H2-based Electrotherapy for Precise Cancer TreatmentScientific Research

Abstract:

By combined use of traditional Chinese acupuncture Fe needle electrode and in-vivo electrochemistry, we achieve in-vivo H2 generation in tumors in a controllable manner and exploited it for effective and green therapy of tumor for the first time. The cathodic acupuncture electrodes working under the applied voltage of ~ 3 volt (with minimal damage to the living body) undergo effectively electrochemical reactions in the acidic tumor area to produce sufficient H2 locally, causing cancer cells to burst and die. Due to puncture positioning, acidic tumor microenvironment and gas diffusion effect, the developed H2 generation electrochemotherapy (H2-ECT) strategy enables precise and large-scale tumor therapy, as demonstrated by in vivo treatment of diseased mice (glioma and breast cancers). Such green H2-ECT is simple, highly efficient and minimally invasive, requiring no expensive medical equipment or (nano)materials and medication, and is therefore very promising for potential clinic applications.