A Review of Basic to Clinical Studies of Irreversible Electroporation Therapy

• Published in: IEEE transactions on biomedical engineering Vol. 62; no. 1; pp. 4 - 20
• Main Authors: Jiang, Chunlan, Davalos, Rafael V., Bischof, John C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States IEEE 01.01.2015; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: animal; Animals; Biomembranes; Cancer; Cell Membrane Permeability - radiation effects; clinical; Electric fields; Electric Stimulation Therapy - methods; Electrochemotherapy - methods; Electrodes; Electromagnetic Fields; Electroporation; enhancement; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Imaging; In vitro; In vitro testing; Injuries; Injury prevention; Irreversible electroporation; Medical research; Medical treatment; Models, Biological; Neoplasms - pathology; Neoplasms - physiopathology; Neoplasms - therapy; Neovascularization, Pathologic - pathology; Neovascularization, Pathologic - physiopathology; Neovascularization, Pathologic - therapy; Permeability; Studies; Therapy; Treatment Outcome; clinical; irreversible electroporation (IRE); enhancement; Animal; in vitro
• ISSN: 0018-9294; 1558-2531; 1558-2531
• DOI: 10.1109/TBME.2014.2367543

The use of irreversible electroporation (IRE) for cancer treatment has increased sharply over the past decade. As a nonthermal therapy, IRE offers several potential benefits over other focal therapies, which include 1) short treatment delivery time, 2) reduced collateral thermal injury, and 3) the ability to treat tumors adjacent to major blood vessels. These advantages have stimulated widespread interest in basic through clinical studies of IRE. For instance, many in vitro and in vivo studies now identify treatment planning protocols (IRE threshold, pulse parameters, etc.), electrode delivery (electrode design, placement, intraoperative imaging methods, etc.), injury evaluation (methods and timing), and treatment efficacy in different cancer models. Therefore, this study reviews the in vitro, translational, and clinical studies of IRE cancer therapy based on major experimental studies particularly within the past decade. Further, this study provides organized data and facts to assist further research, optimization, and clinical applications of IRE.