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The use of electrochemotherapy in women with vulvar cancer

 

Vulvar cancer is a rare disease that is primarily treated with surgery and/or radiotherapy. Recurrences of vulvar cancer re resent a challen e for treatment since in most cases patients are older women with several associated diseases and further surgical interventions represent a high risk. Due to previous treatments, additional surgical interventions cause a mutilation in the area of the external genitalia, which greatly worsens the quality of life of women. Repeated major surgical procedures and radiotherapy are often not possible. The purpose of the scientific research project is to evaluate the safety, feasibility and effectiveness of electrochemotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced recurrences of vulvar cancer. To date, only a small number of studies have been published to describe the use of electrochemotherapy in vulvar cancer for palliative purposes. Research evaluating the use of electrochemotherapy as a treatment for locally advanced vulvar cancer has not yet been published. 

Electrochemotherapy is a treatment method in which, by delivering electric pulses, we cause an increase in the permeability of the cell membrane, thereby facilitating the diffusion of cytostatics, which are normally poorly permeable, and increasing their effect on tumor cells. Electrochemotherapy is already recommended as a treatment option for basal cell carcinoma, melanoma, liver tumors, hepatocellular carcinoma and squamous cell skin cancer. In recent years, the results of a small number of foreign clinical studies, with a small number of included patients, have been published, which indicate the effectiveness of electrochemotherapy in the treatment of recurrences of vulvar cancer when classical treatment has been exhausted. 

We believe that electrochemotherapy can be used in locally advanced vulvar cancer as a treatment before possible surgical intervention or radiotherapy. We expect that our results will show that electrochemotherapy is a safe, feasible and effective method of treating vulvar cancer.