Electrochemotherapy for Palliative Periorbital Malignancy

Maintaining Quality of Life: Electrochemotherapy for Palliative Periorbital Malignancy: Electrochemotherapy has been used successfully for treatment of recurrent head and neck skin cancers and skin metastasis. It combines both electroporation and chemotherapy. The authors report 4 patients, who all had metastatic periorbital malignancy. These patients were palliative with widespread metastatic malignancy. All patients had either already had multiple procedures or declined surgical resection and preferred less involved measures. The authors report technique and outcomes. Patient 1: 83-year-old man with recurrent malignant melanoma (MM) nodules (BRAF negative) in the left medial orbit and medial canthal area after rhinectomy and previous resections. Patient 2: 72-year-old man with metastatic MM who developed painful and unsightly metastatic nodules on the right and left forehead and the left medial canthus. Patient 3: 93-year-old man with background of widespread multiple myeloma, considered palliative. He developed a left forehead SCC, apparent as a fungating ulcer, which caused significant pain due to perineural invasion. Patient 4: 91-year-old woman with recurrent metastatic sebaceous cell carcinoma of the left lower eyelid obstructing her vision. All patients experienced an improvement in their pain and quality of life. None of the patients developed any significant periorbital inflammation or adverse complications. Electrochemotherapy may be a useful palliative treatment for periorbital tumors. It improves pain and reduces tumor volume. It can be considered for tumors where palliative radiotherapy may be contraindicated.

Accepted for publication July 30, 2019.

The authors have no financial or conflicts of interest to disclose.

Presented at BOPSS Congress on June 2019 in Nottingham, United Kingdom.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Katja Ullrich, Corneoplastic Unit, Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Trust, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 3DZ, United Kingdom. E-mail: katja.ullrich@gmail.com

© 2019 by The American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Inc., All rights reserved.