The Emerging Role of Gas Plasma in Oncotherapy

Abstract

Atmospheric pressure gas plasmas are emerging as a promising treatment in cancer that can supplement the existing set of treatment modalities and, when combined with other therapies, enhance their selectivity and efficacy against resistant cancers. With further optimisation in production and administration of plasma treatment, plasma-enabled therapy has a strong potential to mature as a tool for selectively curing highly resistant solid tumours. Although intense preclinical studies have been conducted to exploit the unique traits of plasma as an oncotherapy, few clinical studies are underway. This review identifies types of cancers and patient groups that most likely benefit from plasma oncotherapy, to introduce clinical practitioners to plasma therapy and accelerate the speed of translating plasma for cancer control in clinics.