頭頸癌是世界上第五大的癌症，目前已有許多治療形式像是化療、放射線治療，但頭頸癌的存活機率在過去五十年依然很低。近期許多研究顯示非熱微電漿不僅能促進傷口修復、滅菌且可以誘導癌細胞走向細胞凋亡的途徑。電漿為物質的第四態，其中包含中性原子、電子及自由基等，非熱微電漿的溫度較低，近年來許多研究致力於將其應用在生物領域上，微電漿在癌細胞的應用及研究已有許多文獻支持，包含在皮膚組織、肝細胞及腸胃器官之細胞等。本研究評估氮氣和氦氣混合之非熱微電漿對頭頸癌細胞生長之影響，電漿診斷為確認電漿溫度及反應性氧/氮化物種之相對強度，進而以最佳電漿參數施打於四種頭頸癌細胞，分別為SAS, CAL 27, FaDu和Detroit 562。本研究偵測電漿處理後反應性氧化物種及反應性氮化物種的變化，以了解細胞環境改變之影響。在經過30、60、90秒的電漿處理，本實驗測試四種癌細胞之存活率、細胞毒性及細胞凋亡，並以氣吹組別作為實驗的對照組。實驗結果顯示隨著施予電漿的時間越長，細胞環境中的反應性氧/氮化物種越高，而癌細胞存活率有明顯的下降、細胞毒性隨之增加且經過電漿處理之後癌細胞出現細胞凋亡的現象。由本研究數據顯示非熱微電漿能抑制頭頸癌細胞生長並且使其產生細胞凋亡，而非熱微電漿在未來有機會可應用於頭頸癌的治療研究。

Head and neck cancer is the fifth most common cancer worldwide. Anti-cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy is usually conducted; however, the survival rates have remained virtually unchanged over the past 50 years. Recent studies have shown that non-thermal micro-plasma (NTP), a physical method, can heal wounds, kill unexpected bacteria, coagulate blood, and inactivate cancer cells. Plasma is a partially ionized gas containing energy particles, including electrons, ions, and neutral atoms. The effects of NTP result from reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS). In this study, a novel N2/He micro-plasma device is evaluated in terms of its ability to inactivate tumor cells and pharynx squamous carcinomatous cells SAS, CAL 27, FaDu, and Detroit 562. The temperature of NTP was measured as a function of supplied power with the addition of N2. Four cancer cell lines were subjected to N2/He micro-plasma exposure for durations of 30, 60, and 90 sec. A gas flow of 5 SLM (Standard Liter per Minite) He with 1% N2 for 30, 60, and 90 sec was used as a positive treatment control. The results indicate that NTP affected the four cell lines similarly in terms of proliferation, cytotoxicity, and apoptosis-related DNA damage, which implies that the cell culture media plays a significant role in plasma-cell interaction. SAS, CAL 27, and FaDu showed a significant reduction in cell number after plasma exposure, whereas Detroit 562 showed less reduction. The study shows that there was a short-term effect on head and neck cancer cells with plasma exposure.

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