Electrical ablation boosts CAR-NK cell therapy against liver cancer, offering new strategy for refractory solid tumors
A research team has developed a combination immunotherapy that uses an electrical ablation technique to enhance the efficacy of immune cell therapy against liver cancer.
A research team led by Professor Wooram Park from Sungkyunkwan University has developed a novel combination immunotherapy for liver cancer. The therapy combines irreversible electroporation (IRE) with chimeric antigen receptor natural killer (CAR-NK) cell treatment. IRE is a nonthermal ablation technique that reshapes the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, making it more receptive to CAR-NK cells.
The study, published in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, identifies key molecular mechanisms driving the therapeutic effect. The researchers found that IRE treatment significantly increased chemokine levels and reactive oxygen species (ROS), which together attract immune cells and sensitize residual tumor cells to NK-cell killing.
Combining IRE with glypican-3 targeted CAR-NK cells generated via lipid nanoparticle-based gene delivery technology led to a substantial improvement in tumor control compared to either treatment alone. In preclinical models, the combination therapy outperformed both treatments, resulting in superior tumor suppression and improved survival rates. Professor Park envisions this approach as a rapid translation into clinical practice.
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