Experimental application of electrolysis in the treatment of liver and pancreatic tumours: principles, preclinical and clinical observations and future perspectives

Abstract

Background: Electrolytic ablation (EA) is a treatment that destroys tissues through electrochemical changes in the local microenvironment. This review examined studies using EA for the treatment of liver and pancreatic tumours, in order to define the characteristics that could endow the technique with specific advantages compared with other ablative modalities.

Methods: Literature search of all studies focusing on liver and pancreas EA.

Results: A specific advantage of EA is its safety even when conducted close to major vessels, while a disadvantage is the longer ablation times compared to more frequently employed techniques. Bimodal electric tissue ablation modality combines radiofrequency with EA and produced significant larger ablation zones compared to EA or radiofrequency alone, reducing the time required for ablation. Pancreatic EA has been investigated in experimental studies that confirmed similar advantages to those found with liver ablation, but has never been evaluated on patients. Furthermore, few clinical studies examined the results of liver EA in the short-term but there is no appropriate follow-up to confirm any survival advantage.

Conclusions: EA is a safe technique with the potential to treat lesions close to major vessels. Specific clinical studies are required to confirm the technique's safety and eventually demonstrate a survival advantage.