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Author: Bekeschus, Sander × Author: Emmert, Steffen × Author: Seebauer, Christian × End date: 2024 × Start date: 2020 × Has files: Yes ×

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Plasma medical oncology: Immunological interpretation of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
    (Hoboken, NJ : Wiley Interscience, 2020) Witzke, Katharina; Seebauer, Christian; Jesse, Katja; Kwiatek, Elisa; Berner, Julia; Semmler, Marie‐Luise; Boeckmann, Lars; Emmert, Steffen; Weltmann, Klaus‐Dieter; Metelmann, Hans‐Robert; Bekeschus, Sander
    The prognosis of patients suffering from advanced-stage head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains poor. Medical gas plasma therapy receives growing attention as a novel anticancer modality. Our recent prospective observational study on HNSCC patients suffering from contaminated tumor ulcerations without lasting remission after first-line anticancer therapy showed remarkable efficacy of gas plasma treatment, with the ulcerated tumor surface decreasing by up to 80%. However, tumor growth relapsed, and this biphasic response may be a consequence of immunological and molecular changes in the tumor microenvironment that could be caused by (a) immunosuppression, (b) tumor cell adaption, (c) loss of microbe-induced immunostimulation, and/or (d) stromal cell adaption. These considerations may be vital for the design of clinical plasma trials in the future.
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    Molecular mechanisms of the efficacy of cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) in cancer treatment
    (Basel : MDPI AG, 2020) Semmler, Marie Luise; Bekeschus, Sander; Schäfer, Mirijam; Bernhardt, Thoralf; Fischer, Tobias; Witzke, Katharina; Seebauer, Christian; Rebl, Henrike; Grambow, Eberhard; Vollmar, Brigitte; Nebe, J. Barbara; Metelmann, Hans-Robert; Woedtke, Thomas von; Emmert, Steffen; Boeckmann, Lars
    Recently, the potential use of cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) in cancer treatment has gained increasing interest. Especially the enhanced selective killing of tumor cells compared to normal cells has prompted researchers to elucidate the molecular mechanisms for the efficacy of CAP in cancer treatment. This review summarizes the current understanding of how CAP triggers intracellular pathways that induce growth inhibition or cell death. We discuss what factors may contribute to the potential selectivity of CAP towards cancer cells compared to their non-malignant counterparts. Furthermore, the potential of CAP to trigger an immune response is briefly discussed. Finally, this overview demonstrates how these concepts bear first fruits in clinical applications applying CAP treatment in head and neck squamous cell cancer as well as actinic keratosis. Although significant progress towards understanding the underlying mechanisms regarding the efficacy of CAP in cancer treatment has been made, much still needs to be done with respect to different treatment conditions and comparison of malignant and non-malignant cells of the same cell type and same donor. Furthermore, clinical pilot studies and the assessment of systemic effects will be of tremendous importance towards bringing this innovative technology into clinical practice. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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    Medical Gas Plasma Treatment in Head and Neck Cancer—Challenges and Opportunities
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Berner, Julia; Seebauer, Christian; Sagwal, Sanjeev Kumar; Boeckmann, Lars; Emmert, Steffen; Metelmann, Hans-Robert; Bekeschus, Sander
    Despite progress in oncotherapy, cancer is still among the deadliest diseases in the Western world, emphasizing the demand for novel treatment avenues. Cold physical plasma has shown antitumor activity in experimental models of, e.g., glioblastoma, colorectal cancer, breast carcinoma, osteosarcoma, bladder cancer, and melanoma in vitro and in vivo. In addition, clinical case reports have demonstrated that physical plasma reduces the microbial contamination of severely infected tumor wounds and ulcerations, as is often seen with head and neck cancer patients. These antimicrobial and antitumor killing properties make physical plasma a promising tool for the treatment of head and neck cancer. Moreover, this type of cancer is easily accessible from the outside, facilitating the possibility of several rounds of topical gas plasma treatment of the same patient. Gas plasma treatment of head and neck cancer induces diverse effects via the deposition of a plethora of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that mediate redox-biochemical processes, and ultimately, selective cancer cell death. The main advantage of medical gas plasma treatment in oncology is the lack of adverse events and significant side effects compared to other treatment modalities, such as surgical approaches, chemotherapeutics, and radiotherapy, making plasma treatment an attractive strategy for the adjuvant and palliative treatment of head and neck cancer. This review outlines the state of the art and progress in investigating physical plasma as a novel treatment modality in the therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
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    Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma in Wound Healing and Cancer Treatment
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Boeckmann, Lars; Schäfer, Mirijam; Bernhardt, Thoralf; Semmler, Marie Luise; Jung, Ole; Ojak, Gregor; Fischer, Tobias; Peters, Kirsten; Nebe, Barbara; Müller-Hilke, Brigitte; Seebauer, Christian; Bekeschus, Sander; Emmert, Steffen
    Plasma medicine is gaining increasing attention and is moving from basic research into clinical practice. While areas of application are diverse, much research has been conducted assessing the use of cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) in wound healing and cancer treatment—two applications with entirely different goals. In wound healing, a tissue-stimulating effect is intended, whereas cancer therapy aims at killing malignant cells. In this review, we provide an overview of the latest clinical and some preclinical research on the efficacy of CAP in wound healing and cancer therapy. Furthermore, we discuss the current understanding of molecular signaling mechanisms triggered by CAP that grant CAP its antiseptic and tissue regenerating or anti-proliferative and cell death-inducing properties. For the efficacy of CAP in wound healing, already substantial evidence from clinical studies is available, while evidence for therapeutic effects of CAP in oncology is mainly from in vitro and in vivo animal studies. Efforts to elucidate the mode of action of CAP suggest that different components, such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation, electromagnetic fields, and reactive species, may act synergistically, with reactive species being regarded as the major effector by modulating complex and concentration-dependent redox signaling pathways.