Plasma in cancer treatment

"Plasma oncology", i.e., the use of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) for the treatment of tumours is a new field in plasma medicine. The results of several studies that are summarized within this review show that CAP is effective against tumour cells both in vitro and in vivo. It has been shown, that CAP in low concentration is able to stop tumour cells growing, to induce cell death in higher concentrations and that this is more effective than standard therapies. Moreover, first results indicate that CAP seems to be selective for cancer cells since it is more effective in tumour cells than in normal non-neoplastic cells. The current developments in this field have fuelled the hope that CAP could be an interesting new therapeutic approach in the treatment of cancer.