Electrochemotherapy as Treatment for Head and Neck Tumors

Dear Colleagues,

Electrochemotherapy is a treatment combining a low dose of antineoplastic drug (bleomycin) and an electrical pulse (electroporation) applied directly to the cancer cells using an electrode. Electroporation consists of the application of short, intense, pulsed electric fields to tumor cells, with a transient increase of membrane permeability, facilitating cellular uptake of cytotoxic agents and increasing their toxicity.

Electrochemotherapy is indicated for the local treatment of solid tumors; it is a well-established antitumor strategy for cutaneous neoplasms and has interesting applications for the treatment of head and neck tumors. In fact, it is effective with any tumor regardless of the histotype and has several mechanisms of action with vascular and immunologic effects, ensuring good control of bleeding lesions and interesting prospects for the general care of cancer patients.

The interest in electrochemotherapy for the treatment of tumors in the head and neck area has increased because it results in minimal or no impacts to function and can lead to healing of treated tumor lesions without damage to the healthy tissues.

For these reasons, electrochemotherapy can be an alternative to palliative chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and partial and complete remission rates have been reported in various clinical trials with a low frequency of side effects. Electrochemotherapy is well tolerated and leads to a significant improvement of quality of life, including in elderly patients.

This Special Issue of Cancers will highlight the role of electrochemotherapy and its applications in the treatment of head and neck tumors.

For this Special Issue, we particularly welcome authors to submit original articles and reviews underlining every possible indication (curative, palliative, etc.) to establish its current use and future prospects.

Dr. Francesco Longo
Dr. Barbara Pichi
Dr. Francesco Perri
Guest Editors

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