Author/Editor     Serša, Gregor; Čemažar, Maja; Rudolf, Zvonimir
Title     Application of electroporation in electrochemotherapy of tumors
Type     članek
Source     In: Kramar P, Miklavčič D, editors. Proceedings of the International scientific workshop and postgraduate course Electroporation based technologies and treatments; 2003 Nov 19-22; Ljubljana. Ljubljana: Faculty of electrical engineering,
Publication year     2003
Volume     str. 32-6
Language     eng
Abstract     Electrochemotherapy consists of chemotherapy followed by local application of electric pulses to the tumor to increase drug delivery into the tumors. Since drug uptake can be increased by electroporation for only those drugs that have impeded transport through the plasma membrane, among many drugs that have been tested so far, only bleomycin and cisplatin have found their way from preclinical testing to clinical trials. In vitro studies demonstrated several fold increase of their cytotoxicity by electroporation of cells. In vivo, electroporation of tumors after local or systemic administration of either of the drugs i.e. electrochemotherapy, proved to be effective antitumor treatment. Studies on several tumor models by electrochemotherapy, either with bleomycin or cisplatin, elaborated treatment parameters for effective local tumor control. In clinical studies electrochemotherapy was performed on accessible tumor nodules of different malignancies. All studies provided evidence that electrochemotherapy is effective treatment for local tumor control growth in patients with different cancer types. The perspectives of electrochemotherapy are also in combination with other established treatment modalities, like irradiation, and those newcomers, like gene therapy. Because application of electric pulses to the tumurs induces transient reduction of tumor perfusion and oxygenation it can be exploited in several other treatment combinations like with bioreductive drugs and hyperthermia.
Descriptors     NEOPLASMS
ELECTROPORATION
DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS
BLEOMYCIN
CISPLATIN