Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Electrochemotherapy with bleomycin for bilateral ocular squamous cell carcinoma in a horse.
- Journal:
- Veterinary ophthalmology
- Year:
- 2025
- Authors:
- Larsen, Majbritt M E et al.
- Affiliation:
- Evidensia Specialist Animal Hospital Helsingborg
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old Haflinger gelding was treated for squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, located on both eyes. The horse underwent a procedure where a medication called bleomycin was injected directly into the tumors, followed by a technique called electroporation, which uses electric pulses to enhance the treatment. After this treatment, the tumors completely disappeared, and there were no signs of them coming back during follow-up. The side effects were mild, and there was no damage to the surrounding healthy tissue. Overall, this method proved to be a safe and effective way to treat these eye tumors in this horse.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe the procedure and outcome of electrochemotherapy (ECT) with bleomycin as a first-line treatment for bilateral ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) in the eye of a horse. ANIMAL STUDIED: A client-owned 5-year-old Haflinger gelding with limbal-conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma. PROCEDURES: During general and local anesthesia, injection of bleomycin in the ocular tumor was followed by electroporation, applied with a 15 mm needle electrode, needles held parallel to the ocular surface. RESULTS: Treatment with ECT resulted in therapeutic electric pulses and complete tumor response with no recurrence during follow-up. Tumor toxicity as a result of treatment was mild, with no adverse effect to normal tissue. CONCLUSIONS: In this case of bilateral ocular tumors, staged ECT with bleomycin was shown to be a safe and effective treatment with complete tumor remission and no recurrence during the observation period. The result suggests ECT as a possible treatment in ocular tumors, with further research recommended.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39681541/