Inhibition of recurrence of mouse melanoma B16F10 tumors in mice using streamer discharge

Cancer recurrence is one of the major problems in cancer therapy. Recurrence occurs, for example, from the residue of microscopic cancer cells after surgical resection of tumors. In this study, we examined whether irradiation of streamer discharge to excisional scars of surgically resected tumors in mice can inhibit the recurrence. Mouse melanoma B16F10 tumors in the right leg of mice were surgically resected, and then the resection scars were irradiated with streamer discharge before suturing the scars. Thereafter, tumor recurrence was observed. Usually, when tumors are resected, a larger area than the visible tumor is resected to prevent recurrence. But in this experiment, only the visible tumor was removed to intentionally cause recurrence. The results showed that the discharge treatment reduced the tumor recurrence ratio by approximately half. The plasma treatment could be a promising method to inhibit tumor recurrence.