Despite impressive scientific, and technological progress, the fight against cancer is still a challenge.
COCKTAIL aims at designing a novel target therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC),
whose survival is one of the lowest among all major human cancers and has not improved in last decades. To
achieve this goal, we will take advantage of the cocktail of reactive species generated by cold atmospheric
plasma (CAP) in the liquid media alone and in combination with an anticancer drug, which we will use in a
data driven approach:
i) to investigate the selective effects of CAP activated media (PAM) against HNSCC
ii) to clarify the still unknown mechanisms involved in their therapeutic action
iii) to meet the urgent need to standardize protocols and procedures
The methodological approach will involve an interdisciplinary team, dealing with chemistry, computational
modelling, molecular biology, oral pathology to open a great window of opportunities in the newborn area of
Plasma Medicine.