Veterinary Guidelines for Electrochemotherapy of Superficial Tumors

Abstract

Electrochemotherapy (ECT) consists in the application of electric pulses to increase chemotherapeutic drug intake (bleomycin, cisplatin, or calcium) into the tumor cells. It has become a very valuable treatment option in veterinary oncology. It is an effective and safe treatment modality, which is not only beneficial as a palliative treatment, but also for a curative approach. Performing the treatment adequately will ensure the best results possible, in the minimum number of sessions, and reduce complications. Usually, only one session is enough to achieve excellent results, but the treatment can be repeated. Several sessions can be necessary in the case of incompletely treated or very extended lesions, as well as in the occurrence of new lesions. ECT is effective for superficial or oral tumors of any histology that are accessible to the electrodes. Intravenous bleomycin is the preferred drug and route of administration, leaving other ways of administration and drugs for selected cases. The guidelines presented here are destined to veterinarians who want to develop their understanding of the basis of ECT and wish to perform it adequately and effectively. In this paper, we also discuss common problems and how to solve them, and we include practical tips to improve the treatment results based on common questions and mistakes of beginner users.

Electrochemically Enhanced Delivery of Pemetrexed from Electroactive Hydrogels

“…NIH3T3 fibroblasts adhered and proliferated on the non-conductive and conductive gels (no discernable differences between the data for the types of gel), albeit slightly less effectively on the gels than on the tissue culture plastic control (Figure 7). We studied the release of PEM from PEM-doped hydrogels into phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) in the absence/presence of electrical stimuli via UV spectroscopy (Figure 8) We studied the release of PEM from PEM-doped hydrogels into phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) in the absence/presence of electrical stimuli via UV spectroscopy (Figure 8) over the period of 30 min, a duration chosen as it is used in treatment of cancer via electrochemotherapy [59,60,66]. Passive release of PEM was observed from all hydrogels, however, this amounted to less than 5% over the course of the experiment, and the application of an electrical stimulus was observed to trigger the delivery of PEM from the gels, with an increase of ca.…”

“…over the period of 30 min, a duration chosen as it is used in treatment of cancer via electrochemotherapy [59,60,66]. Passive release of PEM was observed from all hydrogels, however, this amounted to less than 5% over the course of the experiment, and the application of an electrical stimulus was observed to trigger the delivery of PEM from the gels, with an increase of ca.…”

“…Conducting polymer-based electrode coatings enable delivery of drugs in the proximity of the site at which the electrodes are implanted, which is potentially impactful for electrochemotherapy which functions by electroporation of the cancerous tissue shortly after injection of anticancer drugs such as bleomycin or cisplatin [56][57][58][59][60]. Electrochemotherapy functions through a variety of mechanisms, including: the cytotoxic effect of the chemotherapeutic which is enhanced by electroporation; vasoconstriction of tumor blood vessel for several hours due to sympathetic nerve stimulation which reduces drug washout from the tumor; vascular disruption due to cytotoxicity towards the endothelial cells of tumor blood vessels; the immune response to immunogenic cell death and enhanced tumor antigen expression [61][62][63].…”

“…Electrochemotherapy functions through a variety of mechanisms, including: the cytotoxic effect of the chemotherapeutic which is enhanced by electroporation; vasoconstriction of tumor blood vessel for several hours due to sympathetic nerve stimulation which reduces drug washout from the tumor; vascular disruption due to cytotoxicity towards the endothelial cells of tumor blood vessels; the immune response to immunogenic cell death and enhanced tumor antigen expression [61][62][63]. Electrochemotherapy has been used to enhance the delivery of a variety of drugs [59,60,[64][65][66][67][68], and has been observed to be a swift, safe and effective treatment method for cancers that tends to enhance the quality of life of patients [69][70][71][72][73].…”

Tratamiento de neurofibrosarcoma apendicular en un felino con electroquimioterapia intraquirúrgica en Paraguay. Reporte de Caso

“…La electroquimioterapia (EQT) consiste en aplicar sobre el tejido neoplásico pulsos eléctricos de corta duración y alto voltaje que inducen formación transitoria de poros en las membranas celulares e incrementan la permeabilidad a fármacos antitumorales, con aumento de hasta 700 veces de citotoxicidad de la Bleomicina, la cual fragmenta ADN e induce apoptosis selectiva (Spugnini y Baldi, 2019). Para efectuar EQT han sido validados los fármacos Bleomicina, Cisplatino y Calcio, con preferencia al uso de Bleomicina debido a su selectividad por células en replicación, por inducir respuesta inmunitaria, por preservar la integridad de células que no se encuentran en mitosis, y por su flexibilidad, ya que se puede administrar por vía intravenosa e intratumoral (Tellado et al, 2022). Estudios de EQT han demostrado control local efectivo en STB felinos extirpados incompletamente.…”