Safety and feasibility of electrochemotherapy of the pancreas in a porcine model

Dežman, Rok (author), Čemažar, Maja (author), Serša, Gregor (author), Seliškar, Alenka (author), Erjavec, Vladimira (author), Trotovšek, Blaž (author), Gašljević, Gorana (author), Omerzel, Maša (author), Lampreht Tratar, Urša (author), Kos, Bor (author), Djokić, Mihajlo (author), Milevoj, Nina (author), Štukelj, Marina (author), Boc, Nina (author), Izlakar, Jani (author), Popović, Peter (author)

Objectives: The use of thermal ablative therapies in the pancreatic tumors is limited because of the risk of the vessel injury and potential pancreatitis or fistula formation. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is an ablative therapy with an established role in the treatment of cutaneous and liver tumors. This study was designed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of ECT of the pancreas in a porcine survival model. Methods: In the first group, 4 animals underwent computed tomography (CT)–guided percutaneous ECT with bleomycin of the pancreatic tail. In the second group (4 animals), the intraoperative ECTwith bleomycin of pancreatic tail and head was performed. Animals were followed for 7 days and then killed. Clinical parameters, CT imaging, laboratory, and histologic analysis were performed. Results: All pigs survived the ECT procedure and none of them developed clinical signs of acute pancreatitis or related complications. There were no signs of acute pancreatitis or damage to the large vessels present in the follow-up CT scans. No significant change in laboratory parameters was obtained after procedure. Conclusions: This study shows that ECT with bleomycin is feasible and safe in the pancreatic parenchyma. Clinical studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of ECT in pancreatic cancer.

• Language: English
• Keywords: electrochemotherapy, electroporation, pancreas, porcine, pancreatic carcinoma, pancreatic fistula
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine; ZF - Faculty of Health Sciences; VF - Veterinary Faculty; FE - Faculty of Electrical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: Str. 1168-1173
• Numbering: Vol. 49, no. 9
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-122072
• UDC: 602.6/.7
• ISSN on article: 0885-3177
• DOI: 10.1097/MPA.0000000000001642
• COBISS.SI-ID: 28129539
• Publication date in RUL: 19.11.2020

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Pancreas
• Shortened title: Pancreas
• Publisher: Wolters Kluwer
• ISSN: 0885-3177
• COBISS.SI-ID: 512302617

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: elektrokemoterapija, elektroporacija, pankreas, rak trebušne slinavke, prašiči

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P3-0003
• Name: Razvoj in ovrednotenje novih terapij za zdravljenje malignih tumorjev