Feasibility and effectiveness of endoscopic irreversible electroporation for the upper gastrointestinal tract: an experimental animal study

Han Jo Jeon, Hyuk Soon Choi, Bora Keum, Eun Joo Bang, Kang Won Lee, Sang Hyun Kim, Sun Young Yim, Jae Min Lee, Eun Sun Kim, Yeon Seok Seo, Yoon Tae Jeen, Hong Sik Lee, Hoon Jai Chun, Hong Bae Kim, Jong Hyuk Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a local non-thermal ablative technique currently used to treat solid tumors. Here, we investigated the clinical potency and safety of IRE with an endoscope in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Pigs were electroporated with recently designed endoscopic IRE catheters in the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. Two successive strategies were introduced to optimize the electrical energy for the digestive tract. First, each organ was electroporated and the energy upscaled to confirm the upper limit energy inducing improper tissue results, including bleeding and perforation. Excluding the unacceptable energy from the first step, consecutive electroporations were performed with stepwise reductions in energy to identify the energy that damaged each layer. Inceptive research into inappropriate electrical intensity contributed to extensive hemorrhage and bowel perforation for each tissue above a certain energy threshold. However, experiments performed below the precluded energy accompanying hematoxylin and eosin staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling assays showed that damaged mucosal area and depth significantly decreased with decreased energy. Relevant histopathology showed infiltration of inflammatory cells with pyknotic nuclei at the electroporated lesion. This investigation demonstrated the possibility of endoscopic IRE in mucosal dysplasia or early malignant tumors of the hollow viscus.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number15353
JournalScientific reports
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by grants from the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (Grant number: HI14C3477), a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (Grant number: 2020R1A2C4002621), and a grant from Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea (Grant number: K2010001). The funding sources were not involved in the study design, data collection and interpretation, or preparation of the final report.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).

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