Electroporation in Veterinary Medicine
Electroporation in Veterinary Medicine
Electroporation, the use of controlled electric pulses to increase cell membrane permeability, is an established technology in veterinary oncology. Its clinical use is dominated by electrochemotherapy, which serves as the main frontline application, while gene electrotransfer and irreversible electroporation are used to a lesser extent. Together, led by the success of electrochemotherapy, these techniques have supported cancer management in companion animals, horses, and exotic species, while also bridging veterinary and human medicine.
Electrochemotherapy combines electric pulses with chemotherapeutic agents such as bleomycin or cisplatin to enhance local drug uptake in tumor cells. It is used in many countries around the world to treat cutaneous and subcutaneous tumors in dogs, cats, horses, and exotic patients. Rather than replacing existing therapies, it represents a treatment option that can be combined with surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy to improve overall effectiveness, and in selected cases it can be used as a first-line therapy on its own. Its use has been formalized through treatment guidelines, which standardize pulse parameters, drug dosing, and electrode selection to support reproducible, evidence-based outcomes across clinics. It is also gradually being incorporated into the treatment guidelines for different tumor types, reflecting its growing acceptance as an option within broader oncologic protocols rather than a standalone niche technique.
Gene electrotransfer, the second major application, uses electric fields to deliver plasmid DNA directly into tissue, bypassing the need for viral vectors. In veterinary medicine, this technique is being explored to deliver immunostimulatory plasmids intended to enhance the host immune response against tumors, including constructs encoding cytokines such as IL-12. Early studies have shown encouraging results, and this approach may help make cancer immunotherapies more accessible to veterinary patients that would otherwise lack access to costly biologic treatments. This remains an active area of research, and further work is needed to confirm efficacy and durability of response across tumor types.
Irreversible electroporation, the third pillar, uses electric pulses at intensities sufficient to induce non-thermal cell death, ablating tumor tissue without heat-related damage to surrounding structures such as blood vessels, nerves, and bile ducts. This can make it a useful option for tumors located near critical anatomical structures where surgery or thermal ablation would carry greater risk.
Beyond their direct clinical benefit, veterinary patients are also considered useful models for translational research. Because companion animals develop spontaneous tumors with some biological and clinical similarities to human cancers, they can benefit from new developments in electroporation technology while also contributing data that may inform future human medicine applications. This relationship works in both directions: in some instances, human medicine is further ahead in a given technique or device, and human clinical experience serves as a reference point for veterinary adoption; in others, veterinary case data and spontaneous tumor models contribute findings ahead of human trials.
This exchange between veterinary and human oncology reflects the translational value of veterinary patients, and positions electroporation-based therapies as a shared area of interest for advancing cancer treatment across species. Continued collaboration between veterinary and human research communities will help clarify the role of electrochemotherapy, gene electrotransfer, and irreversible electroporation going forward.
— Contributed by Matías Tellado, Felipe Maglietti