Prostate & Urological Tumours
Urogynaecological Tumours
The search for focal therapy in the prostate is shaped by the aim of preserving urinary and sexual function. The corpus holds publications on both the reversible and irreversible regimes; most of the evidence comes from uncontrolled series.
120total publications
56clinical studies
25preclinical studies
24reviews
1998–2026publication span
Evidence Status by Regime
Reversible electroporation (RE-ECT)
24publications
1clinical
15preclinical
Preclinical Evidence
1998–2026 · Under Clinical Investigation
Irreversible electroporation (IRE-ECT)
96publications
55clinical
10preclinical
Clinical Evidence
2007–2026 · In Routine Clinical Use
Mechanisms Reported in This Area
Terms were detected by automatic matching over publication abstracts; the figure gives the number of publications containing the term.
Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation 100
Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death 100
Electric Field Distribution and Modelling 9
Thermal Effect and Joule Heating 9
Necrosis and Necroptosis 8
Optimisation of Pulse Parameters 7
Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation 6
Increased Intracellular Cisplatin Accumulation 5
Apoptosis Induction 5
Muscle Contraction and Anaesthesia Requirement 4
Calcium Electroporation and ATP Depletion 3
Systemic / Abscopal Immune Response 3
Study Type Distribution
Bar length is scaled to the most common study type; the percentage gives the share of the whole area. Colour marks the evidence tier of the study type, the same scale as the evidence map.
| Study type | Publications | Share within this area |
|---|---|---|
| Randomized Clinical Trial | 9 | 8% |
| Prospective Clinical Study | 5 | 4% |
| Clinical Study | 28 | 23% |
| Retrospective Clinical Study | 6 | 5% |
| Case Series | 8 | 7% |
| Case Report | 5 | 4% |
| Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | 10 | 8% |
| Review | 14 | 12% |
| Animal Study | 19 | 16% |
| In Vitro Study | 5 | 4% |
| In Silico / Modelling | 1 | <1% |
| Preprint | 4 | 3% |
| Editorial / Letter | 4 | 3% |
| Protocol | 2 | 2% |
Literature Evidence Table
120 publications listed in order of evidence strength. Click a title to open the citation, mechanism and full abstract drawer.
| Regime | Publication | Year | Study type | Model | Mechanism | Abstract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irreversible | He et al · EClinicalMedicine | 2026 | Randomized Clinical Trial | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is the gold standard for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) but frequently causes retrograde ejaculation and bleeding. Hig… |
| Irreversible | Tong et al · Urology | 2025 | Randomized Clinical Trial | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of high-frequency irreversible electroporation for ablation of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Materials and methods: One hundred sixty subjects … |
| Irreversible | Zhang et al · BJU Int | 2025 | Randomized Clinical Trial | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for persistent prostate cancer after irreversible electroporation (IRE) therapy. Patients and methods: This… |
| Irreversible | Lantz et al · Eur Urol Open Sci | 2023 | Randomized Clinical Trial | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | The aim of focal treatments (FTs) in prostate cancer (PCa) is to treat lesions while preserving surrounding benign tissue and anatomic structures. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a non… |
| Irreversible | Zhang et al · JAMA Surg | 2023 | Randomized Clinical Trial | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Importance: Focal ablative irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a therapy that treats only the area of the tumor with the aim of achieving oncological control while reducing treatment-relat… |
| Irreversible | de la Rosette et al · J Urol | 2023 | Randomized Clinical Trial | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Purpose: Our goal was to evaluate the effect of focal vs extended irreversible electroporation on side effects, patient-reported quality of life, and early oncologic control for localized lo… |
| Irreversible | Scheltema et al · BMC Cancer | 2016 | Randomized Clinical Trial | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: Current surgical and ablative treatment options for prostate cancer (PCa) may result in a high incidence of (temporary) incontinence, erectile dysfunction and/or bowel damage. Th… |
| Irreversible | van den Bos et al · J Endourol | 2015 | Randomized Clinical Trial | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | FOR LOCALIZED PROSTATE CANCER: FOCAL ABLATION VERSUS EXTENDED ABLATION Willemien van den Bos and Jean de la Rosette Focal therapy in prostate cancer Focal therapy is gradually emerging as a … |
| Irreversible | de la Rosette et al · J Endourol | 2013 | Randomized Clinical Trial | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | PROSTATE CARCINOMA: HEMIABLATION VERSUS COMPLETE ABLATION WITH IRREVERSIBLE ELECTROPORATION W. van den Bos, B.G. Muller, and J.J.C.M.H. de la Rosette Focal therapy in prostate cancer Focal t… |
| Irreversible | Blazevski et al · Eur Urol Oncol | 2020 | Prospective Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: Focal irreversible electroporation (IRE) can be used to treat men with localised prostate cancer (PCa) with reduced impact on quality of life (QoL). Objective: To assess oncologi… |
| Irreversible | Enikeev et al · Minerva Urol Nefrol | 2020 | Prospective Clinical Study | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | article: Focal irreversible electroporation for localized prostate cancer management: prospective assessment of efficacy and safety - Minerva Urologica e Nefrologica 2020 October;72(5):644-5… |
| Irreversible | Scheltema et al · BJU Int | 2017 | Prospective Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility, safety, early quality-of-life (QoL) and oncological outcomes of salvage focal irreversible electroporation (IRE) for radio-recurrent prostate cancer … |
| Irreversible | Murray et al · J Urol | 2016 | Prospective Clinical Study | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Purpose: Partial prostate gland ablation is a strategy to manage localized prostate cancer. Irreversible electroporation can ablate localized soft tissues. We describe 30 and 90-day complica… |
| Irreversible | Valerio et al · Contemp Clin Trials | 2014 | Prospective Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Introduction: Focal therapy may reduce the toxicity of current radical treatments while maintaining the oncological benefit. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) has been proposed to be tissue… |
| Irreversible | George et al · Eur Urol | 2026 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background and objective: The PRESERVE study (NCT04972097) assessed the safety and effectiveness of irreversible electroporation (IRE) with the NanoKnife System to ablate prostate tissue in … |
| Irreversible | McClure et al · Radiology | 2026 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a nonthermal local therapy for prostate cancer (PCa). However, the feasibility, outcomes, and safety of reduced-dose radiation therapy (RT) f… |
| Irreversible | Yu et al · Medicine (Baltimore) | 2025 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of IRE (irreversible electroporation) ablation in the management of BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia). Clinical data from 9 patients with prosta… |
| Irreversible | Diven · BMC Urol | 2024 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Introduction: Radiation Therapy and IRreversible Electroporation for Intermediate Risk Prostate Cancer (RTIRE) is a phase II clinical trial testing combination of radiation therapy and irrev… |
| Irreversible | Geboers et al · BJU Int | 2024 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objectives: To prospectively compare systemic anti-tumour immune responses induced by irreversible electroporation (IRE) and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) in patients with loca… |
| Irreversible | George et al · Cancers (Basel) | 2024 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | The PRESERVE study (NCT04972097) aims to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the NanoKnife System to ablate prostate tissue in patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer (PCa). The… |
| Irreversible | Blazevski et al · BJU Int | 2023 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objectives: To prospectively assess the safety, functional- and oncological-outcomes of irreversible electroporation (IRE) as salvage therapy for radio-recurrent focal prostate cancer in a m… |
| Irreversible | CIMIT uzman grubu · Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi | 2023 | Clinical Study | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Irreversible electroporation ablation therapy can destroy tumor cells while retaining the integrity of the important surrounding physiological structures. It is suitable for patients with re… |
| Irreversible | Diven et al · International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics | 2023 | Clinical Study | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | mediate Risk Prostate Cancer (RTIRE) e378 Poster Q&A Sessions International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics Author Disclosure: M. Diven: None. T.D. McClure: None. K. Ballma… |
| Irreversible | Geboers et al · BJU Int | 2023 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objectives: To evaluate the safety, and short to mid-term oncological and quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes of focal irreversible electroporation (IRE) for radio-recurrent prostate cancer (PCa)… |
| Irreversible | Shin et al · Prostate Int | 2023 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: To demonstrate the clinical usefulness of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET) computerized tomography (CT) for irreversible electroporati… |
| Irreversible | Aycock et al · J Biomech Eng | 2022 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | While the primary goal of focal therapy for prostate cancer (PCa) is conserving patient quality of life by reducing oncological burden, available modalities use thermal energy or whole-gland… |
| Irreversible | Geboers et al · Eur Urol Focus | 2022 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: Accurate monitoring following focal treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) is paramount for timely salvage treatment or retreatment. Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of… |
| Irreversible | Scheltema et al · BJU Int | 2022 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objectives: To evaluate longer-term oncological and functional outcomes of focal irreversible electroporation (IRE) as primary treatment for localised clinically significant prostate cancer … |
| Irreversible | Güleryüz Kızıl et al · Turk J Urol | 2021 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objective: To evaluate early clinical and multiparametric prostate magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) results of irreversible electroporation (IRE) efficiency in treatment of localized prost… |
| Irreversible | Blazevski et al · World J Urol | 2020 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Introduction and objective: To assess the safety, oncological and quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes of focal ablation of apical prostate cancer (PCa) lesions with irreversible electroporation (… |
| Irreversible | Collettini et al · Radiology | 2019 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a nonthermal ablative method based on the formation of nanoscale defects in cell membranes leading to cell death. Clinical experience with th… |
| Irreversible | Dong et al · Technol Cancer Res Treat | 2018 | Clinical Study | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Irreversible electroporation, as a nonthermal therapy of prostate cancer, has been used in clinic for several years. The mechanism of irreversible electroporation ablation is thermal indepen… |
| Irreversible | Garvan Institute et al · Diagn Interv Radiol | 2018 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the genitourinary function and quality of life (QoL) following the ablation of different prostate segments with irreversible electroporation (IRE) for localized… |
| Irreversible | Wendler et al · Urology | 2018 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objective: To assess the efficacy of irreversible electroporation (IRE) ablation of pT1a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the first prospective, monocentric phase 2a pilot ablate-and-resect stu… |
| Irreversible | Valerio et al · J Urol | 2017 | Clinical Study | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Purpose: Irreversible electroporation has attractive attributes for focal ablation, namely nonthermal effect, precise demarcation of treatment and tissue selectivity. We report a prospective… |
| Irreversible | van den Bos et al · BJU Int | 2017 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objectives: To determine the safety, quality of life (QoL) and short-term oncological outcomes of primary focal irreversible electroporation (IRE) for the treatment of localized prostate can… |
| Irreversible | van den Bos et al · J Urol | 2016 | Clinical Study | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Purpose: Irreversible electroporation is a tissue ablation modality that uses high voltage electric energy to induce an increase in cell membrane permeability. This causes destabilization of… |
| Irreversible | Ting et al · Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis | 2015 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: Current data on the use of irreversible electroporation (IRE) in the treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) is limited. We aim to evaluate the safety, short-term functional and oncol… |
| Irreversible | Wendler et al · Contemp Clin Trials | 2015 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Introduction: Focal ablation therapy is playing an increasing role in oncology and may reduce the toxicity of current surgical treatments while achieving adequate oncological benefit. Irreve… |
| Irreversible | Wendler et al · Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol | 2015 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Introduction: It is postulated that focal IRE affords complete ablation of soft-tissue tumours while protecting the healthy peritumoral tissue. Therefore, IRE may be an interesting option fo… |
| Irreversible | van den Bos et al · Eur Radiol | 2015 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objectives: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is an ablative therapy with a low side-effect profile in prostate cancer. The objective was: 1) To compare the volumetric IRE ablation zone on … |
| Irreversible | van den Bos et al · BMJ Open | 2014 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Introduction: Current surgical and ablative treatment options for prostate cancer have a relatively high incidence of side effects, which may diminish the quality of life. The side effects a… |
| Reversible | Stevanovic et al · Radiol Oncol | 2025 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | – | Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is a common cancer in men in developed countries. PCa treatment depends on the disease's stage; focal therapy provides an intermediate approach, with lower … |
| Irreversible | van Riel et al · BJU Int | 2022 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objective: To evaluate: (i) safety, (ii) feasibility, and medium-term (iii) oncological and (iv) functional outcomes of salvage radical prostatectomy (sRP) for recurrent localised prostate c… |
| Irreversible | Guenther et al · PLoS One | 2019 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) is a novel image-guided tissue ablation technology that induces cell death via very short but strong pulsed electric fields. IRE has been shown… |
| Irreversible | Scheltema et al · Eur Urol Focus | 2019 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Background: It is recommended to perform multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) in the follow-up following focal therapy of prostate cancer (PCa). Objective: To determine the dia… |
| Irreversible | Beyer et al · Clin Hemorheol Microcirc | 2017 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Purpose: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a focal non-thermal ablation technique that can be used to treat prostate cancer (Pca). The objective was to document the evolution of the volu… |
| Irreversible | Niessen et al · Clin Hemorheol Microcirc | 2015 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Purpose: To evaluate the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) after irreversible electroporation (IRE) of prostatic cancer tissue to assess the ablation status by depicting microvascul… |
| Irreversible | Altan et al · Eur J Radiol | 2026 | Case Series | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: Detecting recurrence after focal therapy for prostate cancer is challenging due to treatment-induced MRI changes and unreliable PSA kinetics. The Prostate Imaging after Focal Abl… |
| Irreversible | Noakes et al · Prostate | 2026 | Case Series | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: Local recurrence after definitive radiotherapy for prostate cancer (PCa) remains a challenging clinical problem. Salvage irreversible electroporation (sIRE) is a non-thermal foca… |
| Irreversible | Sandberg et al · Curr Oncol | 2025 | Case Series | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Focal therapy for prostate cancer (PCa) provides approaches to treat PCa patients in a less invasive manner than traditional whole-gland surgical or radiation modalities. This manuscript pro… |
| Irreversible | Fainberg et al · Urol Pract | 2024 | Case Series | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Introduction: We studied patient-reported functional outcomes, safety, and oncologic efficacy of focal irreversible electroporation as a primary treatment for intermediate-risk prostate canc… |
| Irreversible | Yaxley et al · Investig Clin Urol | 2022 | Case Series | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Purpose: Focal irreversible electroporation (IRE) for prostate cancer aims to reduce quality of life complications, however outcomes data remains limited. We aimed to evaluate histological i… |
| Irreversible | Wendler et al · European Urology Supplements | 2017 | Case Series | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | & OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility, adverse event profile, functional outcome and efficacy of focal irreversible electroporation (IRE) for pT1a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in consecuti… |
| Irreversible | van den Bos et al · World J Urol | 2015 | Case Series | Human | Electrode Geometry and Placement, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Purpose: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel minimally invasive therapy for prostate cancer using short electric pulses to ablate prostate tissue. The purpose of this study is to d… |
| Irreversible | Valerio et al · Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis | 2014 | Case Series | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: To evaluate the safety and clinical feasibility of focal irreversible electroporation (IRE) of the prostate. Methods: We assessed the toxicity profile and functional outcomes of … |
| Irreversible | Hertz et al · Transl Androl Urol | 2025 | Case Report | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: Optilume-drug coated balloon as emerged as a less invasive management of recurrent bulbar urethral strictures. Data is still emerging in terms of its efficacy with regards to oth… |
| Irreversible | Collettini et al · Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol | 2024 | Case Report | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | ectroporation for Localized Prostate Cancer Federico Collettini1,3 • Carsten Stephan2,4 • Thomas Fischer1 • Andreas Maxeiner2 • Timo Alexander Auer1,3 • Bernhard Gebauer1 Received: 1 May 202… |
| Irreversible | Ong et al · BMJ Case Rep | 2022 | Case Report | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | A man in his 50s presented 4-week postirreversible electroporation (IRE) for low-to-intermediate risk prostate cancer with urinary symptoms, diarrhoea and passing fluid per rectum when urina… |
| Reversible | Andresciani et al · Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol | 2020 | Case Report | Human | – | A 61-year-old female underwent a right radical nephrectomy and a left nephron sparing surgery in 2014 due to renal cell carcinoma. A renal cell carcinoma local recurrence, 28 mm in size, cen… |
| Reversible | Klein et al · Clin Case Rep | 2017 | Case Report | Human | – | We demonstrate feasibility and safety of Electrochemotherapy for treatment of a prostate cancer (PCa) with infiltration of the urethral sphincter. The patient remained continent and potent, … |
| Reversible | Eskandar · Actas Urológicas Españolas | 2025 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Literature Analysis | – | Focal therapy offers a middle-ground approach for localized prostate cancer, preserving the prostate while avoiding the morbidity of radical treatment. High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIF… |
| Irreversible | Dan et al · Medicine (Baltimore) | 2025 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Background: Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) and laparoscopic focal therapy (LFT) have emerged as minimally invasive alternatives for managing small renal masses. Despite their increas… |
| Irreversible | Jochumsen et al · Nucl Med Mol Imaging | 2025 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Literature Analysis | – | Cancer After Nanoknife Electroporation Ablation Diagnosed with PSMA PET/ MRI Mads Ryø Jochumsen1,2,3 · Lise Medrud4 · Lars Anders Høst5 · Peter Iversen1,2 Received: 19 December 2024 / Revise… |
| Irreversible | Piramide et al · Minerva Urol Nephrol | 2025 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Introduction: In the latest years the advent of minimally invasive focal treatment for prostate cancer (PCa) has gained a wide diffusion. Different platforms and sources of energy have been … |
| Irreversible | Skribek et al · Cancers (Basel) | 2025 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Literature Analysis | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background and objective: Minimally invasive interventions, including irreversible electroporation (IRE), cryoablation, and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), offer promising alternat… |
| Irreversible | Yilmaz et al · Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis | 2024 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: To systematically evaluate the available evidence regarding the effect of salvage irreversible electroporation (IRE) in patients with local recurrent prostate cancer (PCa) after … |
| Irreversible | Cribbs et al · Urology | 2023 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objectives: To assess the comparative safety and effectiveness of 2 prostate cancer treatment ablation modalities: irreversible electroporation (IRE) and high-intensity focused ultrasound (H… |
| Irreversible | Guo et al · Int J Clin Oncol | 2021 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Cryoablation (CA), high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), irreversible electroporation (IRE), and vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy (VTP) have been evaluated as novel strategies for … |
| Irreversible | Morozov et al · Andrologia | 2020 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Irreversible electroporation is a treatment option used for focal therapy. In this systematic review, we summarise data on irreversible electroporation outcomes in patients with localised pr… |
| Irreversible | Yoon et al · Medicine (Baltimore) | 2018 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Background: Robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RPN) and focal therapy (FT) have both been successfully employed in the management of small renal masses. However, despite this being the era … |
| Irreversible | Xiao et al · Transl Androl Urol | 2026 | Review | Literature Analysis | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background and objective: Prostate cancer (PCa) endangers male health, with conventional treatments limited by poor efficacy and high complications. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a n… |
| Reversible | Lai · Radiol Imaging Cancer | 2025 | Review | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | In this era of personalized precision medicine, the accuracy of multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) and targeted biopsy in helping detect low-volume clinically significant prostate cancer has rekind… |
| Irreversible | Pow-Sang et al · Arch Esp Urol | 2025 | Review | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | The first description of focal therapy (FT) for prostate cancer was by Gary Onik when he described the use of hemigland cryoablation. Currently, focal therapy is performed using different en… |
| Irreversible | Torres · Front Radiol | 2025 | Review | Literature Analysis | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Percutaneous ablation therapies currently play a major role in the management of T1a and T1b renal cell carcinoma (RCC). These therapies include thermal ablative technologies like radiofrequ… |
| Reversible | Kumar et al · Can Urol Assoc J | 2024 | Review | Literature Analysis | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Introduction: Focal therapy is an emerging treatment for localized prostate cancer (PCa). The objectives of this review were to: 1) review how focal therapies are regulated and approved; 2) … |
| Irreversible | Faiella et al · Cancers (Basel) | 2024 | Review | Literature Analysis | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Background: Focal therapy is a promising, minimally invasive method for the treatment of patients with localized prostate cancer. According to the existing literature, there is growing evide… |
| Irreversible | Liu · Discov Oncol | 2024 | Review | Literature Analysis | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Irreversible electroporation is a nonthermal ablation technique that uses a high-voltage electric current to create nanosized pores in the cell membrane of a malignant tumor, thus resulting … |
| Reversible | Kiełbik et al · Cancers (Basel) | 2020 | Review | Literature Analysis | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | The observation that an application of a pulsed electric field (PEF) resulted in an increased permeability of the cell membrane has led to the discovery of the phenomenon called electroporat… |
| Irreversible | Karagiannis et al · Curr Urol Rep | 2019 | Review | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Purpose of review: Although still considered experimental, focal irreversible electroporation (IRE) as a primary treatment for prostate cancer (PCa) is considered one of the most promising a… |
| Irreversible | Lodeizen et al · World J Urol | 2018 | Review | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Context: In recent years, focal therapy has emerged as a treatment option for a selected group of men with localized prostate cancer. Cryotherapy and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)… |
| Irreversible | Stehling et al · Handbook of Electroporation | 2017 | Review | Literature Analysis | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Irreversible electroporation (IRE), since its first introduction into the medical field in 2005, is gaining importance as a tissue ablation method. Being basically nonthermal, IRE destroys cel… |
| Irreversible | Narayanan et al · Curr Urol Rep | 2016 | Review | Animal (In Vivo) | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Small renal masses (SRMs) have been traditionally managed with surgical resection. Minimally invasive nephron-sparing treatment methods are preferred to avoid harmful consequences of renal i… |
| Irreversible | Valerio et al · Tech Vasc Interv Radiol | 2015 | Review | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Focal therapy is a novel strategy that attempts to enhance the therapeutic ratio of standard radical treatment in prostate cancer. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) has some inherent charac… |
| Reversible | Bozzini et al · Urol Oncol | 2013 | Review | Human | Thermal Effect and Joule Heating | Purpose: Over the last years, focal therapy has emerged as an intermediate management technique between radical approaches (radical prostatectomy, external beam radiation, and brachytherapy)… |
| Reversible | Guo · PLoS One | 2026 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field (nsPEF), Increased Intracellular Cisplatin Accumulation | Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field (nsPEF) is an intense electrical pulse technology with ultra-short duration (nanoseconds), capable of generating electric field intensities up to several kV/… |
| Irreversible | Xia et al · J Immunother Cancer | 2025 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Irreversible electroporation (IRE), a non-thermal focal therapy, employs high-frequency electrical pulses to create tumor cell membrane nanopores, inducing immunogenic cell death. By trigger… |
| Irreversible | Kim · Sci Rep | 2024 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Optimisation of Pulse Parameters | 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 s… |
| Irreversible | Xing et al · Transl Androl Urol | 2024 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Background: Ablation procedures have garnered significant attention as a minimally invasive treatment of prostate diseases. However, the feasibility and safety of applying high-frequency irr… |
| Reversible | Rangel et al · Sci Rep | 2023 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation, Systemic / Abscopal Immune Response | Local treatment of canine urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the bladder is a challenge. More than 90% of the cases invade the muscular layer, more than 50% develop on bladder sites with a difficu… |
| Irreversible | Rojo et al · Int J Hyperthermia | 2021 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: Metastatic prostate cancer in bone is difficult to treat as the tumor cells are relatively resistant to hormonal or chemotherapies when compared to primary prostate cancer. Irrev… |
| Reversible | Frandsen · PLoS One | 2017 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Calcium Electroporation and ATP Depletion, Necrosis and Necroptosis | Background: Calcium electroporation is a new experimental anti-cancer treatment where calcium is internalized into cells by application of short, high voltage pulses. Calcium electroporation… |
| Reversible | Hansen et al · PLoS One | 2015 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Calcium Electroporation and ATP Depletion, Electric Field Distribution and Modelling | Background: Electroporation, a method for increasing the permeability of membranes to ions and small molecules, is used in the clinic with chemotherapeutic drugs for cancer treatment (electr… |
| Reversible | Vásquez et al · J Urol | 2015 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Increased Intracellular Cisplatin Accumulation, Apoptosis Induction | Purpose: Electrochemotherapy is widely performed to treat solid tumors but experience with bladder cancer is limited. We investigated mitomycin C and cisplatin administered with electrochemo… |
| Irreversible | Neal et al · Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol | 2013 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Electric Field Distribution and Modelling | Purpose: Electroporation-based therapies deliver brief electric pulses into a targeted volume to destabilize cellular membranes. Nonthermal irreversible electroporation (IRE) provides focal … |
| Reversible | Vásquez et al · Bioelectrochemistry | 2012 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Optimisation of Pulse Parameters | Intravesical mitomycin instillation combined with electric pulses is being used experimentally for the treatment of T1 bladder tumors, in patients unfit for surgery. Electroporation may enha… |
| Irreversible | Qin et al · Ann Biomed Eng | 2012 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Irreversible electroporation (IRE) has been proposed to destroy large amounts of tumorous tissue and shows advantages over thermal therapies. Unfortunately, carefully constructed studies ass… |
| Irreversible | Deodhar et al · Urology | 2011 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Preservation of Extracellular Matrix and Tissue Scaffold | Objectives: To evaluate the histopathologic and computed tomography imaging features associated with irreversible electroporation (IRE) ablation performed in normal porcine kidneys. IRE is a… |
| Reversible | Goepfert et al · Prostate | 2010 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Apoptosis Induction | Background: Current therapies to treat prostate cancer are often limited. Since it has been shown that very low concentrations of diphtheria toxin A (DT-A) result in abrogation of protein sy… |
| Reversible | Gothelf et al · Gene Ther | 2010 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Gene Electrotransfer (Plasmid DNA) | In development of novel vaccines, attention is drawn to DNA vaccinations. They are heat stable and can be easily produced. Gene electrotransfer is a simple and nonviral means of transferring… |
| Reversible | Ahmad et al · Mol Ther | 2009 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | – | Prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) is a cell surface antigen expressed in normal human prostate and over expressed in prostate cancer. Elevated levels of PSCA protein in prostate cancer corre… |
| Irreversible | Onik et al · Technol Cancer Res Treat | 2007 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Percutaneous prostate cryo-ablation has become an accepted treatment for primary prostate cancer. Thermal tissue ablation based on cold, however, does have some distinct limitations. These i… |
| Reversible | Mitsui et al · Int J Clin Oncol | 2000 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation, Increased Intracellular Cisplatin Accumulation | Background. We aimed to assess a new approach to cancer therapy, using pulsed electric fields to facilitate the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs. Methods. We investigated the cytotoxic eff… |
| Reversible | Kubota et al · Eur Urol | 1998 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the usefulness of an electropermeabilization method in the administration of a chemotherapeutic agent in bladder cancer in the rat. Materials … |
| Reversible | Vizcarra-Ramos et al · Pharmaceutics | 2024 | In Vitro Study | Cell Culture | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation, Increased Intracellular Cisplatin Accumulation | Prostate cancer is a significant global health problem, being the second most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of death in men worldwide. Standard chemotherapy, though effective, of… |
| Reversible | Kiełbik et al · Sci Rep | 2021 | In Vitro Study | Cell Culture | Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field (nsPEF), Apoptosis Induction | Electroporation with pulsed electric fields show a potential to be applied as an experimental focal therapy of tumors. Sub-microsecond regime of electric pulses displays unique electrophysic… |
| Reversible | Kiełbik · Molecules | 2020 | In Vitro Study | Cell Culture | Calcium Electroporation and ATP Depletion, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Electroporation, applied as a non-thermal ablation method has proven to be effective for focal prostate treatment. In this study, we performed pre-clinical research, which aims at exploring … |
| Irreversible | Rubinsky et al · J Urol | 2008 | In Vitro Study | Cell Culture | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Purpose: Irreversible electroporation is a new tissue ablation technique that consists of applying musecond pulses of direct current to create permanent defects in the cell membrane. Irrever… |
| Reversible | Sauer et al · Br J Cancer | 1999 | In Vitro Study | Cell Culture | Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Oxidative Stress, Electric Field Distribution and Modelling | Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a new approach to the treatment of tumours. In the present study, multicellular prostate tumour spheroids were treated with non-lethal direct current (DC) electr… |
| Irreversible | van Gemert et al · Prostate | 2014 | In Silico / Modelling | Computational Model | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is (virtually) always called non-thermal despite many reports showing that significant Joule heating occurs. Our first aim is to validate with … |
| Irreversible | Coleman et al · – | 2026 | Preprint | – | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | The PRESERVE trial ( NCT04972097 ) is a prospective, single-arm pivotal IDE study evaluating focal irreversible electroporation (IRE) using the NanoKnife System for intermediate-risk prostat… |
| Irreversible | Xia et al · – | 2024 | Preprint | Cell Culture | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Background Prostate cancer is a prevalent condition among elderly males, with radical prostatectomy being the standard treatment. However, this procedure can inevitably impact urinary and se… |
| Reversible | Rangel et al · – | 2023 | Preprint | Animal (In Vivo) | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | Local treatment of canine urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the bladder is a challenge. More than 90% of cases arise as muscle-invasive tumors, with more than 50% developing on bladder sites with… |
| Irreversible | Zhang et al · – | 2023 | Preprint | – | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | BACKGROUND Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel technique to treat localized prostate cancer with the aim of achieving oncological control while reducing related side effects. We pr… |
| Irreversible | Scheltema et al · Eur Urol | 2026 | Editorial / Letter | – | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | of IRE for localised IR-PC. As clinical urologists, it is now arguably hard to explain our inability to offer IRE to patients with clear indications for focal treatment, such as patients wit… |
| Irreversible | Gebauer et al · J Vasc Interv Radiol | 2017 | Editorial / Letter | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Prostate Cancer following Radical Prostatectomy and Salvage Radiation Therapy From: Bernhard Gebauer, MD Judith Enders, MD Alexander D.J. Baur, MD Bernd Hamm, MD Federico Collettini, MD B.G.… |
| Irreversible | Wendler et al · Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol | 2016 | Editorial / Letter | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | cific Pretreatment Simulation by Electric Field Measurement in a 3D Bioprinted Textured Prostate Cancer Model to Achieve Optimal Electroporation Parameters for Image-Guided Focal Ablation Jo… |
| Irreversible | Fenner · Nat Rev Urol | 2014 | Editorial / Letter | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS PROSTATE CANCER Irreversible electroporation is a safe and feasible option for focal therapy A small clinical study from groups in London and Sydney has shown that irreve… |
| Irreversible | te Molder et al · BMJ Open | 2026 | Protocol | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | Background: Intermediate-risk prostate cancer (PCa) is currently managed with radical whole-gland therapies, such as radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiotherapy (RT). While effective, these t… |
| Irreversible | Marra · Front Surg | 2022 | Protocol | – | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Introduction: Currently, the majority of prostate cancer (PCa) recurrences after non-surgical first-line treatment are managed with androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT). Salvage radical prosta… |
Limitations
The counts on this page are bounded by the scope of the source PDF archive and are not a systematic review of the area's literature. Study type and mechanism labels are derived automatically; for critical decisions consult the full texts of the publications listed. The evidence level reflects the number of publications, not their methodological quality.