title: Electrochemotherapy for digital chondrosarcoma.
abstract: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) delivers nonpermeable anticancer drugs to cell interiors by temporally increasing the permeability of the cytoplasmic membrane under locally applied pulsating electrical stimuli. This treatment results in consistent and enhanced pharmacological effects of drugs on the targeted tissue. ECT has been used for surface skin cancer but never for musculoskeletal tumors. This report describes a clinical trial of ECT for digital chondrosarcoma. A 74-year-old woman with a digital chondrosarcoma was administered electric stimulation with two surface electrodes 10 min after intratumoral multiple injection of bleomycin sulfate and 15 s after intraarterial perfusion of bleomycin sulfate. Biopsy performed after ECT showed 90% tumor necrosis. Marginal resection of the tumor was followed by autologous bone grafting to fill the bone defect. Although the follow-up period was short (3 years), the patient remained disease-free after ECT and was satisfied that amputation of the affected finger could be avoided. This preliminary result suggests that ECT is a viable modality for limb-preserving treatment of patients with sarcoma of the extremities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Tominaga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nikaido
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gomyo
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Horiuchi
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Isobe
authors.forename: Sohei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ebara
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takaoka
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002813:Chondrosarcoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D018274:Electroporation; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D001761:Bleomycin