1. Electrolytic ablation enables cancer cell targeting through pH modulation.
- Author
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Perkons NR, Stein EJ, Nwaezeapu C, Wildenberg JC, Saleh K, Itkin-Ofer R, Ackerman D, Soulen MC, Hunt SJ, Nadolski GJ, and Gade TP
- Abstract
Minimally invasive ablation strategies enable locoregional treatment of tumors. One such strategy, electrolytic ablation, functions through the local delivery of direct current without thermal effects, facilitating enhanced precision. However, the clinical application of electrolytic ablation is limited by an incompletely characterized mechanism of action. Here we show that acid and base production at the electrodes precipitates local pH changes causing the rapid cell death that underlies macroscopic tumor necrosis at pH > 10.6 or < 4.8. The extent of cell death can be modulated by altering the local buffering capacity and antioxidant availability. These data demonstrate that electrolytic ablation is distinguished from other ablation strategies via its ability to induce cellular necrosis by directly altering the tumor microenvironment. These findings may enable further development of electrolytic ablation as a curative therapy for primary, early stage tumors., Competing Interests: Patent 2016/0317212 relevant to this work was issued to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania on 11/3/2016. The authors declare no competing interests. more...
- Published
- 2018
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