BACKGROUND: Electrochemotherapy, the combination of electroporation and chemotherapy, is mainly used in the palliative setting for treatment of cutaneous and subcutaneous metastases; however, new applications are continuously being explored. Patients with head and neck cancer are primarily treated with surgery and/or radio-chemotherapy. In the setting of local recurrence with no further curative treatment options available, electrochemotherapy could be of value. We therefore performed a systematic search of the present literature.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eligible studies presented data from patients with head and neck cancer treated across the mucosal surface with electrochemotherapy. The search resulted in 11 studies with a total of 72 patients.

RESULTS: Overall complete response was reported as good, especially in primary small tumors. Side effects were minor in primary tumors whereas large, recurrent tumors displayed more frequent side effects and some serious adverse events. Design and structure of the studies differed considerably, making general comparisons difficult.

CONCLUSION: Few studies concerning electrochemotherapy on mucosal head and neck tumors are available and they are not easily comparable. Overall response to treatment is good; nonetheless, further systematic studies are warranted.