Electroporation Therapy for Tumor Margin Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cancer treatment methods, such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, often result in the removal or damage of healthy tissue surrounding tumors, leading to disfigurement, loss of function, and high recurrence rates of cancer.
Innovation Solution
The use of electroporation therapy (EPT) in conjunction with anticancer agents like Bleomycin, which involves applying electroporative pulses to tissues surrounding tumors to increase drug uptake and reduce tumor size, while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surgery is used to remove tumors and margin tissue, then tumor removal effectiveness is improved, but healthy tissue damage and disfigurement increase
Solution Approach 1:
The treatment is divided into two distinct phases: first, surgical resection of the visible tumor mass; second, electroporation therapy applied specifically to the margin tissue to eliminate microscopic residual cancer cells. This segmentation allows each method to address specific aspects of tumor elimination without the need for extensive margin resection.
Solution Approach 2:
Electroporation serves as an intermediary mechanism between surgical removal and complete cancer elimination. It creates transient pores in cell membranes through electrical pulses, enabling selective delivery of anticancer agents into margin tissue cells without causing widespread tissue damage, thus bridging the gap between effective treatment and tissue preservation.
2Reliability
If radiation and chemotherapy are applied after surgery, then recurrence rate is reduced, but overall treatment complexity and side effects increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the need for post-surgical radiation and chemotherapy by introducing electroporation therapy as a standalone adjuvant treatment. The electroporation process directly targets and destroys residual cancer cells in margin tissue through physical membrane permeabilization and drug delivery, replacing the need for complex multi-modal treatment protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the biochemical mechanisms of radiation and chemotherapy with a physical electroporation mechanism. Electrical pulses create transient pores in cell membranes, enabling controlled delivery of anticancer agents directly into target cells through physical rather than chemical or radiological processes, simplifying the treatment approach.
3Reliability
If extensive margin resection is performed, then cancer elimination is improved, but loss of tissue function and disfigurement increase
Solution Approach 1:
The electroporation therapy is applied locally and selectively to the margin tissue surrounding the tumor site, rather than removing extensive amounts of healthy tissue. The electrical pulses and anticancer agents are confined to the treated area through controlled electrode placement, achieving cancer elimination in margin tissue while preserving the function of surrounding healthy structures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
EPT effectively reduces the recurrence rates of cancer by targeting and eliminating cancer cells in the tumor margin tissues, preserving healthy tissue and reducing the need for extensive surgical resections and secondary treatments.
Implementation Method 1
providing to the cells of said tissue both an electroporating pulse of electric energy and a medicament
Data Source
AI summary
This invention concerns treating apparently normal tissue surrounding sites of cancerous tumors so as to reduce both the probability of a recurrence of cancer at and near the site of a cancerous tissue, and to reduce the amount of apparently healthy tissue that is usually excised along with the tumor, thereby providing a substantial benefit to the cancer patient by eliminating or delaying tumor recurrence and sparing normal tissue for its functionality and for avoiding unnecessary disfigurement.