Background: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) promotes the increased uptake of antitumor agents through the administration of permeabilizing electric pulses, thus enhancing chemotherapy effectiveness.
Aim: The aim of our study was to describe the tolerability and efficacy of ECT alone or in association with surgery for the management of solid neoplasms in equines
Methods: Medical records of equines with a diagnosis of malignant tumors, that were treated with ECT alone or in combination with surgery were retrospectively evaluated. Each equine received local treatment within the tumors or the tumors bed with cisplatin at the dose of 0.5 mg/cm2. Trains of permeabilizing biphasic electric pulses were then applied under spinal or general anesthesia.
Results: Sixteen equines were enrolled in the study. There were nine melanoma cases, four fibrosarcoma (FSA) and three squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Of those sixteen equines, seven received ECT for treatment of intraoperative local disease, while in 9 cases ECT was the only treatment modality. The seven equines treated with the combination of ECT and surgery still have no evidence of disease at different times. The remaining 9 had the following responses: two complete remission (CR), five partial response (PR), one stable disease (SD) and one progressive disease (PD). The treatment was well tolerated and local side effects were minimal. No systemic effects were documented.
Conclusion: This retrospective study suggests that ECT may be beneficial for equines with solid neoplasms and could be a useful addition to the current therapeutic options in consideration of its low cost, limited toxicity, and ease of administration.
Key words: Biphasic Pulses, Cisplatin, Fibrosarcoma, Horse, Melanoma, Pony, Squamous Cell Carcinoma
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