TY - JOUR
T1 - Electrochemotherapy in mucosal cancer of the head and neck
T2 - A systematic review
AU - Strojan, Primož
AU - Grošelj, Aleš
AU - Serša, Gregor
AU - Plaschke, Christina Caroline
AU - Vermorken, Jan B.
AU - Nuyts, Sandra
AU - de Bree, Remco
AU - Eisbruch, Avraham
AU - Mendenhall, William M.
AU - Smee, Robert
AU - Ferlito, Alfio
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS), grant numbers P3-03037 and P3-0003.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/3/2
Y1 - 2021/3/2
N2 - Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a local ablative treatment that is based on the reversible electroporation and intracellular accumulation of hydrophilic drug molecules, which greatly increases their cytotoxicity. In mucosal head and neck cancer (HNC), experience with ECT is limited due to the poor accessibility of tumors. In order to review the experience with ECT in mucosal HNC, we undertook a systematic review of the literature. In 22 articles, published between 1998 and 2020, 16 studies with 164 patients were described. Curative and palliative intent treatment were given to 36 (22%) and 128 patients (78%), respectively. The majority of tumors were squamous cell carcinomas (79.3%) and located in the oral cavity (62.8%). In the curative intent group, complete response after one ECT treatment was achieved in 80.5% of the patients, and in the palliative intent group, the objective (complete and partial) response rate was 73.1% (31.2% and 41.9%). No serious adverse events were reported during or soon after ECT and late effects were rare (19 events in 17 patients). The quality-of-life assessments did not show a significant deterioration at 12 months post-ECT. Provided these preliminary data are confirmed in randomized controlled trials, ECT may be an interesting treatment option in selected patients with HNC not amenable to standard local treatment.
AB - Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a local ablative treatment that is based on the reversible electroporation and intracellular accumulation of hydrophilic drug molecules, which greatly increases their cytotoxicity. In mucosal head and neck cancer (HNC), experience with ECT is limited due to the poor accessibility of tumors. In order to review the experience with ECT in mucosal HNC, we undertook a systematic review of the literature. In 22 articles, published between 1998 and 2020, 16 studies with 164 patients were described. Curative and palliative intent treatment were given to 36 (22%) and 128 patients (78%), respectively. The majority of tumors were squamous cell carcinomas (79.3%) and located in the oral cavity (62.8%). In the curative intent group, complete response after one ECT treatment was achieved in 80.5% of the patients, and in the palliative intent group, the objective (complete and partial) response rate was 73.1% (31.2% and 41.9%). No serious adverse events were reported during or soon after ECT and late effects were rare (19 events in 17 patients). The quality-of-life assessments did not show a significant deterioration at 12 months post-ECT. Provided these preliminary data are confirmed in randomized controlled trials, ECT may be an interesting treatment option in selected patients with HNC not amenable to standard local treatment.
KW - Electrochemotherapy
KW - Head and neck cancer
KW - Quality of life
KW - Systematic review
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102445005&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/cancers13061254
DO - 10.3390/cancers13061254
M3 - Review article
C2 - 33809141
AN - SCOPUS:85102445005
SN - 2072-6694
VL - 13
JO - Cancers
JF - Cancers
IS - 6
M1 - 1254
ER -