Effect of electrochemotherapy on muscle and skin.

The efficient delivery of drugs to tumors is an important tool for the treatment of a variety of cancers. Electric pulses have been shown to facilitate the uptake of molecules through the cell membrane. This procedure has been successful in increasing the effectiveness of anti-tumor agents (electrochemotherapy; ECT). Response rates of >80% have been obtained in both animal and human trials for several types of skin malignancies. The study reported here examined the effect of ECT on normal tissue. The hind limbs of Sprague Dawley rats were treated with 1-3 electroporation sequences in the presence or absence of the drug (bleomycin) which was administered at 4, 8 or 16 units/ml. The treated sites were examined histologically 3, 14 and 56 days later. Limb function was not affected by the treatment and skin and muscle necrosis was only seen at the higher doses.