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Electrochemotherapy and Other Clinical Applications of Electroporation for the Targeted Therapy of Metastatic Melanoma - PubMed

  • ️Fri Jan 01 2021

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Electrochemotherapy and Other Clinical Applications of Electroporation for the Targeted Therapy of Metastatic Melanoma

Corina Ioana Cucu et al. Materials (Basel). 2021.

Abstract

Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is an effective bioelectrochemical procedure that uses controlled electrical pulses to facilitate the increase of intracellular concentration of certain substances (electropermeabilization/ reversible electroporation). ECT using antitumor drugs such as bleomycin and cisplatin is a minimally invasive targeted therapy that can be used as an alternative for oncologic patients not eligible for surgery or other standard therapies. Even though ECT is mainly applied as palliative care for metastases, it may also be used for primary tumors that are unresectable due to size and location. Skin neoplasms are the main clinical indication of ECT, the procedure reporting good curative results and high efficiency across all tumor types, including melanoma. In daily practice, there are many cases in which the patient's quality of life can be significantly improved by a safe procedure such as ECT. Its popularity must be increased because it has a safe profile and minor local adverse reactions. The method can be used by dermatologists, oncologists, and surgeons. The aim of this paper is to review recent literature concerning electrochemotherapy and other clinical applications of electroporation for the targeted therapy of metastatic melanoma.

Keywords: advanced melanoma; electrochemotherapy; electropermeabilization; electroporation; gene transfer; metastatic melanoma; targeted therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1

Flow chart presenting steps in electrochemotherapy in melanoma. Initially, the therapeutic agent is administered intravenously or intratumoral. The drug progressively surrounds the tumoral cells and achieves optimal local concentrations. The needle electrode is inserted into the targeted tissue (in particular, melanoma metastasis), and the generator applies electric pulses leading to a “vascular lock”, with temporary local hypoperfusion and interstitial edema; increased permeability of cell membranes in malignant melanocytes, with an enhanced intracellular uptake of the drug and cytotoxicity.

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