Where electrochemotherapy fits in skin tumors, and how to think about lung metastasis

24/02/2026

At Klivet in Turkiye, veterinary oncologist Sandra Gullien discussed how electrochemotherapy is gaining traction as a less invasive option for selected skin tumors in cats and dogs—especially when surgery would be difficult, disfiguring, or incomplete.

Gullien described electrochemotherapy as a “promising” approach for certain cutaneous cancers, highlighting squamous cell carcinoma as a tumor type with strong response rates in current practice. A key benefit, she said, is local cancer control without extensive surgery, potentially avoiding procedures such as nose or ear removals that can be cosmetically and functionally challenging for patients.

For other tumor types, she noted the evidence base is smaller, but electrochemotherapy may still help when surgery is not possible. She cited examples including melanomas, sarcomas, and muscle tumors in dogs, where treatment can shrink tumors and, in some cases, make them disappear. Still, she emphasized it is not her first choice: when feasible, surgery remains the preferred option, with electrochemotherapy used as an alternative, a palliative tool, or when a tumor has been incompletely excised.

On lung metastasis, Gullien stressed that improved imaging means veterinarians are identifying more metastatic lesions than they did 5–10 years ago. The right clinical approach depends heavily on the primary cancer’s behavior: some metastatic diseases are aggressive and progress rapidly, while others can remain slower-moving. She pointed to cancers such as anal sac adenocarcinoma and thyroid or salivary carcinomas, where patients with small pulmonary metastases may still achieve survival beyond a year with treatment. At the same time, she cautioned that not every patient is a good candidate—particularly with widespread disease, limited prognosis, or poor quality of life—yet a proportion of dogs and cats can maintain good quality of life with appropriate care even after metastasis is diagnosed.

Asked why lymphoma is so common, Gullien said there is no single clear cause. She described lymphoma as likely multifactorial, with potential contributors including environmental exposures (such as tobacco smoke and certain pesticides) alongside genetic factors. She also noted that better diagnostics and longer lifespans in pets may contribute to higher observed incidence. In dogs, lymphoma more often involves the lymph nodes, while in cats it frequently affects the intestinal tract.

You can watch the full exclusive interview on our official YouTube channel.