Electrochemotherapy Makes Resectable from unresectable and Pain Reduction in Chest Wall Recurrence Breast Cancer of Two Patients

Abstract

Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a local cancer treatment modality where the intracellular accumulation of a chemotherapeutic agent is enhanced in the presence of an electrical field by the phenomenon known as electroporation (EP). If surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy are no longer possible, this innovative technology can be used effectively for local tumour control. The minor side effects of the therapy and the low intraoperative duration of treatment make it possible to admit patients to hospital for just a short time. Thus, the repeated use of electrochemotherapy has allowed for treatment of tumors untreatable before. We treated two patients with adenocarcinoma of chest wall recurrence of breast cancer who had been treated with bleomycin electrochemotherapy with four needle electrodes. Bleomycin was given intravenously (15 units) as well as intra tumorally, for Patient 1. Patient 2 was given only intravenously (15 units). The objective response was significant in both cases, with 90% for Patient 1 and 40% for Patient 2. Chest wall recurrence breast cancer showed partial responses and local control of the disease was seen. Electrochemotherapy with bleomycin is an effective option for skin tumors of the chest wall recurrence breast cancer and is a feasible alternative in highly selected (small, primary and big lesions) of the skin lesions.