Abstract :
Objective: Electroporation (EP) is a relatively new modality in cancer treatment with promising outcomes. EP has shown
significant efficacy in different domain of cancer treatment as independent or in combination with conventional techniques.
The main objective of this study was to comprehensively review applications of EP for cancer treatment as an adjunctive or
alternative treatment. The main focus of the review is radiosensitizing effect of EP.
Methods: The databases of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, Web of Science, Biomed central, Science Direct, and
Google scholar were searched using the set terms. The search key words based on the MeSH heading included
"electroporation" OR "electrochemotherapy" AND "irradiation" OR "radiosensitizing". The obtained results were screened
for the title and abstract by two authors and the relevant papers were reviewed for further details.
Results: The main fields of EP applications in cancer treatment are targeted drug delivery, electrochemotherapy, and
radiotherapy. One of the main applications of EP is radiosensitizing effect of different cancerous cell lines to chemotherapy
and radiotherapy. A single session EP (consisting a train of pulses or even single pulse) before radiotherapy can
significantly enhance the tumor response. Moreover, EP enhances efficacy of different chemotherapeutic agents. The main
reason of these phenomena is inducing radiosensitivity to ionizing radiation and sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents. In
addition, enhancing the production of reactive oxygen species has been reported as the main mechanism of action of
enhancing treatment efficacy. This combined treatment modality was effective in different cell lines with variety range of
radiosensitivity.
Conclusion: EP alone or in combination with other agent including gold nanoparticles can enhance the efficacy of
radiotherapy and also the chemotherapy. Further studies are needed to develop more efficient EP protocols and also
combined treatments. The current evidence shows we can expect EP based techniques can be translated into the clinic
setting.
Keyword :
electroporation, cancer treatment, radiosensitizing effect