IN-VIVO ANTITUMOR EFFECTS OF ELECTROCHEMOTHERAPY IN A HEPATOMA MODEL

The use of in vivo electroporation in combination with a chemotherapeu tic agent (electrochemotherapy) for the treatment of liver tumors was examined. Induced rat hepatomas were treated with a 0.5 unit intratumo r bleomycin dose followed by rectangular direct current pulses. Six pu lses were administered during treatment using a needle array electrode that rotated the applied electric field around the tumors. A 84.6% ob jective response rate resulted for tumors that received both bleomycin and electric pulses. Control groups that received partial or no treat ment showed less than 10% objective response rates. These results indi cate that electrochemotherapy can be translated from the treatment of cutaneous cancers to the treatment of liver tumors and other internal tumors.