Plasmas: A key enabler for cancer therapeutics?

Overview

The unique properties of cold non‐equilibrium plasmas have been identified as having enormous potential in, for example, disease therapeutics and plasma pharmacology as drug alternatives. This project set out to identify how this technique can be exploited to eradicate prostate cancer cells, including the cancer stem cells that are believed to be the tumour initiating cells and also the seed to radio‐resistance in prostate cancer. The aim was to pool world‐class expertise and facilities across departmental boundaries to generate internationally unique capabilities and place the University of York at the frontier of this emerging field.

A time response study of plasma-induced DNA damage in PC3 prostate cancer cell lines illustrated DNA damage following plasma treatment, while clonogenic recovery following plasma treatment also showed a reduced survival fraction after culturing for 12 days. Our experiments to-date demonstrate a potential for using low-temperature plasmas as a focal prostate cancer therapy and these results now pave the way for undertaking a detailed mechanistic study of the interaction of low-temperature plasmas with prostate cancer cells. Funding has been received under the EPSRC Developing Future Leaders initiative for more detailed investigations on the mechanism of action and evaluating suitable plasma conditions.

This project has played a part in establishing broader plasma medicine activity at York, including industrial engagement with Smith and Nephew and Unilever on “plasma-activated biofilm control” funded by an N8 Universities Research Partnership Industry Innovation Forum grant. Recently a 'York-Paris Low Temperature Plasma Collaborative Research Centre' has been established between The University of York and the Ecole-Polytechnique, Paris which will include research on plasmas for biomedical applications.

Press Releases

• York scientists lead study on new treatment for prostate cancer

Outputs

Grants

• Deborah O'Connell, EPSRC, Developing research leaders, £297,827
• Victor Chechik & Deborah O'Connell, Leverhulme Trust, Chemistry at cold plasma – liquid interfaces, £153,327

Publications

• Hirst, A.M., Simms M.S., Vann V.M., Maitland, N. J., O’Connell, D. & Frame, F.N. (2015). Low-temperature plasma treatment induces DNA damage leading to necrotic cell death in primary prostate epithelial cells. British Journal of Cancer, 1–10, doi: 10.1038/bjc.2015.113
• Hirst, A.M., Frame, F.N., Maitland, N. J. & O’Connell, D. (2014). Low Temperature Plasma Causes Double-Strand Break DNA Damage Primary Epithelial Cells Cultured from a Human Prostate Tumour. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, Plasma Science, 42 (10), doi: 10.1109/TPS.2014.2351453
• Hirst, A.M., Frame, F.N., Maitland, N. J. & O’Connell, D. (2014). Low Temperature Plasma – A Novel Focal Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer? BioMed Research International, 878319. doi: 10.1155/2014/878319