; nanoelectropulse therapy; Neoplasm Transplantation; Neoplasms - therapy; pancreatic cancer; Pancreatic Neoplasms - therapy; Skin Neoplasms - therapy; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Tumors; Human; Skin disease; Basal cell carcinoma; nanoelectropulse therapy; Malignancy; Malignant tumor; In vitro; Case study; In vivo; pancreatic cancer; Cancerology; Electric field; Treatment; Pancreas cancer; Pulsed field; Digestive diseases; Pancreatic disease
• ISSN: 0020-7136; 1097-0215
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.22723

When delivered to cells, very short duration, high electric field pulses (nanoelectropulses) induce primarily intracellular events. We present evidence that this emerging modality may have a role as a local cancer therapy. Five hematologic and 16 solid tumor cell lines were pulsed in vitro. Hematologic cells proved particularly sensitive to nanoelectropulses, with more than a 60% decrease in viable cells measured by MTT assay 96 hr after pulsing in 4 of 5 cell lines. In solid tumor cell lines, 10 out of 16 cell lines had more than a 10% decrease in viable cells. AsPC‐1, a pancreatic cancer cell line, demonstrated the greatest in vitro sensitivity among solid tumor cell lines, with a 64% decrease in viable cells. When nanoelectropulse therapy was applied to AsPC‐1 tumors in athymic nude mice, responses were seen in 4 of 6 tumors, including clinical complete responses in 3 of 6 animals. A single human subject applied nanoelectropulse therapy to his own basal cell carcinoma and had a complete pathologic response. In summary, we demonstrate that electric pulses 20 ns or less kill a wide variety of human cancer cells in vitro, induce tumor regression in vivo, and show efficacy in a single human patient. Therefore, nanoelectropulse therapy deserves further study as a potentially effective cancer therapy. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.