Cancer treatment that PUNCHES HOLES in tumours could be latest weapon in war against disease

New treatment uses millions of electric pulses per second to make holes in cancer cells and kill them
Therapy does not damage surrounding healthy tissue
Now experts want to carry out larger clinical trials

By
Rachel Reilly

PUBLISHED:

10:57 EST, 15 April 2013

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UPDATED:

10:57 EST, 15 April 2013

A minimally invasive cancer treatment that punches microscopic holes in tumours â€“ without harming surrounding healthy tissue â€“ could be the latest weapon in the war against cancer.

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) uses millions of electrical pulses per second to kill cancer cells but spare nearby tissue.

â€˜IRE may be especially beneficial in treating liver, lung, pancreatic and other cancers that are close to blood vessels, nerves and other sensitive structures,â€™ said the researchers who conducted the study.

New hope: IRE uses electric pulses to kills tumours at a cellular level

Treatment of cancers near
sensitive sites usually involves surgery and a technique known as
thermoablation, which heats and then freezes the tumour.Â

But this can damage healthy tissue, posing a risk to nearby major blood vessels, nerves, ducts and other vital structures.

The study involved 25 patients who suffered with cancer that had spread to various parts of their body. The average size of the tumour was two centimeters.

IRE was used due to the location of
the lesions â€“ all were near vulnerable sites that would be affected
by thermoablation.Â

Dr Constantinos Sofocleous, an interventional radiologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, completed all 30
treatment sessions with no major complications, showing IRE to be safe
enough for further investigation in larger clinical trials.

Until now, the main method of removing tumours that had spread was by surgery and thermoablation

He presented his findings at the Society of Interventional Radiologyâ€™s 38th Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans.

He said: â€˜The treatment appears to be especially beneficial in people with cancer that has spread and who do not have good treatment options.â€™

IRE involves making an incision the size of a pencil tip and feeding a tiny instrument to target the tumours.Â

Strong electric fields are then generated to create tiny holes in the cancer cell membranes.

This kills them by disrupting the balance of molecules inside and outside the cell.

Because IRE does not generate heat or cold, it stops surrounding cells becoming damaged.

This makes IRE ideal for treating tumors close to tissues that are vulnerable to damage.

By increasing the strength, and duration of the electric pulses, the pores in the cancer cells remain open permanently.

This causes microscopic damage to the cells, and they die.

The combination of minimally invasive surgery and IRE allows for faster recovery with less tissue injury, and it is hoped, a better long-term outcome than with traditional surgery.Â

At a minimum, said Dr Sofocleous, the treatment offers the the patient an improved quality of life.

â€¦ AND NEW ICE THERAPY IS FREEZING OUT CANCERS

A study investigating the effects of cryoablation â€“ the freezing of tumours â€“ in the lungs was also presented at the Society of Interventional Radiologyâ€™s Annual Scientific Meeting.

â€˜Cryoablation has potential as a treatment for cancer that has spread to the lungs from other parts of the body and could prolong the lives of patients who are running out of options,â€™ said David Woodrum ofÂ the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, who helped lead the study.

â€˜We may not be able to cure the cancer, but with cryoablation we can at least slow it down significantly and allow patients to enjoy greater quality of life longer,â€™ he added.

The study involved 22 people who suffered with a total of 36 tumours in their lungs.

After undergoing 27 cryoablation sessions, researchers found that the treatment was 100 per cent successful in killing the tumours after a three month follow-up treatment.

Afte six months, five of the 22 patients still showed no sign of tumour regrowth.Â

The researchers plan to follow the same patients for another four and a half years.

Cryoablation is performed using a small needle-like probe guided through a nick in the skin to cancerous tumours inside the lung.

Once in position, the tip of the instrument is cooled with gas to as low as minus 100 degrees Celsius.Â

The resulting halo of ice crystals can destroy cancer by interrupting its cellular function, protecting nearby healthy, delicate lung tissue.Â

â€˜Most of these patients can go home the day after their treatment and resume their normal activities,â€™ said Woodrum.

â€˜While cryoablation is being developed for the treatment of lung cancer that has spread, the future looks brighter for individuals who once had nowhere else to turn.â€™