Treating brain tumors, like glioblastoma, is challenging. Current glioblastoma drugs, Rapamycin and Temozolomide (TMZ), generally only extend life for a matter of months, are not very effective in treating recurring tumors, and have significant clinical toxicity. A novel Plasma Discharge Tube (PDT) device has the potential to be more effective and less toxic. PDT may be used alone or may be used to enhance the efficacy of drugs. GW inventors previously developed a cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) therapy, which is in human trials for treating areas around surgically removed tumors to kill any cancer cells missed. PDT improves on the traditional CAP by enabling non-invasive treatment rather than requiring direct contact between the target tissue and the cold plasma.
The operation of a plasma discharge tube is similar to a fluorescent light bulb. PDT generates an electromagnetic field (EMF) by plasma irradiation and then projects that field onto target cells. In vitro studies of cells exposed to EMF from CAP showed reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA damage, and apoptosis result in selective death of cancer cells and synergy with TMZ. In vivo studies showed that PDT treatment when combined to TMZ, can drastically improve mean survival days of tumor-barrier mice by more than 100% compared to control.
Figure: PDT drastically improves the survival rate of tumor-bearing mice (Yao et al., ACS Applied Bio Materials 2022)
Yao et al. Cold Plasma Discharge Tube Enhances Antitumoral Efficacy of Temozolomide. ACS Applied Bio Materials 2022 (PMID: 35324138)
Yan et al. The anti‑glioblastoma effect of cold atmospheric plasma treatment: physical pathway v.s. chemical pathway. Sci Rep 2020 (PMID: 32678153)
Yan et al. A Physically Triggered Cell Death via Transbarrier Cold Atmospheric Plasma Cancer Treatment. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2020 (PMID: 32648738)
Yao et al. Sensitization of glioblastoma cells to temozolomide by a helium gas discharge tube. Physics of Plasmas 2020 (https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0017913)