Cold atmospheric plasmas have attracted significant worldwide attention for their potential beneficial effects in cancer therapy. In order to further improve the effectiveness of plasma in cancer therapy, it is important to understand the generation and transport of plasma reactive species into tissue fluids, tissues and cells, and moreover the rates and depths of delivery, particularly across physical barriers such as skin. In this study, helium (He) plasma jet treatment of a 3D cancer tumour, grown on the back of a live mouse, induced apoptosis within the tumour to a depth of 2.8 mm. The He plasma jet was shown to deliver reactive oxygen species through the unbroken skin barrier before penetrating through the entire depth of the tumour. The depth and rate of transport of He plasma jet generated H ₂ O ₂ , NO ₃ ⁻ and NO ₂ ⁻ , as well as aqueous oxygen [O ₂ (aq)], was then tracked in an agarose tissue model. This provided an approximation of the H ₂ O ₂ , NO ₃ ⁻ , NO ₂ ⁻ and O ₂ (aq) concentrations that might have been generated during the He plasma jet treatment of the 3D tumour. It is proposed that the He plasma jet can induce apoptosis within a tumour by the ‘deep’ delivery of H ₂ O ₂ , NO ₃ ⁻ and NO ₂ ⁻ coupled with O ₂ (aq); the latter raising oxygen tension in hypoxic tissue.

Current methods used to treat non-muscle invasive bladder cancer are inadequate due to a high recurrence rate after surgery and the occurrence of adverse events such as interstitial pneumonia following intravesical instillation therapy. Low-temperature plasma is a new form of physical therapy that provides a rich source of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Oxidative solutions, created by pre-treatment of aqueous media with plasma before application to target cells, lead to the destruction of cancer cells through oxidative stress pathways. This study focuses on the effects of plasma-activated media (PAM) in bladder cancer cells. PAM treatment increases oxidative stress that leads to cell cycle arrest and concomitantly depolarises the mitochondrial membrane leading to increased mitochondrial ROS production. Cell cycle arrest and increased mitochondrial ROS production led to an increase in caspase 3/cytochrome c activity, which might explain the induction of apoptosis in bladder cancer cells in vitro and in a bladder cancer tumour in vivo. These observations highlight the potential of plasma activated solutions as a new adjuvant therapy in the clinical treatment of bladder cancer.

Primary bladder mucinous adenocarcinoma is a rare genitourinary cancer. Here, we present the case of a 75-year-old woman where pathological and imaging findings led to the diagnosis of primary bladder mucinous adenocarcinoma. She underwent treatment with paclitaxel-ifosfamide-cisplatin (TIP). After two cycles of TIP therapy, FoundationOne CDx, a comprehensive genomic profiling test, was performed, revealing variants in ATM, SMAD4, BRD4, and NOTCH3. These genomic profiling test results may lead to the development of novel therapeutic agents for primary bladder mucinous adenocarcinoma.

Background This study aimed to compare oncological outcomes between intracorporeal urinary diversion (ICUD) and extracorporeal urinary diversion (ECUD) following radical cystectomy in Japan. Methods This retrospective study included 110 patients who underwent laparoscopic radical cystectomy (LRC) or robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) from 2013 to 2023. Twenty-nine participants underwent LRC with ECUD, 40 participants underwent RARC with ECUD, and 32 participants underwent RARC with ICUD. Predictors of postoperative outcomes were evaluated using a Cox proportional hazards model. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were measured using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Estimated RFS at 36 months for RARC with ICUD, RARC with ECUD and LRC with ECUD was 79.9% (95% CI 57.9–91.2), 52.5% (95% CI 31.1–70.1) and 62% (95% CI 40.7–77.5), respectively. Estimated OS at 36 months for RARC with ICUD, RARC with ECUD and LRC with ECUD was 87.1% (95% CI 54.4–96.9), 60.4% (95% CI 33.6–79.3) and 80.7% (95% CI 56.9–91.5), respectively. Conclusions There were no statistically significant differences in oncological outcomes between ECUD and ICUD based on surgical approach. Only pathological stage ≥ T3 and N positivity were common predictors of poor OS and RFS outcomes.

Current methods used to treat non-muscle invasive bladder cancer are inadequate due to a high recurrence rate after surgery and occurrence of adverse events such as interstitial pneumonia following intravesical instillation therapy. Low-temperature plasma is a new form of physical therapy that provides a rich source of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Oxidative solutions, created by pre-treatment of aqueous media with plasma before application to target cells, lead to the destruction of cancer cells through oxidative stress pathways. This study focuses on the effects of plasma activated media (PAM) in bladder cancer cells. PAM treatment increases up regulation of p21 and down regulation of Cyclin D and CdK4 leading to cell cycle arrest, and concomitantly depolarises the mitochondrial membrane leading to increased mitochondrial ROS production. Cell cycle arrest and increased mitochondrial ROS production induce apoptosis in bladder cancer cells in vitro and in a bladder cancer tumour in vivo via the pro-apoptotic caspase 3/cytochrome c pathway. These observations highlight the potential of plasma activated solutions as a new adjuvant therapy in the clinical treatment of bladder cancer.