Successful Treatment of a Large Soft Tissue Sarcoma With Irreversible Electroporation

Abstract

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a promising technique for the focal treatment of pathologic tissues that involves placing minimally invasive electrodes within the targeted region. A series of short, intense electric pulses are then applied to destabilize the cell membrane, presumably by creating nanopores,¹ inducing cell death in a nonthermal manner.² The unique therapeutic mechanism of IRE does not rely on tissue temperature changes, as with hyperthermic or cryoablative procedures.³,⁴ Therefore, IRE preserves the extracellular matrix, major tissue vasculature, and other sensitive structures.⁵⁻⁷ Treated regions resolve rapidly,⁵ with submillimeter resolution between treated and unaffected cells,⁸ and are predictable with numerical modeling.⁹ Treatments promote an immune response,⁵,¹⁰,¹¹ are unaltered by blood flow, can be administered quickly (approximately 5 minutes), and can be visualized in real time.¹⁰,¹²