The most common and aggressive malignant brain tumor, glioblastoma (GBM), demonstrates on average a 5-year survival rate of only 6.8%. Difficulties arising in the treatment of GBM include the inability of large molecular agents to permeate through the blood-brain barrier (BBB); migration of highly invasive GBM cells beyond the solid tumor margin; and gross, macroscopic intratumor heterogeneity. These characteristics complicate treatment of GBM with standard of care, resulting in abysmal prognosis. Electroporation-based therapies have emerged as attractive alternates to standard of care, demonstrating favorable outcomes in a variety of tumors. Notably, irreversible electroporation (IRE) has been used for BBB disruption and nonthermal ablation of intracranial tumor tissues. Despite promising results, IRE can cause unintended muscle contractions and is susceptible to electrical heterogeneities. Second generation High-frequency IRE (H-FIRE) utilizes bursts of bipolar pulsed electric fields on the order of the cell charging time constant (~1 μs) to ablate tissue while reducing nerve excitation, muscle contraction, and is far less prone to differences in electrical heterogeneities.
Throughout my dissertation, I discuss investigations of H-FIRE for the treatment of malignant gliomas and other intracranial disorders. To advance the versatility, usability, and understanding of H-FIRE for intracranial applications, my PhD thesis focuses on: (1) characterizing H-FIRE-mediated BBB disruption effects in an in vivo healthy rodent model; (2) the creation of a novel, real-time impedance spectroscopy technique (Fourier Analysis SpecTroscopy, FAST) using waveforms compatible with existing H-FIRE pulse generators; (3) development of FAST as an in situ technique to monitor ablation growth and to determine patient-specific ablation endpoints; (4) conducting a preliminary efficacy study of H-FIRE ablation in an orthotopic F98 rodent glioma model; and (5) establishing the feasibility of MRI-guided H-FIRE for the ablation malignant gliomas in a spontaneous canine glioma model. The culmination of this thesis advances our understanding of H-FIRE in intracranial tissues, as well as develops a novel, intraoperative impedance spectroscopy technique towards determining patient-specific ablation endpoints for intracranial H-FIRE procedures. / Doctor of Philosophy / The most aggressive malignant brain tumor, glioblastoma (GBM), demonstrates on average a 5-year survival rate of only 6.8%. Difficulties arising in the treatment of GBM include the inability of chemotherapy agents to diffuse into brain tumor tissue as these molecular are unable to pass the so-called blood-brain barrier (BBB). This tumor tissue also presents with cells with the propensity to invade healthy tissue, to the point where diagnostic scans are unable to capture this migration. These characteristics complicate treatment of GBM with standard of care, resulting in abysmal prognosis. Electroporation-based therapies have emerged as attractive alternates to standard of care, demonstrating favorable outcomes in a variety of tumors. For instance, irreversible electroporation (IRE) has been used to successfully treat tumors in the prostate, liver, kidney, and pancreas. Second generation High-frequency IRE (H-FIRE) may possess even greater antitumor qualities and this is the focus of my dissertation.
Throughout my dissertation, I discuss investigations of H-FIRE with applications to treat malignant gliomas and other intracranial disorders. My PhD thesis focuses on: (1) characterizing H-FIRE effects for enhanced drug delivery to the brain; (2) the creation of a new, real-time electrical impedance spectroscopy technique (Fourier Analysis SpecTroscopy, FAST) using waveforms compatible with existing H-FIRE pulse generators; (3) development of FAST as a technique to determine H-FIRE treatment endpoints; (4) conducting a preliminary efficacy study of H-FIRE to ablate rodent glioma tumors; and (5) establishing the feasibility of MRI-guided H-FIRE for the ablation malignant gliomas in a spontaneous canine glioma model. The culmination of this thesis advances our understanding of H-FIRE in intracranial tissues, as well as develops a new impedance spectroscopy technique to be used in determining patient-specific ablation endpoints for intracranial H-FIRE procedures.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/112135 |
| Date | 19 April 2021 |
| Creators | Lorenzo, Melvin Florencio |
| Contributors | Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Davalos, Rafael V., Robertson, John L., Debinski, Waldemar, Rossmeisl, John H., Verbridge, Scott, Arena, Christopher Brian |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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