Electrochemotherapy vs radiotherapy in the treatment of primary cutaneous malignancies or cutaneous metastases from primary solid organ malignancies: A systematic review and narrative synthesis

McMillan, Angus; McElroy, Luke; O’Toole, Lorcan; Matteucci, Paolo; Totty, Josh

Abstract

Background
Electrochemotherapy has gained international traction and commendation in national guidelines as an effective tool in the management of cutaneous malignancies not amenable to surgical resection. Despite this, no level 5 evidence exists comparing it to radiotherapy in the treatment of cutaneous malignancies. This systematic review aimed to examine the literature directly and indirectly comparing electrochemotherapy and radiotherapy in the treatment of primary cutaneous malignancies or cutaneous metastases from primary solid organ malignancies.

Materials & Methods
The protocol for this review was registered on the PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews with the protocol ID CRD42021285415. Searches of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, CENTRAL and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were undertaken from database inception to 28 December 2021. Studies in humans comparing treatment with electrochemotherapy to radiotherapy and reporting tumour response with a minimum four week follow-up were eligible. Risk of bias was assessed using the ROBINS-I tool. Results are provided as a narrative synthesis.

Results
Two case series with a total of 92 patients were identified as relevant to this study. Both case series examined patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. One case series examined elderly patients with predominantly head/neck lesions. The other examined younger patients with predominantly limb lesions who had cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma directly attributable to a rare skin condition.

Conclusion
There is little literature presenting comparative data for electrochemotherapy and radiotherapy in the treatment of primary cutaneous malignancies or cutaneous metastases. Included studies were marred by serious risk of bias particularly due to confounding. The inherent bias and heterogeneity of the included studies precluded synthesis of a consolidated comparison of clinical outcomes between the two therapies. Further research is required in this domain in the form of clinical trials and observational studies to inform guidelines for electrochemotherapy treatment.

Citation

McMillan, A., McElroy, L., O’Toole, L., Matteucci, P., & Totty, J. (2023). Electrochemotherapy vs radiotherapy in the treatment of primary cutaneous malignancies or cutaneous metastases from primary solid organ malignancies: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. PLoS ONE, 18(7), Article e0288251. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288251

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 22, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jul 13, 2023
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jun 23, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 14, 2023
• Journal: PLoS ONE
• Print ISSN: 1932-6203
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 7
• Article Number: e0288251
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288251
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4316463