Before revision: Cancer treatment by cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) offers the possibility to selectively eliminate cancer cells while leaving surrounding, normal cells, unaffected. The mechanisms underlying the CAP selectivity towards cancer cells are yet not fully understood , but it has been proposed that two apoptosis-inducing signaling pathways in the extracellular compartment are reactivated when catalase in the cell membrane of cancer cells is inactivated.
After revision: Cancer treatment by cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is a promising new agent for (selective) cancer treatment, but the underlying cause of the anti-cancer effect of CAP is not well understood yet. Among different theories and observations, one theory in particular has been postulated in great detail and consists of a very complex network of reactions that are claimed to account for the anti-cancer effect of CAP. Here, the key concept is a reactivation of two specific apoptotic cell signaling pathways through catalase inactivation caused by CAP. Thus, it is postulated that the anti-cancer effect of CAP selectivity towards cancer cells are yet not fully understood , but it has been proposed that two apoptosis-inducing signaling pathways in the extracellular compartment are reactivated when catalase in the cell membrane of cancer cells is inactivated.