Endoscopic and electroporation therapy of paranasal sinus tumors

The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of endoscopic and electroporation therapy for the treatment of sinonasal carcinomas. Electroporation therapy is a technique that combines intralesional injection of bleomycin combined with application of high-voltage square wave electrical impulse into the tumor. A transient increase in cell membrane permeability allows intracellular entry of bleomycin, with subsequent cytotoxicity. Two cases of sinonasal cancer were treated with this technique. One patient had complete response and is free of disease at 20 months. The other had partial response with control of the disease up to a year. Endoscopic electroporation therapy is potentially a minimally invasive method for the treatment of sinonasal malignancies in an experimental setting where other treatment options do not exist. Phase II/III national clinical trials have been initiated to study the efficacy of electroporation therapy.