The first experience of electrochemotherapy in the treatment of patients with melanoma of the skin superficial metastasis

Objective. Demonstration of the use of electrochemotherapy (ECT) in the treatment of superficial metastases of skin melanoma.
Materials and methods. ECT was performed in 4 patients with stage IV skin melanoma. Bleomycin was administered intravenously bolus 15 mg/m2. The effects of electrical impulses on each tumor site and adjacent tissues were performed through the needle electrode of a pulse generator (Cliniporator, Igea, Modena, Italy).
Results. In all patients, after 15–30 days from the time of ECT, complete regression of the tumor nodes was observed. In 2 patients from the moment of ECT there is no recurrence and growth of new foci within 10 months. In 1 patient 3 months after the ECT there was a relapse of the tumor, in 1 – in 5 months there was a relapse of metastatic formations and the appearance of new foci in the nearby anatomical areas.
The conclusion. ECT can be a method of choice of treatment in patients with superficial melanoma metastases, which allows to increase the effectiveness of systemic and local therapy.