Percutaneous electrochemotherapy in primary and secondary liver malignancies – local tumor control and impact on overall survival
Article Category: Research Article
Published Online: Feb 11, 2022
Page range: 102 - 110
Received: Nov 19, 2021
Accepted: Dec 24, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/raon-2022-0003
© 2022 Hannah Spallek, Peter Bischoff, Willi Zhou, Francesca de Terlizzi, Fabian Jakob, Attila Kovàcs, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Background
Local nonsurgical tumor ablation currently represents a further option for the treatment of patients with liver tumors or metastases. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a welcome addition to the portfolio of local therapies. A retrospective analysis of patients with liver tumors or metastases treated with ECT is reported. Attention is given to the safety and efficacy of the treatment over time.
Patients and methods
Eighteen consecutive patients were recruited with measurable liver tumors of different histopatologic origins, mainly colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and hepatocellular cancer. They were treated with percutaneous ECT following the standard operating procedures (SOP) for ECT under general anaesthesia and muscle relaxation. Treatment planning was performed based on MRI preoperative images. The follow-up assessment included contrast-enhanced MR within at least 1–3 months after treatment and then after 5, 7, 9, 12, and 18 months until progression of the disease or death.
Results
Only mild or moderate side effects were observed after ECT. The objective response rate was 85.7% (complete response 61.9%, partial 23.8%), the mean progression-free survival (PFS) was 9.0 ± 8.2 months, and the overall survival (OS) was 11.3 ± 8.6 months. ECT performed best (PFS and OS) in lesions within 3 and 6 cm diameters (p = 0.0242, p = 0.0297)
Conclusions
Electrochemotherapy provides an effective valuable option for the treatment of unresectable liver metastases not amenable to other ablative techniques.