Summary

Electrochemotherapy is a veterinary treatment used in horses to manage certain skin tumors, including sarcoids, mast cell tumors, and carcinomas. The therapy combines a chemotherapeutic drug, such as cisplatin or bleomycin, with brief electrical pulses applied directly to the tumor. These pulses temporarily open pores in cancer cells, dramatically increasing drug uptake and trapping the medication within the tumor’s blood vessels for enhanced effectiveness. The treatment is typically performed under short‑acting anesthesia and usually lasts about 20 minutes per session. Small tumors often resolve after one or two treatments, while larger tumors may require surgical debulking first. Electrochemotherapy has shown very high long‑term success rates for equine sarcoids, with minimal side effects such as mild localized swelling.