Group: Skin & Superficial Tumours
Kaposi Sarcoma
The skin lesions of Kaposi sarcoma are numerous and scattered; being able to treat many nodules in a single session is the main rationale given in the literature for studying electrochemotherapy in this indication. Clinical series exist for both classic and HIV-associated forms.
24publication records23 unique studies once versions are merged
17clinical publication records
1preclinical publication record
2reviews
2006–2025publication span
Clinical publications: randomized, prospective and retrospective studies, case series and case reports. Preclinical publications: animal, in vitro, modelling and experimental biophysics studies.
Clinical and Technical Data Reported in the Publications
The sum of the fields reported in the full text of the 24 publications in this area. The numbers are summed, not interpreted.
Sum of the patient counts reported across publications423 (reported in 20 publications)
Total lesions reported2,272 (in 6 publications)
Devices used (8 publications naming a device)Cliniporator (6) · ePORE (2)
Agent delivered and route (20 publications reporting an agent)bleomycin · intravenous (17) · bleomycin (2) · bleomycin · intratumoural (1)
Approach (15 publications report it)transcutaneous surface (10) · percutaneous (5)
Image guidance (8 publications report it)direct vision (6) · ultrasound (2)
Response criteria (20 publications report it)RECIST (8) · clinical examination (7) · ESOPE criteria (2) · RECIST 1.1 (2) · WHO criteria (1)
Combination therapy (10 publications report it)systemic chemotherapy (5) · other immunotherapy (3) · other combination (2) · checkpoint inhibitor (1) · targeted therapy (1)
Publications reporting retreatment15 of 20 publications (4 do not report it)
Field strength730–1300 V/cm (4 records, median 1300)
Applied voltage680–730 V (2 records, median 730)
Number of pulses8–60 (7 records, median 8)
Pulse duration100–100000 µs (4 records, median 100000)
The totals are not a count of unique patients: the same cohort may have been reported in more than one publication.
Literature Status by Method
Publication count, clinical and preclinical split, literature volume and publication span for each clinical method. The badge at the top of the page summarises the ECT record only; the full split by method is here.
Electrochemotherapy (ECT)
22publication records
16clinical publication records
1preclinical publication record
Exploratory / low-volume literaturethreshold 4/22 records
Clinical and preclinical split of that figure: 2 clinical, 0 preclinical.
2006–2025
Other electroporation applications
2publication records
1clinical publication records
0preclinical publication records
This set does not name a single clinical method; no literature volume is assigned.
2019–2023
Mechanisms Mentioned in Abstracts
The figure is the number of abstracts mentioning the mechanism. A mention does not mean it was demonstrated in that study.
Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation 4
Potentiation of Cytotoxic Drug Permeability 3
Muscle Contraction and Anaesthesia Requirement 2
Necrosis and Necroptosis 1
Electrode Geometry and Placement 1
Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation 1
Study Type Distribution
The percentage gives the share of the whole area.
| Study type | Publications | Share within this area |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical Study | 8 | 33% |
| Retrospective Clinical Study | 2 | 8% |
| Case Series | 2 | 8% |
| Case Report | 5 | 21% |
| Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | 1 | 4% |
| Guideline / Consensus | 1 | 4% |
| Review | 1 | 4% |
| Animal Study | 1 | 4% |
| Editorial / Letter | 1 | 4% |
| Correction / Erratum | 1 | 4% |
| Not reported | 1 | 4% |
Publication Table
24 publication records sorted by study design. Click a title to open the citation, mechanism and full abstract drawer.
Classifications are generated automatically and can be wrong for individual records. Methodology
| Regime | Publication | Year | Study type | Model | Mechanism | Patients / lesions | Device | Agent and route | Reported outcome | Abstract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECT | Quaglino et al · Eur J Surg Oncol | 2025 | Clinical Study | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation, Potentiation of Cytotoxic Drug Permeability | 82 / 261 | Cliniporator | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 80% (82 patients) | Introduction: Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a cancer of endothelial cells involving the skin and visceral organs. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is an alternative treatment option for patients with cuta… |
| ECT | Rullo et al · Cancers (Basel) | 2024 | Clinical Study | Human | – | 19 | – | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 63.2% (19 patients) | Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is one of the newest therapeutic strategies employed as a medical procedure for skin neoplasms' treatment, especially for classic Kaposi's sarcoma (CKS). The aim of… |
| ECT | Pfefferle et al · J Dtsch Dermatol Ges | 2022 | Clinical Study | Human | Muscle Contraction and Anaesthesia Requirement | 1 | ePORE | bleomycin · intravenous | tumour volume change 0 cm³ (1 patients) | This publication has no abstract. |
| ECT | Borgognoni et al · Anticancer Res | 2020 | Clinical Study | Human | – | 68 / 699 | Cliniporator | bleomycin · intravenous | objective response 89.7% | Background: We aimed to verify the clinical efficacy and safety of the electrochemotherapy in melanoma metastases and in cases of rare non-melanoma tumors that were difficult to treat for th… |
| ECT | Starita et al · Infect Agent Cancer | 2017 | Clinical Study | Human | – | 27 | – | bleomycin | complete response 74.1% (27 patients) | Background: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) has shown to be an effective treatment for cutaneous and subcutaneous Kaposi sarcoma (KS) lesions. However, no study has investigated the impact of ECT … |
| ECT | Di Monta et al · Eur J Surg Oncol | 2014 | Clinical Study | Human | – | 19 | Cliniporator | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 73.6% (19 patients) | Background: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a novel modality for the treatment of skin nodules and cutaneous or subcutaneous tumors that allows delivery of low and non-permeant drug into cells.… |
| ECT | Latini et al · Dermatol Ther | 2012 | Clinical Study | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | 18 | Cliniporator | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 16 count (18 patients) | The present prospective study was aimed at evaluating the long-term efficacy of local electrochemotherapy (ECT) with the intravenous administration of bleomycin, on disease progression and v… |
| ECT | Curatolo et al · Ann Surg Oncol | 2011 | Clinical Study | Human | Potentiation of Cytotoxic Drug Permeability | 23 / 532 | – | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 60.9% (23 patients) | Background: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is an emerging treatment for cutaneous lesions of different tumor types. The combination of chemotherapy and electroporation enhances drug uptake into t… |
| ECT | Lalanda et al · Int J Dermatol | 2022 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | – | 14 | – | – · intravenous | complete response 92.8% (14 patients) | Background and objectives: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a locally aggressive mesenchymal tumor that involves the lymphovascular system, with a tendency to become multifocal. Electrochemotherapy … |
| ECT | Savoia et al · COSCI | 2022 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 9 / 766 | Cliniporator | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 77.8% (9 patients) | Background: 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… |
| ECT | Rullo et al · – | 2024 | Case Series | – | – | 19 | – | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 12 count (19 patients) | Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is one of the newest therapeutic strategies employed as medical procedure for skin neoplasms’ treatment, especially for Classic Kaposi’s Sarcoma (CKS). The aim of t… |
| Other EP | Brambilla et al · J Cutan Med Surg | 2023 | Case Series | Human | – | 31 | – | – | – | Background: occasional case reports have described the appearance of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) on previously unaffected skin after incidental or accidental injury, but the association is probabl… |
| ECT | Niccolò et al · Anticancer Drugs | 2023 | Case Report | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | 1 | – | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 1 count (1 patients) | An elderly female patient with a long-standing history of Kaposi's sarcoma of the lower limbs was referred to the Surgical Department after the subsequential failure of multiple lines of sys… |
| ECT | Pfefferle et al · J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol | 2022 | Case Report | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation, Electrode Geometry and Placement | 1 | ePORE | bleomycin · intravenous | – | , Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is becoming increasingly important in the treatment of cutaneous and subcutaneous tumours of various entities in the palliative setting. Using needle electrodes o… |
| ECT | Gualdi et al · J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol | 2010 | Case Report | Human | – | 1 / 3 | – | bleomycin · intratumoural | complete response 100% (3 lesions) | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 239 Figure 1 Annular and erythematous papules localized on the tibial region (a) and complete resolution of the granuloma annulare lesions after only 2 weeks of topiram… |
| ECT | Curatolo et al · Dermatol Surg | 2008 | Case Report | Human | – | 1 | Cliniporator | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 1 count (1 patients) | [No abstract available] |
| ECT | Garbay et al · European Journal of Cancer Supplements | 2006 | Case Report | Human | – | 1 / 11 | – | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 100% (11 lesions) | Most of the tumours treated by electrochemotherapy are cutaneous malignant melanoma nodules, breast cancer recurrences, or basal cell carcinomas.1–4 However, the bases of the electrochemothe… |
| ECT | Ferioli et al · Mol Clin Oncol | 2021 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Literature Analysis | – | 68 | – | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 65% (23 patients) | Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a rare angioproliferative disorder, which is usually associated with human herpesvirus-8 infection. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) may be an option in the treatment of KS s… |
| Other EP | Lebbe et al · Eur J Cancer | 2019 | Guideline / Consensus | Human | – | – | – | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 65% | Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a multifocal neoplasm of lymphatic endothelium-derived cells infected with human herpesvirus 8. Four clinical subtypes are distinguished: the classic, the endemic, t… |
| ECT | Reinhold · Anticancer Drugs | 2011 | Review | Animal (In Vivo) | Potentiation of Cytotoxic Drug Permeability | – | – | bleomycin · intravenous | objective response 85% (171 lesions) | Electrochemotherapy is an effective local tumor ablation modality in the treatment of solid cancers. Its use combines the administration of nonpermeable or poorly permeable highly intrinsic … |
| ECT | Marone et al · European Journal of Surgical Oncology (EJSO) | 2013 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Necrosis and Necroptosis | 19 | – | – | complete response 14 ratio (19 patients) | Treatment of recurrent pelvic tumours involving the abdominal wall is extremely challenging and should include extensive resections with planned reconstructions. Failure of wound healing is … |
| ECT | Curatolo et al · J Cutan Med Surg | 2020 | Editorial / Letter | Human | – | – | – | bleomycin · intravenous | complete response 60% | This publication has no abstract. |
| ECT | Quaglino et al · Eur J Surg Oncol | 2025 | Correction / Erratum | – | – | – | – | – | – | European Journal of Surgical Oncology 51 (2025) 110187 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect European Journal of Surgical Oncology journal homepage: www.ejso.com Corrigendum to “Electroc… |
| ECT | Chlebopaseviene ve Satkauskas · Health Sciences | 2021 | Not reported | – | – | 1 | – | bleomycin | – | Chemoterapija yra standartizuotas vėžio gydymas vienu ar keliais vaistais, naikinančiais navikines ląsteles ar stabdančiais jų augimą. Chemoterapijos galimybės dar labiau padidėja, taikant j… |
No publication matches these filters.
Limitations
Publication volume is not clinical efficacy or evidence quality. It describes how much literature exists in the area and of what kind; it does not indicate how strongly the treatment is supported, guideline endorsement or regulatory status.
Patient totals are not a count of unique patients. The same cohort may have been reported in more than one publication; the totals are not a meta-analysis.
How the corpus was assembled, the tier thresholds, the definition of a clinical publication and why methods are counted separately: Literature Map.