Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
J Healthc Eng. 2018 Jul 2;2018:6024635. doi: 10.1155/2018/6024635. eCollection 2018.
Electrochemotherapy is an anticancer treatment based on applying electric field pulses that reduce cell membrane selectivity, allowing chemotherapy drugs to enter the cells. In parallel to electrochemotherapy clinical tests, in silico experiments have helped scientists and clinicians to understand the electric field distribution through anatomically complex regions of the body. In particular, these in silico experiments allow clinicians to predict problems that may arise in treatment effectiveness. The current work presents a metastatic case of a mast cell tumor in a dog. In this specific treatment planning study, we show that using needle electrodes has a possible pitfall. The macroscopic consequence of the electroporation was assessed through a mathematical model of tissue electrical conductivity. Considering the electrical and geometrical characteristics of the case under study, we modeled an ellipsoidal tumor. Initial simulations were based on the European Standard Operating Procedures for electrochemotherapy suggestions, and then different electrodes' arrangements were evaluated. To avoid blind spots, multiple applications are usually required for large tumors, demanding electrode repositioning. An effective treatment electroporates all the tumor cells. Partially and slightly overlapping the areas increases the session's duration but also likely increases the treatment's effectiveness. It is worth noting that for a single application, the needles should not be placed close to the tumor's borders because effectiveness is highly likely to be lost.
电化学疗法是一种基于应用电场脉冲的抗癌治疗方法，这种方法可以降低细胞膜的选择性，使化疗药物进入细胞。在电化学疗法的临床测试的同时，计算机模拟实验帮助科学家和临床医生了解通过身体解剖复杂区域的电场分布。特别是，这些计算机模拟实验允许临床医生预测治疗效果可能出现的问题。本研究介绍了一只狗的肥大细胞瘤的转移病例。在这项特定的治疗计划研究中，我们表明使用针状电极可能存在缺陷。通过组织电导率的数学模型评估了电穿孔的宏观后果。考虑到所研究病例的电气和几何特性，我们对一个椭圆形肿瘤进行了建模。初始模拟基于电化学疗法建议的欧洲标准操作规程，然后评估了不同的电极排列。为了避免盲点，对于大型肿瘤通常需要多次应用，需要重新定位电极。有效的治疗会使所有肿瘤细胞电穿孔。部分和轻微重叠的区域会增加治疗的持续时间，但也可能提高治疗效果。值得注意的是，对于单次应用，针不应放置在靠近肿瘤边界的位置，因为很可能会失去疗效。
