Electrochemotherapy of equids cutaneous tumors: A 57 case retrospective study 1999-2005

Abstract

Electrochemotherapy is a new anticancer therapy where the transient permeabilization of cells by electric field pulses induces a significant increase of antitumoral drug concentration and toxicity in tumor cells. It has been successfully applied to the treatment of tumors in animals and humans by using antimitotic drugs. This report describes its first use in the treatment of equids skin tumors, mainly sarcoids. 57 equids have been enrolled totalizing 248 tumors located at different body positions. Treatment was performed under short duration general anesthesia. Intra tumoral injections of cisplatin were followed by short and intense electric pulses directly applied on the skin at the tumor sites. Two to four successive treatments were applied at two-week intervals. Objective antitumour responses were obtained in 94.7% of the treated lesions. All horses tolerated the treatment well. No adverse effect from the electric pulses was observed even in the case of a high number of pulses, or when several consecutive treatments were applied.