Tumor ablation with nanosecond pulsed electric fields

Liver cancer is one of the most malignant cancers. It is reported that 600 000 patients died from liver cancer every year. [1,2] Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a particular problem because symptoms are not evident until the disease has progressed and hepatitis B, which is prominent specific regions of Asia, is a common precursor of the disease. There are many liver cancer

Percutaneous local tumor ablation vs. stereotactic body radiotherapy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Percutaneous local tumor ablation(LTA)and stereotactic body radiotherapy(SBRT)have been regarded as viable treatments for early-stage lung cancer patients.The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of LTA with SBRT for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods:PubMed,Embase,Cochrane library,Ovid,Google scholar,CNKI,and CBMdisc were searched to identify potential eligible studies comparing the efficacy and safety of LTA with SBRT for early-stage NSCLC published between January 1,1991,and May 31,2021.Hazard ratios(HRs)or odds ratios(ORs)with 95%confidence intervals(CIs)were applied to estimate the effect size for overall survival(OS),progression-free survival(PFS),locoregional progression(LP),and adverse events.Results:Five studies with 22,231 patients were enrolled,including 1443 patients in the LTA group and 20,788 patients in the SBRT group.The results showed that SBRT was not superior to LTA for OS(HR=1.03,95%CI:0.87-1.22,P=0.71).Similar results were observed for PFS(HR=1.09,95%CI:0.71-1.67,P=0.71)and LP(HR=0.66,95%CI:0.25-1.77,P=0.70).Subgroup analysis showed that the pooled HR for OS favored SBRT in patients with tumors sized>2 cm(HR=1.32,95%CI:1.14-1.53,P=0.0003),whereas there was no significant difference in patients with tumors sized≤2 cm(HR=0.93,95%CI:0.64-1.35,P=0.70).Moreover,no significant differences were observed for the incidence of severe adverse events(≥grade 3)(OR=1.95,95%CI:0.63-6.07,P=0.25)between the LTA group and SBRT group.Conclusions:Compared with SBRT,LTA appears to have similar OS,PFS,and LP.However,for tumors>2 cm,SBRT is superior to LTA in OS.Prospective randomized controlled trials are required to determine such findings.

Photothermal scaffolds/surfaces for regulation of cell behaviors

Regulation of cell behaviors and even cell fates is of great significance in diverse biomedical applications such as cancer treatment,cell-based therapy,and tissue engineering.During the past decades,diverse methods have been developed to regulate cell behaviors such as applying external stimuli,delivering exogenous molecules into cell interior and changing the physicochemical properties of the substrates where cells adhere.Photothermal scaffolds/surfaces refer to a kind of materials embedded or coated with photothermal agents that can absorb light with proper wavelength(usually in near infrared region)and convert light energy to heat;the generated heat shows great potential for regulation of cell behaviors in different ways.In the current review,we summarize the recent research progress,especially over the past decade,of using photothermal scaffolds/surfaces to regulate cell behaviors,which could be further categorized into three types:(i)killing the tumor cells via hyperthermia or thermal ablation,(ii)engineering cells by intracellular delivery of exogenous molecules via photothermal poration of cell membranes,and(iii)releasing a single cell or an intact cell sheet via modulation of surface physicochemical properties in response to heat.In the end,challenges and perspectives in these areas are commented.