Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a method of local tumour treatment that combines an anticancer drug with short electrical pulses. It makes it possible to treat lesions effectively in places where extensive surgery would be difficult or mutilating.
How does electrochemotherapy work?
An anticancer drug (most often bleomycin or cisplatin) is given intravenously or directly into the tumour. A series of short electrical pulses is then applied to the lesion using electrodes. The pulses temporarily increase the permeability of cell membranes (so-called electroporation), allowing far more of the drug to enter the cancer cells. As a result, a small dose of the drug works very powerfully – but only in the area reached by the electric field.
When is electrochemotherapy used?
- tumours of the skin and subcutaneous tissue – e.g. mast cell tumours, squamous cell carcinoma, soft tissue sarcomas,
- tumours of the oral cavity and mucous membranes,
- lesions in places that are difficult to operate on – on the head, limbs or around the anus,
- adjuvant treatment of the surgical scar when the margin of healthy tissue was too narrow,
- palliative treatment of bleeding or ulcerated tumours.
Electrochemotherapy does not replace systemic treatment – for disseminated disease or very large, deep-seated tumours, other methods are chosen, e.g. chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
What does the procedure involve?
The procedure is performed under general anaesthesia and usually takes from a dozen to several dozen minutes. In the following days, swelling may appear at the tumour site, followed by a scab – a sign that the tumour tissue is dying, after which the wound gradually heals. One session is often enough; if necessary, the procedure is repeated after a few weeks.