Vulvar Cancer
Urogynaecological Tumours
In vulvar cancer, electrochemotherapy is considered an organ-preserving option where surgical morbidity is high and in recurrent disease. In the palliative setting the aim is symptom and local control.
30total publications
19clinical studies
2preclinical studies
5reviews
1997–2026publication span
Evidence Status by Regime
Reversible electroporation (RE-ECT)
29publications
18clinical
2preclinical
Clinical Evidence
1997–2026 · In Routine Clinical Use
Irreversible electroporation (IRE-ECT)
1publications
1clinical
0preclinical
Exploratory Evidence
2017–2017 · Early Research Stage
Mechanisms Reported in This Area
Terms were detected by automatic matching over publication abstracts; the figure gives the number of publications containing the term.
Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation 14
Increased Intracellular Cisplatin Accumulation 3
Potentiation of Cytotoxic Drug Permeability 2
Muscle Contraction and Anaesthesia Requirement 2
Necrosis and Necroptosis 1
Systemic / Abscopal Immune Response 1
Calcium Electroporation and ATP Depletion 1
Antivascular Effect and Vessel Disruption 1
Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death 1
Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation 1
Study Type Distribution
Bar length is scaled to the most common study type; the percentage gives the share of the whole area. Colour marks the evidence tier of the study type, the same scale as the evidence map.
| Study type | Publications | Share within this area |
|---|---|---|
| Randomized Clinical Trial | 1 | 3% |
| Prospective Clinical Study | 1 | 3% |
| Clinical Study | 11 | 37% |
| Retrospective Clinical Study | 4 | 13% |
| Case Series | 2 | 7% |
| Case Report | 2 | 7% |
| Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | 3 | 10% |
| Review | 2 | 7% |
| Animal Study | 1 | 3% |
| In Vitro Study | 1 | 3% |
| Conference Abstract | 1 | 3% |
| Editorial / Letter | 1 | 3% |
Literature Evidence Table
30 publications listed in order of evidence strength. Click a title to open the citation, mechanism and full abstract drawer.
| Regime | Publication | Year | Study type | Model | Mechanism | Abstract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reversible | Vivod et al · Acta Oncol | 2024 | Randomized Clinical Trial | Human | – | Background: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a combined treatment method based on electroporation and simultaneous chemotherapy. In cases where radiotherapy has previously been used, surgery is … |
| Reversible | Perrone et al · Cancers (Basel) | 2021 | Prospective Clinical Study | Human | – | The ELECHTRA (ELEctroChemoTherapy vulvaR cAncer) project was conceived to collect data on palliative electrochemotherapy (ECT) in vulvar cancer (VC) assessing patients' outcomes (response an… |
| Reversible | Vivod et al · Radiol Oncol | 2025 | Clinical Study | Human | – | Background: The quality of life of patients undergoing oncologic treatment has become an important issue in recent years. Owing to potential mutilation following surgery for vulvar cancer, m… |
| Reversible | Perrone et al · Int J Gynecol Cancer | 2023 | Clinical Study | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | Objective: The management of vulvar cancer recurrences is complicated by patients' advanced age and comorbidities. Bleomycin-based electrochemotherapy is a potential treatment option in this… |
| Reversible | Vivod et al · Cancers (Basel) | 2023 | Clinical Study | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | Electrochemotherapy is a local ablative therapy used for the treatment of various superficial and deep-seated tumors. Electrochemotherapy involves the application of electric pulses locally … |
| Reversible | Corrado et al · International Journal of Gynecological Cancer | 2020 | Clinical Study | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | 435 Figure 1 A180 Int J Gynecol Cancer 2020;30(Suppl 3):A1–A210 Abstracts Methods Data were retrospectively collected from November 2017 to November 2019 in two Italian oncologic Institutes:… |
| Reversible | Corrado et al · Int J Gynecol Cancer | 2020 | Clinical Study | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation, Muscle Contraction and Anaesthesia Requirement | Objective: Since vulvar cancer is such a rare disease, the international experience with electrochemotherapy has been derived from only a few centers. The aim of this study was to evaluate c… |
| Reversible | Perrone et al · Int J Gynecol Cancer | 2020 | Clinical Study | Human | Systemic / Abscopal Immune Response, Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | Objective: Vaginal metastases are very rare events with a poor prognosis. To improve the quality of life, local treatments should be considered. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rol… |
| Reversible | Perrone et al · Cancers (Basel) | 2019 | Clinical Study | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | Vulvar cancer (VC) is a rare disease of which recurrence poses management problems due to patients' advanced age and comorbidities, and to the localization of the disease. Palliative treatme… |
| Reversible | Perrone et al · J Surg Oncol | 2018 | Clinical Study | Human | – | Background and objectives: Previous studies showed a local tumor control of 80% in patients with relapsed squamous cell vulvar cancer (V-SCC) treated with electrochemotherapy. These results … |
| Reversible | Pellegrino et al · Acta Oncol | 2016 | Clinical Study | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | Objective To evaluate the safety, local tumor efficacy and relief of symptoms of electrochemotherapy (ECT) treatment in patients affected by recurrence of vulvar cancer (VC), unsuitable for … |
| Reversible | Perrone et al · J Surg Oncol | 2015 | Clinical Study | Human | – | Objective: The primary endpoint of this trial was to assess clinical response (cCR) of squamocellular vulvar cancer (V-SCC) in elderly patients treated with electro-chemotherapy (ECT). Secon… |
| Reversible | Perrone et al · Gynecol Oncol | 2013 | Clinical Study | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation, Muscle Contraction and Anaesthesia Requirement | Objective: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is an attractive treatment for solid cutaneous tumours with a good response rate (55-92%). No studies have evaluated ECT performed in vulvar cancer. The … |
| Reversible | Federico et al · International Journal of Gynecological Cancer | 2025 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | – | /Background Definitive chemoradiation (d-CRT) is the standard treatment for vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC) with pelvic lymph node (PLN) involvement (stage IVB). The potential benefit of… |
| Reversible | Fernandez et al · International Journal of Gynecological Cancer | 2022 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | – | 2022-RA-642-ESGO Figure 1 A) Progression free survival (PFS) and B) Overall survival of patients treated with ECT for recurrent vulvar sequamous cellular carcinoma Conclusion Long follow-up … |
| Reversible | Perrone et al · International Journal of Gynecological Cancer | 2022 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | – | 2022-RA-642-ESGO Figure 1 A) Progression free survival (PFS) and B) Overall survival of patients treated with ECT for recurrent vulvar sequamous cellular carcinoma Conclusion Long follow-up … |
| Reversible | Vivod et al · Technol Cancer Res Treat | 2022 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | – | Objective : Pelvic exenteration in women with recurrent vulvar carcinoma is associated with high morbidity and mortality and substantial treatment costs. Because pelvic exenteration severely… |
| Reversible | Grischke et al · Arch Gynecol Obstet | 2026 | Case Series | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | Background: Vulvar carcinoma (VC), a rare cancer, recurs in over a third of women, usually within 2 years. Treatment options other than repeat surgery and radiotherapy are often required in … |
| Irreversible | Vroomen et al · Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol | 2017 | Case Series | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | Objective: To describe the initial experience with irreversible electroporation (IRE) to treat pelvic tumor recurrences. Methods: A retrospective single-center analysis was performed. Advers… |
| Reversible | Vivod et al · Radiol Oncol | 2023 | Case Report | Human | Potentiation of Cytotoxic Drug Permeability, Antivascular Effect and Vessel Disruption | Background: Electrochemotherapy has good local effectiveness in the treatment of vulvar cancer. Most studies have reported the safety and effectiveness of electrochemotherapy for palliative … |
| Reversible | Merlo et al · Technol Cancer Res Treat | 2021 | Case Report | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | Endometrial carcinoma is the most common gynecological malignancy and the fifth most common malignancy in women. The worldwide incidence is 15.9 new cases per 100,000 women per year, and the… |
| Reversible | Perrone et al · Cancers (Basel) | 2021 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Literature Analysis | Increased Intracellular Cisplatin Accumulation, Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is an emerging treatment for solid tumors and an attractive research field due to its clinical results. This therapy represents an alternative local treatment to th… |
| Reversible | Certelli et al · It Journ Gyn Obs | 2020 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Literature Analysis | – | SOMMARIO There are some problems about the optimal treatment modality of vulvar cancer (VC): unfeasible surgery in elderly women with several comorbidities and the absence of treatments appl… |
| Reversible | Tranoulis et al · Int J Gynecol Cancer | 2020 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Human | – | Introduction: Electrochemotherapy involves the use of transient tumor permeabilization via electric pulses in combination with low-dose chemotherapeutic agents. It has recently emerged as an… |
| Reversible | Restaino · Cancers (Basel) | 2025 | Review | Literature Analysis | – | Background: Vulvar carcinoma is an uncommon gynecological tumor primarily affecting older women. Its treatment significantly impacts the quality of life and, not least, aesthetics because of… |
| Reversible | Łapińska et al · Molecules | 2022 | Review | Human | Increased Intracellular Cisplatin Accumulation, Calcium Electroporation and ATP Depletion | Gynecological carcinomas affect an increasing number of women and are associated with poor prognosis. The gold standard treatment plan is mainly based on surgical resection and subsequent ch… |
| Reversible | Yabushita et al · Gynecol Oncol | 1997 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation, Potentiation of Cytotoxic Drug Permeability | Electrochemotherapy is a new approach to the treatment of tumors that takes advantage of the permeabilization of the cell membranes by electric pulses to facilitate the intracellular deliver… |
| Reversible | Tang et al · Int J Oncol | 2005 | In Vitro Study | Cell Culture | – | Electrochemical treatment is among the most effective therapies in the management of cervical malignancy. However, the mechanism of action of this treatment remains largely unknown. Therefor… |
| Reversible | Tranoulis et al · International Journal of Gynecological Cancer | 2019 | Conference Abstract | – | – | EP1290 Figure 1 IJGC 2019;29(Suppl 4):A1–A703 THE POSSIBLE ROLE OF CELL POLARITY FOR CANCER DISEASE – THE IMPLICATION OF CANCER REGRESSION BY HUMAN BODY AXES INTERACTION 1 MC Ou*, 2D Ou, 3CC… |
| Reversible | De Giorgi et al · Int J Gynecol Cancer | 2020 | Editorial / Letter | Human | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation, Increased Intracellular Cisplatin Accumulation | t or metastatic vulvar cancer We read with great interest the papers by Perrone et al and Corrado et al evaluating the role of electrochemotherapy with intravenous infusion of bleomycin as a… |
Limitations
The counts on this page are bounded by the scope of the source PDF archive and are not a systematic review of the area's literature. Study type and mechanism labels are derived automatically; for critical decisions consult the full texts of the publications listed. The evidence level reflects the number of publications, not their methodological quality.