Campana L G, Cesari M, Dughiero F, Forzan M, Rastrelli M, Rossi C R, Sieni E, Tosi A L
Sarcoma and Melanoma Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV IRCCS, Via Gattamelata, 64, 35128, Padua, Italy.
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Gradenigo, 6/a, 35131, Padua, Italy.
Med Biol Eng Comput. 2016 May;54(5):773-87. doi: 10.1007/s11517-015-1368-6. Epub 2015 Sep 1.
This paper presents a study about electrical resistance, which using fixed electrode geometry could be correlated to the tissue resistivity, of different histological types of human soft tissue sarcomas measured during electroporation. The same voltage pulse sequence was applied to the tumor mass shortly after surgical resection by means of a voltage pulse generator currently used in clinical practice for electrochemotherapy that uses reversible electroporation. The voltage pulses were applied by means of a standard hexagonal electrode composed by seven, 20-mm-long equispaced needles. Irrespective of tumor size, the electrode applies electric pulses to the same volume of tissue. The resistance value was computed from the voltage and current recorded by the pulse generator, and it was correlated with the histological characteristics of the tumor tissue which was assessed by a dedicated pathologist. Some differences in resistance values, which could be correlated to a difference in tissue resistivity, were noticed according to sarcoma histotype. Lipomatous tumors (i.e., those rich in adipose tissue) displayed the highest resistance values (up to 1700 Ω), whereas in the other soft tissue sarcomas, such as those originating from muscle, nerve sheath, or fibrous tissue, the electrical resistance measured was between 40 and 110 Ω. A variability in resistance was found also within the same histotype. Among lipomatous tumors, the presence of myxoid tissue between adipocytes reduced the electrical resistance (e.g., 50-100 Ω). This work represents the first step in order to explore the difference in tissue electrical properties of STS. These results may be used to verify whether tuning electric field intensity according to the specific STS histotype could improve tissue electroporation and ultimately treatment efficacy.
本文介绍了一项关于电阻的研究，该研究利用固定电极几何形状与组织电阻率相关，测量了在电穿孔过程中不同组织学类型的人类软组织肉瘤。在手术切除后不久，通过目前临床实践中用于电化学疗法（采用可逆电穿孔）的电压脉冲发生器，将相同的电压脉冲序列施加到肿瘤块上。电压脉冲通过由七根20毫米长等间距针组成的标准六边形电极施加。无论肿瘤大小如何，电极都对相同体积的组织施加电脉冲。电阻值由脉冲发生器记录的电压和电流计算得出，并与由专门病理学家评估的肿瘤组织的组织学特征相关。根据肉瘤组织学类型，注意到电阻值存在一些差异，这些差异可能与组织电阻率的差异相关。脂肪瘤性肿瘤（即富含脂肪组织的肿瘤）显示出最高的电阻值（高达1700Ω），而在其他软组织肉瘤中，如起源于肌肉、神经鞘或纤维组织的肉瘤，测量的电阻在40至110Ω之间。在同一组织学类型内也发现了电阻的变异性。在脂肪瘤性肿瘤中，脂肪细胞之间存在黏液样组织会降低电阻（例如50 - 100Ω）。这项工作是探索软组织肉瘤组织电学特性差异的第一步。这些结果可用于验证根据特定的软组织肉瘤组织学类型调整电场强度是否可以改善组织电穿孔并最终提高治疗效果。
