Electrochemotherapy In The Treatment of Kaposi’s Sarcoma: A Single Centre Cohort Study And A Comparison With Literature Data

Abstract

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a tumor of endothelial derivation, which primarily affects the skin and is mainly related to the type 8 human herpesvirus (HHV8). Its onset is favored by immunosuppression, although the most common form is the classic or sporadic KS mainly developing in elderly men of Mediterranean and Eastern European origin. Different therapeutic options are available, depending on the clinical variant, progression pattern, and comorbidities. The treatment of localized forms includes surgical excision, laser treatment, cryosurgery, radiotherapy, imiquimod 5%, and intra-lesion injection of cytotoxic drugs; on the other hand, the treatment of widespread disease encompasses radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In this scenario, electrochemotherapy (ECT), has shown to be an effective alternative to traditional treatment for disseminated KS skin lesions. The rationale of ECT relies on the local application of short, high-voltage electric pulses, able to open transient pores in the cell membrane (reversible electroporation, that increases the delivery of some poorly permeant cytotoxic agents into the cytosol. Herein we performed a retrospective analysis on 9 KS patients treated with ECT at our center between June 2016 and January 2020. The rate of Complete Response (CR) was 77.8% after the first cycle of treatment and 88.9% after the second course, with an overall response (OR) of 100%. Sustained local control of treated lesions was present in 77.8% of patients 6 months after the treatment and all of them reported only mild local toxicity, together with an excellent functional and cosmetic outcome, in agreement with data obtained from the comparison with the recent literature.