Treatment of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) Grade III With Non-invasive Physical Plasma

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasms (CIN), classified into severity levels CIN I to III, can be precursors to cervical cancer (CC), the world's third most common cancer in women (270,000 deaths / year), which radical therapies are often associated with lifelong severe physical and emotional stress. Cross-sectional studies found a prevalence for CIN of 62 per 1,000 women and incidences of 1.2 (CIN I), 0.8 (CIN II) and 0.7 (CIN III) per 1,000 women per year (highest incidence of CIN between 20 and 24 years) age). The standard therapy for the treatment of CIN III by LEEP excision is associated with an increase in mortality of 17%. CIN III, in particular, is associated with a significant decline in quality of life, psychological well-being and sexual health, although on average only about 12% of CIN III lesions progress to invasive CC. The resulting over-treatment (in around 8-9 out of 10 patients) with invasive procedures is a serious problem for affected women, health care providers and the health economy.

The NIPP treatment is a tissue-sparing, pain-free, easy to carry out and outpatient treatment method without anesthesia and hospitalization. A non-randomized, one-arm feasibility study at the Department of Women's Health (649 / 2017BO1) already showed the effectiveness of a NIPP treatment.

Clinical implications for CIN III:

• A previous NIPP treatment should significantly reduce the invasiveness of the LEEP excision.
• If the oncological safety of NIPP treatment is comparable (histological complete remission of CIN III), NIPP is to be established as a safe alternative to LEEP excision in the future.