Nanosecond pulsed electric fields cause melanomas to self-destruct
AssigneesEastern Virginia Medical School, Old Dominion University Research Foundation
InventorsRichard Nuccitelli, Stephen J. Beebe, Karl H. Schoenbach
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Abstract
Methods for a new, drug-free therapy for treating solid skin tumors through the application of nanosecond pulsed electric fields (“nsPEFs”) are provided. In one embodiment of the invention, the cells are melanoma cells, and the applied nsPEFs penetrate into the interior of tumor cells and cause tumor cell nuclei to rapidly shrink and tumor blood flow to stop. This new technique provides a highly localized targeting of tumor cells with only minor effects on overlying skin.
Claims14
A method for selectively initiating apoptosis in melanoma cells in a tissue comprising:
- coating a skin tissue overlying melanoma cells with a composition that reduces flashover during pulse field application;
- and
- applying at least 100 nsPEFs to said tissue comprising melanoma cells, wherein each nsPEF has a pulse duration of at least about 10 nanoseconds and no more than about 1 microsecond and an electric field pulse strength of at least about 20 kV/cm and no more than about 350 kV/cm.
A method for inhibiting blood flow in a tissue comprising melanoma cells comprising:
- coating a skin tissue overlying melanoma cells with a composition that reduces flashover during pulse field application;
- and
- applying at least 100 nsPEFs to said tissue, wherein each nsPEF has a pulse duration of at least about 10 nanoseconds and no more than about 1 microsecond and an electric field pulse strength of at least about 20 kV/cm and no more than about 350 kV/cm.
A method for inducing tumor regression comprising;
- coating a skin tissue overlying melanoma cells with a composition that reduces flashover during pulse field application;
- and
- applying at least 100 nsPEFs to said tumor of melanoma cell origin, wherein each nsPEF has a pulse duration of at least about 10 nanoseconds and no more than about 1 microsecond and an electric field pulse strength of at least about 20 kV/cm and no more than about 350 kV/cm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.