USF researchers develop tumor-targeting cancer treatment already saving pets: Human trials could be next

TAMPA - USF medical engineering professors Dr. Richard Heller and Dr. Mark Jaroszeski have spent more than three decades developing a targeted cancer-treatment technology that avoids traditional chemotherapy and surgery.

Big picture view:

Their technique uses pulsed electric fields combined with mild heat to temporarily open tumor cells. This allows therapeutic molecules, including drug therapy paired with immunotherapy, to enter the cells directly.

The approach not only attacks the tumor, Dr. Heller says, but appears to prompt the patient’s immune system to seek and destroy additional cancer cells throughout the body. 

In multiple clinical trials dating back to 2004, several patients’ tumors gradually "melted away," according to Dr. Heller.

The backstory:

The research has been heavily supported by the National Institutes of Health, with more than $30 million in federal grants awarded for development.

In 2019, St. Petersburg entrepreneur Gary Strange partnered with the professors to commercialize the technology for veterinary use. Their device, The VetPulse 2000, is now being used to treat animals with promising results. Strange says the treatment has helped shrink or eliminate tumors in pets and even horses.

What's next:

A new $2 million NIH grant is funding a year-long melanoma trial in dogs. Researchers say the goal is to use the animal results as a steppingstone toward approval for human trials.

If the team receives FDA clearance, human testing could begin as early as 2026.