Chemotherapy: Open Access
Open Access

Electro Chemotherapy

Electrochemotherapy is a type of chemotherapy that allows delivery of non-permeant drugs to the cell interior. It is based on the local application of short and intense electric pulses that transiently permeabilize the cell membrane, thus allowing transport of molecules otherwise not permitted by the membrane. Electrochemotherapy combines short intense electric pulses with cytotoxic chemotherapy and is mainly used to treat skin tumours. The electric pulses make tumour cells transiently more permeable to the drug. The combination treatment works better than either modality on its own.In April 2013, electrochemotherapy received approval from NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, UK) for use as a palliative treatment for metastases in the skin from tumours of non-skin origin and melanoma. The approval followed an assessment of the evidence for efficacy and confirmation that there were no major safety concerns.