Cold Atmospheric Plasma in the Treatment of Osteosarcoma

Abstract

Human osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant bone tumor occurring most commonly in adolescents and young adults. Major improvements in disease-free survival have been achieved by implementing a combination therapy consisting of radical surgical resection of the tumor and systemic multi-agent chemotherapy. However, long-term survival remains poor, so novel targeted therapies to improve outcomes for patients with osteosarcoma remains an area of active research. This includes immunotherapy, photodynamic therapy, or treatment with nanoparticles. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), a highly reactive (partially) ionized physical state, has been shown to inherit a significant anticancer capacity, leading to a new field in medicine called "plasma oncology." The current article summarizes the potential of CAP in the treatment of human OS and reviews the underlying molecular mode of action.

Keywords: CAP; apoptosis; cancer; osteosarcoma; plasma medicine; plasma oncology.

Figure 1

Principle of reactive species generation by cold physical plasma.

Figure 2

CAP effects on osteosarcoma cells. CAP, cold atmospheric plasma; reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), glutathione (GSH), transcription factors (TF), c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK).