ELECTROCHEMOTHERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF FIBROPAPILLOMAS INCHELONIA MYDAS

Abstract

Fibropapillomatosis continues to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in sea turtles, particularly in Chelonia mydas. Turtles with this debilitating herpesvirus disease usually present with multiple, large, and ulcerated cutaneous masses that compromise both locomotion and feeding. There are very few available therapeutic strategies, with surgical excision being the most common. However, this surgical excision is associated with a high rate of local disease recurrence and secondary infections. Electrochemotherapy has been used for the treatment of epithelial neoplasm in several animal species. This technique is based on a combination of chemotherapy, usually with bleomycin or cisplatin, and electroporation. It consists of a series of short, high-voltage electric pulses that lead to increased membrane permeability and more efficient transport of antineoplastic drugs through the cellular membrane. Here, two C. mydas fibropapillomas were treated with a standard electrochemotherapy protocol using intralesional bleomycin sulfate injections followed by the application of electric pulses. Two sessions were performed, with a 33-day interval between sessions. Complete regression of lesions occurred without side effects or complications in each animal. There was no sign of local recurrence, even 1 yr after the end of treatment. Electrochemotherapy may be an effective therapeutic alternative for sea turtles with fibropapillomas.

Recent Advances in Electrochemotherapy

“…Electrochemotherapy is also being used in the treatment of exotic pets, such as ferrets, cockatiels, turtles, rats, and hedgehogs. [85][86][87][88][89][90][91] Especially in turtles, where fibropapillomatosis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality of sea turtles, electrochemotherapy is a very promising treatment option. Complete responses were obtained after electrochemotherapy with intralesional bleomycin in two treated turtles presenting fibropapillomatosis and one with squamous cell carcinoma, with no healing complications and no recurrence up to 1 year.…”

“…Complete responses were obtained after electrochemotherapy with intralesional bleomycin in two treated turtles presenting fibropapillomatosis and one with squamous cell carcinoma, with no healing complications and no recurrence up to 1 year. 85,91 In cats, because of the severe toxicity of cisplatin, electrochemotherapy with bleomycin is being used, mainly for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head. 92,93 Electrochemotherapy was well tolerated, with no evident local or systemic side effects.…”

Ungual warts: comparison of treatment with intralesional bleomycin and electroporation in terms of efficacy and safety

“…Electroporation changes the cell membrane permeability in a transient manner without causing cell damage. It is reported in the treatment of benign and malignant tumours in both humans and animals, with good efficacy and an excellent safety profile …”

“…It is reported in the treatment of benign and malignant tumours in both humans and animals, with good efficacy and an excellent safety profile. [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Bleomycin is the most commonly used chemotherapeutic agent in electrochemotherapy because it is an excellent example of a cell membrane non-permeable cytotoxic drug (hydrophilic); it has high cytotoxicity inside cells for stimulating numerous routes of immune response, as well as macrophages in the activity against tumours, thereby inducing interleukin-2 secretion and eliminating the specific secretion of tumour with T-suppressive activity. 26,[33][34][35][36][37] To date, there are no reports in the literature showing the association of electrochemotherapy with intralesional bleomycin for the treatment of ungual warts.…”

Electrochemotherapy for the treatment of an incompletely excised subcutaneous low-grade epithelioid hemangioendothelioma in a budgerigar parakeet (<i>Melopsittacus undulatus</i>)

“…Electrochemotherapy (ECT) involves intra-tumoral injections of chemotherapy (e.g., cisplatin or bleomycin) followed by the application of electric pulses to promote drug absorption (Spugnini et al, 2016). ECT is gaining popularity in exotic animals' oncology (Brunner et al, 2014;Spugnini et al, , 2018Lanza et al, 2015;Racnik et al, 2017;. It currently consists of intratumoral injections of chemotherapy agents (usually cisplatin or bleomycin), followed by local delivery of biphasic electric pulses that induce clustering of the transmembrane proteins, thus enhancing drug absorption by cancer cells (Spugnini et al, 2016).…”