Bart Geboers, Hester J Scheffer, Philip M Graybill, Alette H Ruarus, Sanne Nieuwenhuizen, Robbert S Puijk, Petrousjka M van den Tol, Rafael V Davalos, Boris Rubinsky, Tanja D de Gruijl, Damijan Miklavčič, Martijn R Meijerink
This review summarizes the use of high-voltage electrical pulses (HVEPs) in clinical oncology to treat solid tumors with irreversible electroporation (IRE) and electrochemotherapy (ECT). HVEPs increase the membrane permeability of cells, a phenomenon known as electroporation. Unlike alternative ablative therapies, electroporation does not affect the structural integrity of surrounding tissue, thereby enabling tumors in the vicinity of vital structures to be treated. IRE uses HVEPs to cause cell death by inducing membrane disruption, and it is primarily used as a radical ablative therapy in the treatment of soft-tissue tumors in the liver, kidney, prostate, and pancreas...
May 2020: Radiology