Long-term follow-up in patients treated with electrochemotherapy for non-melanoma skin cancer in the head and neck area

Abstract

Background: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a cancer treatment modality where the intracellular accumulation of chemotherapeutic agents is enhanced by an applied electrical field.

Aims/Objectives: To evaluate the long-term efficacy, safety and functional outcome after ECT treatment in high-risk non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) with curative intent.

Materials and methods: Seven patients with SCC or BCC in the head and neck area were treated with ECT with intratumoral bleomycin administration.

Results: Five patients were cured by ECT as a mono-modality treatment after a median 10-year follow-up period. Two patients had recurrences and/or persisting tumors after treatment that required salvage surgery and radiotherapy. In two patients, the eye was spared with no visual impairment. In another patient, full facial nerve function was spared.

Conclusions: ECT can be a curative as well as an organ and function-sparing mono modality treatment in high-risk NMSC.

Significance: Today ECT is mostly used as a palliative treatment. Its curative potential should be further investigated. Randomized studies comparing ECT with standard treatment is needed. Hopefully, this small study can encourage such studies.

Chinese abstract

背景：电化疗法（ECT）是一种肿瘤治疗方法, 应用电场可以增强化疗药物的细胞内积累。

目的：评价高危非黑色素瘤皮肤癌（NMSC）经ECT治疗后的远期疗效、安全性和功能性结果。

材料与方法：对7例头颈部SCC或BCC患者用ECT进行肿瘤内博来霉素治疗。

结果：5例患者经用ECT作为单一治疗方式治疗, 并在中位10年的随访期后全愈。两名患者在治疗后出现复发和/或持续性肿瘤, 需要抢救性手术和放射治疗。在两名患者中, 眼睛没有视力损伤。另一位患者的面部神经功能完全正常。

结论：ECT是一种治疗高危NMSC的有效方法, 同时也是一种无损于器官和功能的单一疗法。

意义：目前, ECT主要用于保守治疗。其治疗潜力还有待进一步研究。需要对ECT与标准治疗进行随机比较研究。希望本项小型项目能激发此类研究。

Keywords:

• Electrochemotherapy
• non-melanoma skin cancer
• squamous cell carcinoma
• basal cell carcinoma

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Örebro County Council.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.