Combination of Gas Plasma and Radiotherapy Has Immunostimulatory Potential and Additive Toxicity in Murine Melanoma Cells in Vitro

Pasqual-Melo, Gabriella; Sagwal, Sanjeev Kumar; Freund, Eric; Gandhirajan, Rajesh Kumar; Frey, Benjamin; Woedtke, Thomas von; Gaipl, Udo S.; Bekeschus, Sander

doi:10.3390/ijms21041379

Cited by 33 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…It is conceivable that gas plasma treatment may not only be used for tumor patient palliation, but also as adjuvant or neo-adjuvant therapy during radiotherapy or chemotherapy. This way, the tumor cells might be targeted by several mechanisms simultaneously, as we have recently demonstrated experimentally in other types of cancer cells [72][73][74].…”

Section: Clinical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 87%

Medical Gas Plasma Treatment in Head and Neck Cancer—Challenges and Opportunities

et al. 2020

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Despite progress in oncotherapy, cancer is still among the deadliest diseases in the Western world, emphasizing the demand for novel treatment avenues. Cold physical plasma has shown antitumor activity in experimental models of, e.g., glioblastoma, colorectal cancer, breast carcinoma, osteosarcoma, bladder cancer, and melanoma in vitro and in vivo. In addition, clinical case reports have demonstrated that physical plasma reduces the microbial contamination of severely infected tumor wounds and ulcerations, as is often seen with head and neck cancer patients. These antimicrobial and antitumor killing properties make physical plasma a promising tool for the treatment of head and neck cancer. Moreover, this type of cancer is easily accessible from the outside, facilitating the possibility of several rounds of topical gas plasma treatment of the same patient. Gas plasma treatment of head and neck cancer induces diverse effects via the deposition of a plethora of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that mediate redox-biochemical processes, and ultimately, selective cancer cell death. The main advantage of medical gas plasma treatment in oncology is the lack of adverse events and significant side effects compared to other treatment modalities, such as surgical approaches, chemotherapeutics, and radiotherapy, making plasma treatment an attractive strategy for the adjuvant and palliative treatment of head and neck cancer. This review outlines the state of the art and progress in investigating physical plasma as a novel treatment modality in the therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

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Section: Clinical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 87%

Medical Gas Plasma Treatment in Head and Neck Cancer—Challenges and Opportunities

et al. 2020

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“…Already in 2009, a proof-of-concept study suggested additive cytotoxicity of antibody-conjugated gold nanoparticles with plasma treatment against human YD-9 SCC cells in vitro based on results they have obtained with melanoma cells [ 102 ]. Promising results were seen in the combination of plasma therapy with traditional agents in melanoma treatment [ 103 , 104 , 105 ], which warrants further exploration for research on SCC in the future. This might also relate to combining plasma therapy with other physical modalities, such as pulsed electric fields, as recent reports have shown additive toxicity of both treatments in vitro [ 101 , 106 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma Treatment Limits Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Development In Vitro and In Vivo

Pasqual-Melo

Nascimento

Sanches

et al. 2020

Cancers

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Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most prevalent cancer worldwide, increasing the cost of healthcare services and with a high rate of morbidity. Its etiology is linked to chronic ultraviolet (UV) exposure that leads to malignant transformation of keratinocytes. Invasive growth and metastasis are severe consequences of this process. Therapy-resistant and highly aggressive SCC is frequently fatal, exemplifying the need for novel treatment strategies. Cold physical plasma is a partially ionized gas, expelling therapeutic doses of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that were investigated for their anticancer capacity against SCC in vitro and SCC-like lesions in vivo. Using the kINPen argon plasma jet, a selective growth-reducing action of plasma treatment was identified in two SCC cell lines in 2D and 3D cultures. In vivo, plasma treatment limited the progression of UVB-induced SSC-like skin lesions and dermal degeneration without compromising lesional or non-lesional skin. In lesional tissue, this was associated with a decrease in cell proliferation and the antioxidant transcription factor Nrf2 following plasma treatment, while catalase expression was increased. Analysis of skin adjacent to the lesions and determination of global antioxidant parameters confirmed the local but not systemic action of the plasma anticancer therapy in vivo.

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“…Among the different in vitro studies, two ways of increasing an anti-tumor immune response are investigated: i) changing the tumor cells' expression of pro-immunogenic molecules, and ii) stimulating immune cells to differentiate and initiate an immune response [1,106]. Several studies have shown that treatment with directly applied gas plasma [107][108][109] or dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) [110][111][112] can increase the immunogenicity of tumor cells. In particular, the ER-chaperon calreticulin (CRT) is proposed to have a significant impact on the tumor cells' immunogenicity [113].…”

Section: Mechabisms Of Action and Selection Of Suitable Liquidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gas Plasma-Oxidized Liquids for Cancer Treatment: Preclinical Relevance, Immuno-Oncology, and Clinical Obstacles

Freund

Bekeschus

2021

IEEE Trans. Radiat. Plasma Med. Sci.

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Gas plasmas, often referred to as cold physical plasma, are currently being investigated for their potential to serve as anti-cancer agents. Along similar lines, gas plasma-oxidized liquids as a carrier for reactive oxygen species have found their way into pre-clinical research. This review focuses on in vivo studies that utilized such gas plasma-oxidized liquids for cancer therapies. These pre-clinical tumor models, treatment modalities, and types of liquids that were used are summarized and critically discussed. Among these studies, significant results were observed, indicating the potential of oxidative liquids to serve as an anticancer treatment. However, several steps have to be taken to enhance the quality and translational capacities of this approach in order to gain clinical acceptance for possible future cancer therapies. The most crucial steps include not only a careful selection of suitable liquids, with respect to their approval as medical products, but also the consideration of orthotopic and immunocompetent animal tumor models. This would increase the relevance of such studies and simultaneously allow studying the contribution of the most potent of all anti-cancer effectors, the immune system.

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Combination of Gas Plasma and Radiotherapy Has Immunostimulatory Potential and Additive Toxicity in Murine Melanoma Cells in Vitro

Cited by 33 publications

References 66 publications

Medical Gas Plasma Treatment in Head and Neck Cancer—Challenges and Opportunities

Medical Gas Plasma Treatment in Head and Neck Cancer—Challenges and Opportunities

Plasma Treatment Limits Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Development In Vitro and In Vivo

Gas Plasma-Oxidized Liquids for Cancer Treatment: Preclinical Relevance, Immuno-Oncology, and Clinical Obstacles

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