BACKGROUND

Some types of cancers come with the most dismal prognoses, particularly after metastasis has already occurred. Although several immunotherapies for cancers exists, there still is a great need for techniques to allow treatment customization to improve treatment outcomes on the individual patient level.

SUMMARY

Described herein are aspects of a method of treating a tissue in a patient that can include ablating the tissue using a non-thermal ablation technique; measuring a change in a treatment parameter in real-time during the step of ablating; and administering an additional treatment to the subject in response to the measured change in the treatment parameter. The step of administering the additional treatment can occur 4-30 days post ablating. The additional treatment can be selected from the group of: tissue resection, thermal ablation, non-thermal ablation, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, biologic therapy, genetic therapy, and combinations thereof. The additional treatment can be measuring the amount of a proinflammatory immune molecule or cell, a suppressive immune molecule or cell, or both in a bodily fluid or a biopsied tissue of the patient. The non-thermal ablation technique can be irreversible electroporation. The non-thermal ablation technique, can be high-frequency irreversible electroporation. The treatment parameter can be bulk tissue conductivity. The change in bulk tissue conductivity can be measured by measuring current during the step of ablating. The step of administering the additional treatment can occur 4-30 days post ablating when the current measured is between 25 A and 100 A. The treatment parameter can be measured by measuring current during the step of ablating. The step of administering the additional treatment can occur 4-30 days post ablating when the current measured is between 25 A and 100 A.

Also described herein are aspects of a method that can include a method of treating a tissue in a patient comprising: inserting first electrode and a second electrode into the tissue applying a plurality of electrical pulses through the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the electrical pulses are configured to cause non-thermal irreversible electroporation of the tissue; measuring a current of the applied electrical pulses; and administering an additional treatment to the subject in response to the subject, wherein the step of administering occurs 0 to 5 days after non-thermal irreversible electroporation when the current is less than 25 A, and wherein the step of administering occurs 4-30 days after non-thermal irreversible electroporation when the current is between 25 A and 100 A. The additional treatment can be selected from the group consisting of: tissue resection, thermal ablation, non-thermal ablation, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, biologic therapy, genetic therapy, and combinations thereof. The additional treatment can be measuring the amount of a pro-inflammatory immune molecule or cell, a suppressive immune molecule or cell, or both in a bodily fluid or a biopsied tissue of the patient. The electrical pulses can be configured to cause non-thermal high-frequency irreversible electroporation of the tissue.

Also described herein are aspects of a method of treating a tissue in a patient that can include the step of applying a plurality of electrical pulses to the tissue, wherein the electrical pulses are configured to cause non-thermal irreversible electroporation of the tissue; measuring a current of the applied electrical pulses; administering an additional treatment to the subject in response to the subject, wherein the step of administering occurs 0 to 5 days after non-thermal irreversible electroporation when the current is less than 25 A, and wherein the step of administering occurs 4-30 days after non-thermal irreversible electroporation when the current is between 25 A and 100 A. The additional treatment is selected from the group consisting of: tissue resection, thermal ablation, non-thermal ablation, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, biologic therapy, genetic therapy, and combinations thereof. The additional treatment can be measuring the amount of a pro-inflammatory immune molecule or cell, a suppressive immune molecule or cell, or both in a bodily fluid or a biopsied tissue of the patient. The electrical pulses can be configured to cause non-thermal high-frequency irreversible electroporation of the tissue. The plurality of electrical pulses can be applied through a plurality of electrodes inserted into the tissue.

