Projects / Programmes
Development and validation of treatment planning methods for treating cancer with electroporation based therapies
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 3.04.00 |
Medical sciences |
Oncology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| B200 |
Biomedical sciences |
Cytology, oncology, cancerology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 3.02 |
Medical and Health Sciences |
Clinical medicine |
Electrochemotherapy, irreversible electroporation, liver tumours, treatment planning, validation
Researchers (1)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
30687 |
PhD Bor Kos |
Systems and cybernetics |
Head |
2016 - 2017 |
0 |
Organisations (1)
Abstract
Electroporation based biomedical applications use electroporation, which is achieved by application of high voltage electric pulses to biological cells, as a physical mechanism to modulate the permeability of the cellular membrane. Electrochemotherapy is a treatment modality with local anti-tumour effect based on using electroporation to increase cellular uptake of cytotoxic drugs, such as bleomycin and cisplatin. Irreversible electroporation uses electroporation alone to disrupt the cause cell death.
Both treatment modalities require specialized pulse generators, which are already available on the market. These pulse generators are required to generate short high voltage pulses of up to 3000 V and 50 A in amplitude; pulse duration is typically 100 microseconds. The electric pulses are delivered via needle electrodes which are inserted into and around the target volume to be treated. These needles need to be positioned correctly and adequate voltages need to be applied to them in order to ensure coverage of the target volume with sufficiently strong electric field.
The goal of the proposed project is improving the safety and efficacy of elecrochemotherapy and irreversible electroporation for treatment of deep-seated tumours. We will achieve this goal by improving and validating treatment planning methods for instructing physicians on optimal execution of the electroporation-based treatments. We have previously developed methods for treatment planning and individualized optimization of treatment plans for electroporation based treatments, however those methods are limited in their accuracy by several uncertainties in the input parameters. To address the issue of increasing the availability and acceptance of treatment planning for electroporation based treatments, the existing methods of treatment planning need to be improved in accuracy and robustness.
The proposed project is structured in three work packages. In WP 1 we will support clinical studies which use electrochemotherapy for treatment of deep-seated tumours by preparing patient specific treatment plans; in WP 2, we will perform measurements of critical properties of tissues on ex vivo tissue to improve the scientific knowledge in the area of tissues under the influence of strong electric fields; in WP3, we will improve and validate the numerical patient-specific treatment planning methods to make them more accurate and perform a thorough robustness analysis of the developed treatment planning methods to ensure that they can be executed correctly and that expected and reasonable deviations from the treatment plan do not cause a drop in efficiency of the treatment.
The proposed project is designed to improve, validate and provide a rigorous robustness analysis of treatment planning methods for electrochemotherapy and irreversible electroporation of deep seated tumours. The project will therefore contribute to better acceptance and unification of treatment planning methods in the wider medical community. The technology being developed in the scope of the proposed project will be in many cases the only option for improving the quality of life and extending the life-span of the patients enrolled in the clinical studies. Through the improvements in treatment planning, success rate of the treatments and a wider availability of the treatments, the technology has the potential to reduce costs associated with treatment of patients with tumours or metastases in the liver and other organs.
Reaching the project objectives will result in increased safety and efficacy of electrochemotherapy and irreversible electroporation by reducing the probability of unwanted effects of treatment and improving the treatment outcomes through a better control of the electric field distribution in target tissues.
Significance for science
The research project has significantly advanced the scientific knowledge and methods in the area of treatment planning for electrochemotherapy and irreversible electroporation. The treatment plans for treating liver tumors with electrochemotherapy have contributed to the success of the therapeutic option and to the high quality of the published paper in a respected journal in the area of surgery and oncology. By measuring and analyzing the data during the treatments, we have managed to validate a novel time-domain model of electroporation, which will improve the acceptance of treatment planning for electroporation based treatments and consequently improve the safety and efficacy of electrochemotherapy and irreversible electroporation. Electrochemotherapy is also included into Slovene Recommendations for the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer. The measured dielectric properties of tissues and measurements of voltage and currents during the delivery of electroporation pulses on animal tissues will contribute importantly to the knowledge in the area and also enable the transfer of electroporation-based technologies to other areas of medicine. The improvement and validation of computational models of electroporation for treatment planning will enable the real-time prediction of success of treatment during the treatment delivery, which will further allow for real-time adaptation of the treatment protocol. This is especially important for the most difficult treatment cases and for minimally invasive treatment options, where the treatment is performed in a minimally invasive fashion – percutaneously using image guidance.
Significance for the country
The research project has great importance for the development of Slovenia, by improving the image and involvement of Slovenian scientists in a wider international scientific community in the area. Scientific publications created as a part of this project firmly place Slovenian science in a leading spot in the area of electroporation, which is corroborated by important publications prepared in international cooperation. Apart from scientific excellence, the project has also widely opened the doors for cooperation with industrial partners from Slovenia and abroad, as there is still a lot of untapped potential for efficient, successful and financially very profitable applications of electroporation. Slovenia is thus firmly a global leader in development for modern medical practices. This will also bring important improvements both in the efficacy of the Slovenian health system and in the quality of life of oncologic patients. A lot of care was taken to include students in the work performed in the scope of the project, since two students (a PhD student from Mexico and an MSc student from Slovenia) were involved in the preparation of three publications resulting from this project. This has also resulted in an important contribution to the formation of the next generation of researchers and has additionally confirmed Slovenia as a leading hub for training researchers in the area of electroporation.
Most important scientific results
Interim report,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Interim report,
final report
