Optimal dose-response relationship in electrolytic ablat ion of tumors with a one-probe-two-electrode device

E. LUJÁN; H. SCHINCA; N. OLAIZ; S. URQUIZA; F. V. MOLINA; P. TURJANSKI; G. MARSHALL

ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 186 p. 494 - 503

0013-4686

Electrolytic ablation (EA), a medical treatment increasingly used in solid tumor ablation due to its minimum side efects and low cost, consists in the passage of a low constant electric current through two or more electrodesinserted in the tissue thus inducing pH fronts that produces tumor necrosis. Combined with a recently introduced one-probe two electrode device(OPTED) this procedure results in a minimally invasive treatment. Despite its success, EA has drawbacks such as the difficulties in determining the optimum dose-response relationship between the applied current, treatment time and necrotized tumor volume (NTV) and choosing a reliable dose parameter. In this work a theoretical model is introduced describing the EA/OPTED as an electrolytic process and the underlying electrochemicalreactions through the Nernst-Planck equations for ion transport. Model results show that the coulomb dosage is a reliable dose parameter and predicts an optimal dose-response relationship for a given tumor size subjected to an EA/OPTED, considering the optimum as the minimum coulomb dosage necessary to achieve total tumor destruction while minimizing healthy tissue damage. Moreover, it predicts a nonlinear relationship between coulomb dosage and NTV, dosage and NTV scaling as Q^1.4. Consequently, these results could have a signicant impact on dose planning methodology aimed at improving the effectiveness of the electrolytic ablation.