Electroporation therapy of solid tumors

The curative effects of some chemotherapeutic drugs are impeded by their po or permeation through the cell membrane. This limitation can be overcome by a novel approach called electroporation therapy (EPT), electrochemotherapy (ECT), or electrical impulse chemotherapy (EIC). The method involves appli cation of brief electrical pulses, which destabilize die cell membrane barr ier, allowing intracellular access of chemotherapeutic drugs that otherwise would not be able to penetrate the cell membrane effectively. EPT makes it possible to lower the drug dose, thereby relieving the patient of adverse side effects associated with conventional chemotherapy. Even with the lower drug dose, EPT has shown significantly higher efficacy than has convention al chemotherapy. The method is currently being evaluated clinically for tre ating various cancer indications using die anticancer drugs bleomycin or ci splatin. This article provides a historical perspective and current insight s into this new modality of cancer treatment, including basic physical, bio logical, and medical facts about EPT; computer-assisted development of elec trical pulse generators and electrodes necessary to create effective electr ical fields in the treatment area; results of cancer cell and tumor treatme nts in vitro, in animals, and in humans; safety aspects of EPT; potential c ombined delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs and biological agents to reduce or eliminate metastatic disease; and intracellular delivery of DNA by elect roporation for cancer gene therapy.