Side effects in cold plasma treatment of advanced oral cancer-Clinical data and biological interpretation

Understanding the lack of severe side effects in plasma medicine, the role of radical oxygen species (ROS) and radical nitrogen species (RNS) is discussed, proposing a model in which CAP is not a direct effector of antitumor action but rather triggers a singlet oxygen-mediated switch-on effect on the specific target, leading to reactivation of intercellular ROS/RNS-dependent apoptosis signaling in tumor cells. As these processes are strictly restricted to the specific targets and as normal tissue is devoid of the required target, it is neither harmed nor affected.