The interactions of pulsed electric fields (PEFs) and live cells/organisms have been studied
since the 1980s. PEFs can affect cells and tissues in several ways including modulating the
delivery of molecules, cell stimulation, suppression, damage or induced cell death, as well as
the possibility to selectively target cancer stem cells, depending on the PEF dose and cell
type.
A common biological phenomenon behind these effects is cell membrane permeabilization or electroporation, which has been utilized to aid delivery of small molecules such as ions,
fluorescent dyes, chemotherapeutics and large molecules including DNA, RNA, antibodies,
proteins, etc. Various strategies of PEF technologies for cancer treatment have been
developed to induce tumor regression – tumor treating fields (TTFs) have shown promise in a number of tumor types, most notably in brain tumors, and are readily used clinically. PEF
assisted-drug delivery (electrochemotherapy, ECT) and gene deliveries (gene electrotransfer, GET) have been demonstrably safe and effective cancer therapies in animal models and clinical trials alike. Currently, ECT has been widely used to treat skin and soft tissue tumors as well as deep seeded tumors such as lung, brain, bone, liver, colorectal cancers. GET has been utilized and studied for cancer gene therapy, immunotherapy and cancer vaccines. In addition, several irreversible electroporation (IRE) protocols have been studied for cancer treatment in the form of solid tumor ablation to treat pancreatic, renal, liver, prostate, and brain cancers. Calcium electroporation has also been reported as a method to treat skin cancers, as well as head and neck tumors.
Like any other cancer therapeutic modality, safety and efficacy are essential in terms of PEFs-based technologies for oncology applications. Advances in electrical engineering designs, research tools and elucidation of mechanisms has greatly facilitated the translation of PEFs-based technologies into clinical management. New PEF technologies or protocols, such as high frequency irreversible electroporation (IRE), nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) or nano-pulse stimulation (NPS), and calcium electroporation have each been developed and recently studied in clinical trials to treat cancer.
Noticeably, in addition to local tumor ablation, ECT, GET, IRE, NPS and calcium
electroporation have all been shown to induce an immune response to some extent in animal models or cancer patients. Hence, local tumor treatment with PEFs-based technologies have
been evaluated as an approach to modify the tumor microenvironment to induce a better
response with immunotherapy or other standard therapeutic interventions. Various PEFs-based combination strategies have been developed and some have shown encouraging results. Updates on these advances will stimulate communications and promote research collaborations among engineers, biologists, immunologists and oncologists to be used as part of patient management and contribute to better quality of life and overall survival of cancer patients.
We strongly encourage authors to submit high-quality research articles, reviews, novel case
studies, and perspectives on the following areas:
1. Mechanistic studies demonstrating the regulation of cellular functions, influence on cell
signaling, and modulation of gene expression.
2. Immunological effect of PEFs-based technologies for cancer treatment, including effects
on the the tumor microenvironment
3. Novel and modified engineering designs and enhanced PEF technologies for better
cancer treatment.
4. The demonstration of safety and efficacy of PEFs-based technologies for cancer
treatment in vivo (animal models and clinical trials).
5. Combination therapy with PEF-based technology and immunotherapy, chemotherapy, etc.
Important Note: Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics, computational analysis, or predictions of public databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) will not be accepted in any of the sections of Frontiers in Oncology.
Dr. Siqi Guo previously received grants from Pulse Biosciences. Inc. a publicly traded company in California, USA.
Dr. Richard Heller previously received grants from Pulse Biosciences. Inc. a publicly traded company in California, USA. Dr. Heller also holds patents that have been licensed by Oncosec Medical and Mediated Molecular Delivery. He has stock or stock options from Oncosec Medical, Mediated Molecular Delivery, Inovio Pharmaceuticals and Pulse Biosciences.
The interactions of pulsed electric fields (PEFs) and live cells/organisms have been studied
since the 1980s. PEFs can affect cells and tissues in several ways including modulating the
delivery of molecules, cell stimulation, suppression, damage or induced cell death, as well as
the possibility to selectively target cancer stem cells, depending on the PEF dose and cell
type.
A common biological phenomenon behind these effects is cell membrane permeabilization or electroporation, which has been utilized to aid delivery of small molecules such as ions,
fluorescent dyes, chemotherapeutics and large molecules including DNA, RNA, antibodies,
proteins, etc. Various strategies of PEF technologies for cancer treatment have been
developed to induce tumor regression – tumor treating fields (TTFs) have shown promise in a number of tumor types, most notably in brain tumors, and are readily used clinically. PEF
assisted-drug delivery (electrochemotherapy, ECT) and gene deliveries (gene electrotransfer, GET) have been demonstrably safe and effective cancer therapies in animal models and clinical trials alike. Currently, ECT has been widely used to treat skin and soft tissue tumors as well as deep seeded tumors such as lung, brain, bone, liver, colorectal cancers. GET has been utilized and studied for cancer gene therapy, immunotherapy and cancer vaccines. In addition, several irreversible electroporation (IRE) protocols have been studied for cancer treatment in the form of solid tumor ablation to treat pancreatic, renal, liver, prostate, and brain cancers. Calcium electroporation has also been reported as a method to treat skin cancers, as well as head and neck tumors.
Like any other cancer therapeutic modality, safety and efficacy are essential in terms of PEFs-based technologies for oncology applications. Advances in electrical engineering designs, research tools and elucidation of mechanisms has greatly facilitated the translation of PEFs-based technologies into clinical management. New PEF technologies or protocols, such as high frequency irreversible electroporation (IRE), nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) or nano-pulse stimulation (NPS), and calcium electroporation have each been developed and recently studied in clinical trials to treat cancer.
Noticeably, in addition to local tumor ablation, ECT, GET, IRE, NPS and calcium
electroporation have all been shown to induce an immune response to some extent in animal models or cancer patients. Hence, local tumor treatment with PEFs-based technologies have
been evaluated as an approach to modify the tumor microenvironment to induce a better
response with immunotherapy or other standard therapeutic interventions. Various PEFs-based combination strategies have been developed and some have shown encouraging results. Updates on these advances will stimulate communications and promote research collaborations among engineers, biologists, immunologists and oncologists to be used as part of patient management and contribute to better quality of life and overall survival of cancer patients.
We strongly encourage authors to submit high-quality research articles, reviews, novel case
studies, and perspectives on the following areas:
1. Mechanistic studies demonstrating the regulation of cellular functions, influence on cell
signaling, and modulation of gene expression.
2. Immunological effect of PEFs-based technologies for cancer treatment, including effects
on the the tumor microenvironment
3. Novel and modified engineering designs and enhanced PEF technologies for better
cancer treatment.
4. The demonstration of safety and efficacy of PEFs-based technologies for cancer
treatment in vivo (animal models and clinical trials).
5. Combination therapy with PEF-based technology and immunotherapy, chemotherapy, etc.
Important Note: Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics, computational analysis, or predictions of public databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) will not be accepted in any of the sections of Frontiers in Oncology.
Dr. Siqi Guo previously received grants from Pulse Biosciences. Inc. a publicly traded company in California, USA.
Dr. Richard Heller previously received grants from Pulse Biosciences. Inc. a publicly traded company in California, USA. Dr. Heller also holds patents that have been licensed by Oncosec Medical and Mediated Molecular Delivery. He has stock or stock options from Oncosec Medical, Mediated Molecular Delivery, Inovio Pharmaceuticals and Pulse Biosciences.
