A prospective phase II study evaluating intraoperative electrochemotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma

Djokić, Mihajlo (author), Čemažar, Maja (author), Bošnjak, Maša (author), Dežman, Rok (author), Badovinac, David (author), Miklavčič, Damijan (author), Kos, Bor (author), Štabuc, Miha (author), Štabuc, Borut (author), Janša, Rado (author), Popović, Peter (author), Šmid, Lojze (author), Serša, Gregor (author), Trotovšek, Blaž (author)

The aim of this clinical study was to investigate the effectiveness and long-term safety of electrochemotherapy as an emerging treatment for HCC in patients not suitable for other treatment options. A prospective phase II clinical study was conducted in patients with primary HCC who were not suitable for other treatment options according to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer classification. A total of 24 patients with 32 tumors were treated by electrochemotherapy. The procedure was effective, feasible, and safe with some procedure-related side effects. The responses of the 32 treated nodules were: 84.4% complete response (CR), 12.5% partial response (PR), and 3.1% stable disease (SD). The treatment was equally effective for nodules located centrally and peripherally. Electrochemotherapy provided a durable response with local tumor control over 50 months of observation in 78.0% of nodules. The patient responses were: 79.2% CR and 16.6% PR. The median progression-free survival was 12 months (range 2.7–50), and the overall survival over 5 years of observation was 72.0%. This prospective phase II clinical study showed that electrochemotherapy was an effective, feasible, and safe option for treating HCC in patients not suitable for other treatment options.

• Language: English
• Keywords: electrochemotherapy, hepatocellular carcinoma, open surgery, liver cancer, bleomycin
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine; FE - Faculty of Electrical Engineering; ZF - Faculty of Health Sciences
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: 14 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 12, iss. 12, art. 3778
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-134836
• UDC: 602
• ISSN on article: 2072-6694
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers12123778
• COBISS.SI-ID: 42834691
• Publication date in RUL: 03.02.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Cancers
• Shortened title: Cancers
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2072-6694
• COBISS.SI-ID: 517914137

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 15.12.2020

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: elektrokemoterapija, hepatocelularni rak, kirurgija