Synergistic anticancer effects of different combinations of He+O₂ plasma jet and doxorubicin on A375 melanoma cells

Cold atmospheric plasma technology is expected to become an option for adjuvant therapy in cancer due to its promising anticancer effect. Here, we evaluated the effects of different combinations of He+O₂ plasma jet and clinical anticancer drug, doxorubicin, on A375 melanoma cells in vitro. The results show that the synergistic anticancer effect of plasma jet and doxorubicin is dependent on the manner of their combination. Although doxorubicin does not affect plasma jet-induced exogenous oxidative stress in A375 cells, the synergistic anticancer effect of continuous doxorubicin treatment with subsequent plasma jet treatment is significantly better than that of simultaneous continuous doxorubicin and plasma jet treatment. It is proposed that plasma jet interventions may create transitory therapeutic windows for continuous chemotherapy. Our results will help to optimize therapeutic approaches that include combinations of anticancer drugs and plasma for future clinical applications.