Gene delivery by electroporation

By applying brief electric pulses, it is possible to transfer molecules into cells and tissues. The use of electroporation for delivery of chemotherapy is now quite widely used and in further development. Electrochemotherapy is in routine use for cutaneous tumors [1] in more than 100 cancer centers, and several thousand patients have been treated. Response rates are high and side effects limited [2-8]. An important perspective about the success of electrochemotherapy is that electroporation equipment approved for clinical use is now available in many hospitals, allowing its use for gene therapy.