Effects of bipolar irreversible electroporation with different pulse durations in a prostate cancer mouse model

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a non-thermal ablation technique for local tumor treatment known to be influenced by pulse duration and voltage settings, affecting its efficacy. This study aims to investigate the effects of bipolar IRE with different pulse durations in a prostate cancer mouse model. The therapeutic effectiveness was assessed with in vitro cell experiments, in vivo tumor volume changes with magnetic resonance imaging, and gross and histological analysis in a mouse model. The tumor volume continuously decreased over time in all IRE-treated groups. The tumor volume changes, necroptosis (%), necrosis (%), the degree of TUNEL-positive cell expression, and ROS1-positive cell (%) in the long pulse duration-treated groups (300 μs) were significantly increased compared to the short pulse duration-treated groups (100 μs) (all p < 0.001). The bipolar IRE with a relatively long pulse duration at the same voltage significantly increased IRE-induced cell death in a prostate cancer mouse model.