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Review
. 2022 May 25:12:843769.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.843769. eCollection 2022.

The Synergistic Role of Irreversible Electroporation and Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

Argyrios Gyftopoulos  1 , Ioannis A Ziogas  2 , Andrew S Barbas  3 , Dimitrios Moris  3
Affiliations
Review

The Synergistic Role of Irreversible Electroporation and Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

Argyrios Gyftopoulos et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a local ablative technique used in conjunction with chemotherapy to treat locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). The combination of IRE and chemotherapy has showed increased overall survival when compared to chemotherapy alone, pointing towards a possible facilitating effect of IRE on chemotherapeutic drug action and delivery. This review aims to present current chemotherapeutic regimens for LAPC and their co-implementation with IRE, with an emphasis on possible molecular augmentative mechanisms of drug delivery and action. Moreover, the potentiating mechanism of IRE on immunotherapy, M1 oncolytic virus and dendritic cell (DC)-based treatments is briefly explored. Investigating the synergistic effect of IRE on currently established treatment regimens as well as newer ones, may present exciting new possibilities for future studies seeking to improve current LAPC treatment algorithms.

Keywords: chemotherapy; electrochemotherapy; electrogene; immunotherapy; irreversible electroporation; locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Irreversible electroporation anti-tumor effect and facilitation of drug mechanism and delivery. IRE, Irreversible Electroporation; ECT, Electrochemotherapy; PD-L1, Programmed Death Ligand 1; CTLA4, Cytotoxic T – Lymphocyte Associated protein 4; DC, Dendritic Cell.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Irreversible electroporation application; representation of probes and anti-tumor effects. IRE, Irreversible Electroporation; TCR, T-cell Receptor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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